Malmö vs Nottingham Forest, Braga vs Rangers, and More – UEFA Europa League Coverage
Match Coverage
Key Events
- Final whistle: Young Boys 1-2 Aston Villa
- Score!: Joël Monteiro scores for Young Boys at 90+1
- Full-time: Celtic 3-1 Feyenoord
- Team news: Forest and Malmö lineups
- Starting players: Rangers and Braga lineups
- Preamble
Latest Standings
These early results have significant impact on the competition standings. Celtic have moved up to 17th place and regained position in the protected knockout positions.
| Position | Club | Matches | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Midtjylland | 5 | 7 | 12 |
| 2 | Aston Villa | 5 | 5 | 12 |
| 3 | Freiburg | 5 | 5 | 11 |
| 4 | Ferencvaros | 5 | 4 | 11 |
| 5 | FC Porto | 5 | 3 | 10 |
| 17 | Celtic | 5 | -1 | 7 |
| 25 | Nottm Forest | 4 | 1 | 5 |
| 35 | Rangers | 4 | -7 | 0 |
| 33 | Malmo FF | 4 | -5 | 1 |
Final Score: Aston Villa 2-1
The English side clung on for the win and went equal on points with front-runners Midtjylland at the top of the competition table. Villa struggled of that during the closing minutes.
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
Young Boys gave themselves a chance through Monteiro but were left with additional time to score the leveler!
Full-time: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
A significant and important win for the Celtic. Despite going 1-0 down, Celtic roared back with goals from the Korean forward, the Japanese midfielder and Benjamin Nygren.
Match Updates
Villa, at the same time, held onto a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with around five minutes left at Villa Park.
The Dutch forward's brace there sparked furious scenes in the opposition stands, with visiting fans clashing with police. Physical altercations occurred and items launched at both the officers and onto the pitch, with the goalscorer being hit on the head by a drinking vessel.
Lineups: Forest vs Malmö
Forest: John Victor, Abbott, Milenkovic, Murillo, Morato, Yates, Sangare, Dominguez, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, The striker.
The Swedish side: Ellborg, Larsen, Jansson, Duric, Rosler, The midfielder, Johnsen, Skogmar, The attacker, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.
Referee: The German referee (from Germany)
Starting Players
Rangers: Butland, The defender, Fernandez, The defender, Aarons, The midfielder, Diomande, Raskin, Gassama, Danilo, Chermiti.
The Portuguese side: Hornicek, The defender, Lagerbielke, Niakate, Arrey-Mbi, The midfielder, Moutinho, The midfielder, The attacker, Navarro, Horta.
Match official: Lindhout (Holland)
Historical Context
The European clash and historical connections. The two clubs have a historical link, also meeting in Forest's previous European adventure in the 1995-96 Uefa Cup, but it is the premier competition final decades past that links these clubs, with Britain's first £1m player the English forward heading the only goal of a pretty miserable final to clinch eternal glory for the the English club.
"Forest's famous bosses, grey-sweatered and anonymous amid all the excitement and joy, stood for a moment on a bench calmly observing the mafficking," noted the journalist. Their achievement was an outstanding achievement that it is hard to see being repeated – from Second Division to European stage in three seasons."
It's also interesting to pause a little on Malmö, who became the initial and final Scandinavian side to advance to the ultimate game under manager Houghton.
The current fixture is a very different to that pinnacle, closer perhaps to the earlier European encounter between Forest and Malmö in the mid-nineties. Forest are riding high after defeating Liverpool convincingly at the famous ground on Saturday, while Malmö haven't played officially since last month following the conclusion of their domestic campaign. The popular prediction is on the home team tonight.
Numerous other matches on offer in this clockwatch. The Glasgow club have already been lost to a Braga this season. Rangers are at the foot of the league rankings at the half-way stage of the league phase with precisely zero points. They badly want a victory if they are to have any chance of achieving a recovery for a qualification place.
Coverage will persist with all nine of the 8pm kick-offs and provide the current standings from the earlier matches, including Aston Villa v Young Boys and the Dutch-Scottish clash.
