Forest vs Malmö, Rangers v Braga, and Additional – UEFA Europa League News

Match Coverage

Key Events

  • Full-time: Young Boys 1-2 Aston Villa
  • Score!: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
  • Match concluded: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
  • Starting XI: Forest and Malmö lineups
  • Starting players: Rangers and Braga lineups
  • Opening notes

Current Table

The initial outcomes greatly affect the league rankings. The Glasgow side rose to the 17th spot and regained position in the secure playoff places.

Pos Side Matches GD Score
1Midtjylland5712
2Aston Villa5512
3Freiburg5511
4Ferencvaros5411
5FC Porto5310
17Celtic5-17
25Nottm Forest415
35Rangers4-70
33Malmo FF4-51

Full-time: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys

Villa managed to hold on for the victory and became tied on points with front-runners Midtjylland at the summit of the league phase standings. The Birmingham club had difficulty of that at the end.

Late Goal: Monteiro Scores

The Swiss side created a hope through Monteiro but were left with stoppage time to score the leveler!

Full-time: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic

A memorable and crucial win for the Celtic. Despite going 1-0 down, Celtic responded strongly with goals from the Korean forward, Hatate and the Swedish striker.

Match Updates

Villa, at the same time, held onto a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with approximately five minutes left at Villa Park.

Malen's second goal there sparked furious scenes in the opposition stands, with Young Boys supporters confronting police. Punches were thrown and projectiles hurled at both the officers and at the playing surface, with Malen himself being hit on the head by a drinking vessel.

Team News: Nottingham Forest v Malmö

The Reds: The goalkeeper, The defender, Milenkovic, Murillo, Morato, Yates, Sangare, Dominguez, McAtee, The winger, The striker.

Malmö FF: The goalkeeper, Stryger Larsen, Jansson, Duric, The full-back, Haksabanovic, The midfielder, Skogmar, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.

Referee: Osmers (German)

Lineups: Rangers vs Braga

Rangers: The goalkeeper, The defender, The center-back, The defender, Aarons, Barron, Diomande, Raskin, The attacker, The forward, Chermiti.

The Portuguese side: The goalkeeper, Gomez, Lagerbielke, The defender, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, The experienced midfielder, The midfielder, The attacker, Navarro, The striker.

Match official: Lindhout (Netherlands)

Match Background

Forest vs Malmö and historical connections. The both teams have a special connection, also facing each other in Forest's previous European adventure in the 1995-96 Uefa Cup, but it is the premier competition final from 1979 that links these clubs, with the groundbreaking transfer Trevor Francis heading the only goal of a pretty miserable final to claim legendary status for the the English club.

"Forest's famous bosses, grey-sweatered and anonymous amid all the colour and celebration, stood for a moment on a bench calmly observing the revelry," noted the journalist. This represented an remarkable feat that it is unlikely to be replicated – from Second Division to continental competition in a short period."

One should note to consider Malmö, who became the pioneering and only Scandinavian side to reach the final under manager Houghton.

Tonight's game is a very different to that peak, closer perhaps to the earlier European encounter between Forest and Malmö in 1995-96. Forest are full of confidence after beating Liverpool 3-0 at the famous ground on Saturday, while Malmö haven't kicked a competitive ball since early November following the conclusion of their domestic campaign. The general expectation is on the English side tonight.

Plenty of other action on offer in this clockwatch. The Scottish side have already been lost to a Braga this season. Rangers are at the foot of the competition table at the midpoint of the group stage with exactly zero. They urgently require a victory if they are to have any opportunity for a comeback for a playoff spot.

Coverage will persist with all nine of the 8pm kick-offs and provide the current standings from the previous games, including Aston Villa v Young Boys and Feyenoord v Celtic.

Nathaniel Ferrell
Nathaniel Ferrell

Lena Visser is an urban geographer and writer passionate about sustainable city design and public space revitalization.