Malmö vs Nottingham Forest, Braga vs Rangers, and Additional – UEFA Europa League Coverage
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Key Events
- Match ended: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- GOAL!: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
- Game over: Feyenoord defeated 1-3 by Celtic
- Team news: Nottingham Forest v Malmö teams!
- Lineups revealed: Rangers and Braga lineups
- Introduction
Current Table
The opening scores greatly affect the competition standings. Celtic climbed to 17th place and returned to the protected knockout positions.
| Position | Side | Matches | 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 |
Final Score: Aston Villa 2-1
Aston Villa secured for the victory and went equal on points with table-toppers Midtjylland at the peak of the league phase standings. Villa made hard work of that at the end.
90+1: Monteiro Pulls One Back
Young Boys earned a chance through Monteiro but only have stoppage time to get the tying goal!
Glasgow Side Wins 3-1
A significant and important win for the Glasgow side. Despite going 1-0 down, Celtic roared back with goals from the Korean forward, the Japanese midfielder and Benjamin Nygren.
Game Developments
Villa, concurrently, held onto a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with around five minutes left at the stadium.
The Dutch forward's brace there sparked furious scenes in the opposition stands, with visiting fans confronting police. Punches were thrown and objects thrown at both the officers and at the playing surface, with the player being struck in the head by a throwable object.
Lineups: Forest vs Malmö
Forest: John Victor, Abbott, Milenkovic, Murillo, Morato, Yates, Sangare, Dominguez, The attacker, The winger, Kalimuendo.
Malmö: Ellborg, Larsen, The center-back, The defender, The full-back, Haksabanovic, The midfielder, The midfielder, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, The striker.
Referee: Osmers (Germany)
Lineups: Rangers vs Braga
The Glasgow side: Butland, The defender, Fernandez, Djiga, Aarons, Barron, The midfielder, Raskin, Gassama, Danilo, Chermiti.
Braga: Hornicek, The defender, The center-back, The defender, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, Joao Moutinho, Gorby, Martinez, The forward, Ricardo Horta.
Official: Lindhout (from Netherlands)
Historical Context
Nottingham Forest v Malmö and historical connections. The two clubs have a historical link, also competing in Forest's most recent continental tour in the mid-90s European competition, but it is the European Cup final decades past that entwines these two together, with Britain's first £1m player Trevor Francis heading the only goal of a pretty miserable final to secure historic victory for the red half of Nottingham.
"Brian Clough and Peter Taylor, grey-sweatered and anonymous amid all the festivities and cheers, stood for a moment on a bench calmly observing the revelry," noted the journalist. Their achievement was an outstanding achievement that it is difficult to imagine happening again – from Second Division to continental competition in just three years."
It's also interesting to consider Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Nordic team to advance to the ultimate game under British coach Houghton.
Tonight's game 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 full of confidence after beating Liverpool 3-0 at the famous ground on Saturday, while Malmö have been inactive since 9 November following the completion of Allsvenskan. The smart money is on the English side tonight.
Additional games on offer in this clockwatch. The Glasgow club have already been defeated by a Braga this season. Rangers are at the foot of the league rankings at the half-way stage of the group stage with no points whatsoever. They urgently require a victory if they are to have any chance of achieving a comeback for a playoff spot.
We'll keep you up to date with all nine of the 8pm kick-offs and provide the latest scores from the previous games, including the Birmingham match and Rotterdam vs Glasgow.
