Forest vs Malmö, Rangers v Braga, and Additional – UEFA Europa League Coverage
Match Coverage
Key Events
- Final whistle: Young Boys 1-2 Aston Villa
- Score!: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
- Full-time: Celtic 3-1 Feyenoord
- Team news: Forest and Malmö lineups
- Team news: Rangers and Braga lineups
- Preamble
League Position
These early results strongly influence the competition standings. The Glasgow side rose to 17th place and are back in the protected playoff places.
| Position | Team | Matches | GD | 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 |
Full-time: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys
Aston Villa secured for the victory and moved level on points with table-toppers Midtjylland at the top of the league phase standings. The English side made hard work of that in the final stages.
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
Young Boys gave themselves a lifeline through Monteiro but only have additional time to find an equaliser!
Celtic Secure Victory
A memorable and crucial win for the Scottish team. Although they went 1-0 down, Celtic responded strongly with goals from Yang Hyun-jun, Reo Hatate and Nygren.
Game Developments
Aston Villa, meanwhile, retained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with roughly 300 seconds left at the stadium.
The Dutch forward's brace there caused dramatic events in the away end, with Young Boys supporters clashing with police. Punches were thrown and items launched at both the police and toward the field, with the player being caught on the head by a throwable object.
Starting XI Revealed
Forest: John Victor, Abbott, The center-back, Murillo, Morato, Yates, Sangare, Dominguez, McAtee, The winger, The striker.
The Swedish side: Ellborg, Larsen, Jansson, The defender, Rosler, The midfielder, The midfielder, The midfielder, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, The striker.
Match official: The German referee (Germany)
Team News: Rangers v Braga
Rangers: Butland, The defender, The center-back, Djiga, Aarons, Barron, The midfielder, Raskin, The attacker, The forward, Chermiti.
The Portuguese side: The goalkeeper, Gomez, The center-back, Niakate, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, Joao Moutinho, Gorby, The attacker, Navarro, Ricardo Horta.
Match official: Allard Lindhout (Holland)
Match Background
The European clash and past encounters. The these sides have a unique relationship, also meeting in Forest's most recent continental tour in the UEFA Cup of 1995-96, but it is the continental championship 46 years ago that entwines these two together, with Britain's first £1m player the English forward netting the decisive goal of a rather dull championship game to clinch eternal glory for the the English club.
"Brian Clough and Peter Taylor, modestly dressed amid all the festivities and cheers, stood for a moment on a bench calmly observing the celebrations," wrote the match reporter. Theirs has been an outstanding achievement that it is hard to see being repeated – from Second Division to European stage in a short period."
It's also interesting to consider Malmö, who became the initial and final Nordic team to reach the final under English manager Bob 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 absolutely buzzing after thrashing Liverpool at the famous ground on Saturday, while Malmö haven't kicked a competitive ball since last month following the conclusion of their domestic campaign. The general expectation is on the home team tonight.
Plenty of other action on offer in this clockwatch. The Scottish side have already been defeated by a Portuguese opponent this season. Rangers are last place of the league rankings at the midpoint of the league phase with exactly zero. They desperately need a victory if they are to have any hope of making a comeback for a playoff spot.
Updates will continue with all the late games and provide the latest scores from the previous games, including Aston Villa v Young Boys and the Dutch-Scottish clash.
