Forest vs Malmö, Rangers vs Braga, and More – UEFA Europa League Updates
Live Updates
Important Updates
- Full-time: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- Goal scored!: Late goal from Monteiro makes it 2-1
- Game over: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
- Lineups announced: Forest and Malmö lineups
- Starting players: Rangers and Braga lineups
- Preamble
League Position
These early results greatly affect the league rankings. The Glasgow side rose to the 17th spot and regained position in the protected knockout positions.
| Rank | Team | P | GD | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 became tied on points with leaders Midtjylland at the summit of the group rankings. Villa had difficulty of that in the final stages.
Late Goal: Monteiro Scores
Young Boys gave themselves a chance through Monteiro but were left with stoppage time to find an equaliser!
Celtic Secure Victory
A famous and valuable win for the Glasgow side. Even after falling 1-0 down, Celtic roared back with goals from the Korean forward, the Japanese midfielder and Nygren.
Latest Action
Villa, concurrently, retained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with around five minutes left at Villa Park.
Malen's second goal there caused dramatic events in the away end, with visiting fans confronting police. Physical altercations occurred and items launched at both the officers and at the playing surface, with Malen himself being caught on the head by a plastic cup.
Starting XI Revealed
Nottingham Forest: The goalkeeper, Abbott, Milenkovic, The defender, Morato, Yates, The defensive midfielder, Dominguez, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
Malmö FF: The goalkeeper, Larsen, Jansson, Duric, Rosler, The midfielder, Johnsen, Skogmar, Bolin, The forward, Busanello.
Match official: Osmers (German)
Lineups: Rangers vs Braga
The Light Blues: The goalkeeper, Tavernier, The center-back, Djiga, The full-back, Barron, Diomande, Raskin, Gassama, Danilo, Chermiti.
The Portuguese side: Hornicek, Gomez, Lagerbielke, The defender, Arrey-Mbi, The midfielder, Joao Moutinho, The midfielder, The attacker, Navarro, Horta.
Match official: Lindhout (Holland)
Historical Context
The European clash and past encounters. The two clubs have a historical link, also meeting in Forest's most recent continental tour in the 1995-96 Uefa Cup, but it is the European Cup final 46 years ago that entwines these two together, with the groundbreaking transfer the English forward heading the only goal of a pretty miserable final to clinch eternal glory for the red half of Nottingham.
"Forest's famous bosses, grey-sweatered and anonymous amid all the excitement and joy, stood for a moment on a bench quietly watching the celebrations," wrote the match reporter. Theirs has been an extraordinary accomplishment that it is difficult to imagine happening again – from second tier to continental competition in a short period."
It's also interesting to pause a little on Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Swedish club to reach the final under British coach Houghton.
The current fixture is a far cry from that summit, closer perhaps to the Uefa Cup first-round tie between Forest and Malmö in that era. Forest are absolutely buzzing after thrashing Liverpool at Liverpool's home on Saturday, while Malmö have been inactive since early November following the end of the Swedish league season. The general expectation is on the home team tonight.
Plenty of other action on offer in this live coverage. Rangers have already been lost to a European rival this season. Rangers are at the foot of the 36-team Europa League standings at the midpoint of the group stage with exactly zero. They badly want a victory if they are to have any chance of achieving a comeback for a knockout position.
We'll keep you up to date with all the evening matches and provide the most recent results from the concluded fixtures, including the Birmingham match and the Dutch-Scottish clash.
