Forest vs Malmö, Rangers v Braga, and Additional – Europa League Updates
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Key Events
- Final whistle: Young Boys 1-2 Aston Villa
- GOAL!: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
- Match concluded: Celtic 3-1 Feyenoord
- Lineups announced: Nottingham Forest v Malmö teams!
- Team news: Rangers v Braga teams!
- Preamble
Current Table
These early results greatly affect the league rankings. The Glasgow side rose to 17th place and are back in the protected knockout positions.
| Pos | Side | Played | Difference | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
Match Result: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
Aston Villa secured for the three points and went equal on points with front-runners Midtjylland at the top of the group rankings. The English side made hard work of that during the closing minutes.
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
The Swiss side created a lifeline through Monteiro but had just stoppage time to get the tying goal!
Celtic Secure Victory
A significant and important win for the Scottish team. Although they went 1-0 down, Celtic responded strongly with goals from Yang Hyun-jun, Hatate and Benjamin Nygren.
Match Updates
Villa, at the same time, maintained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with approximately five minutes left at their home ground.
Malen's second goal there caused dramatic events in the away end, with Swiss fans clashing with police. Punches were thrown and projectiles hurled at both the authorities and toward the field, with the player being struck in the head by a drinking vessel.
Team News: Nottingham Forest v Malmö
Forest: John Victor, Abbott, The center-back, Murillo, The full-back, The midfielder, Sangare, Dominguez, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, The striker.
The Swedish side: Ellborg, Stryger Larsen, Jansson, The defender, The full-back, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, Skogmar, Bolin, The forward, Busanello.
Referee: The German referee (from Germany)
Starting Players
The Light Blues: Butland, The defender, The center-back, Djiga, The full-back, Barron, Diomande, Raskin, Gassama, Danilo, Chermiti.
The Portuguese side: Hornicek, The defender, Lagerbielke, The defender, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, The experienced midfielder, Gorby, The attacker, The forward, Ricardo Horta.
Referee: The Dutch referee (from Netherlands)
Preamble
The European clash and historical connections. The both teams have a special connection, also competing in Forest's most recent continental tour in the UEFA Cup of 1995-96, but it is the European Cup final decades past that links these clubs, with the groundbreaking transfer Trevor Francis scoring the winner of a pretty miserable final to clinch eternal glory for the red half of Nottingham.
"Brian Clough and Peter Taylor, grey-sweatered and anonymous amid all the colour and celebration, stood for a moment on a bench calmly observing the celebrations," commented the writer. This represented an remarkable feat that it is unlikely to be replicated – from Second Division to European stage in a short period."
It's also interesting to consider Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Nordic team to reach the final under manager Houghton.
Tonight's game is a far cry from that pinnacle, closer perhaps to the Uefa Cup first-round tie between Forest and Malmö in that era. Forest are full of confidence after defeating Liverpool convincingly at the famous ground on Saturday, while Malmö haven't played officially since early November following the completion of Allsvenskan. The general expectation is on the home team tonight.
Additional games on offer in this match tracking. The Glasgow club have already been beaten by a Braga this season. Rangers are last place of the competition table at the midpoint of the league phase with no points whatsoever. They desperately need a victory if they are to have any hope of making a comeback for a playoff spot.
Coverage will persist with all the late games and provide the current standings from the concluded fixtures, including Villa vs Young Boys and Feyenoord v Celtic.
