Forest vs Malmö, Rangers vs Braga, and Additional – Europa League Updates
Live Updates
Important Updates
- Match ended: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- Score!: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
- Game over: Feyenoord defeated 1-3 by Celtic
- Lineups announced: Nottingham Forest v Malmö teams!
- Lineups revealed: Rangers and Braga lineups
- Opening notes
Latest Standings
The opening scores greatly affect the league rankings. The Glasgow side rose to the 17th spot and are back in the protected knockout positions.
| Pos | Team | P | Difference | 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 |
Full-time: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys
Aston Villa secured for the win and went equal on points with table-toppers Midtjylland at the top of the league phase standings. The Birmingham club made hard work of that in the final stages.
Late Goal: Monteiro Scores
The Swiss side created a chance through Monteiro but only have additional time to get the tying goal!
Celtic Secure Victory
A famous and valuable win for the Scottish team. Although they went 1-0 down, Celtic fought back with goals from Yang Hyun-jun, the Japanese midfielder and Benjamin Nygren.
Game Developments
The Birmingham side, meanwhile, held onto a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with around five minutes left at their home ground.
The Dutch forward's brace there caused dramatic events in the opposition stands, with Swiss fans engaging with police. Punches were thrown and items launched at both the officers and at the playing surface, with Malen himself being struck in the head by a plastic cup.
Starting XI Revealed
The Reds: Victor, Abbott, The center-back, Murillo, Morato, The midfielder, Sangare, The midfielder, The attacker, The winger, Kalimuendo.
Malmö: Ellborg, Stryger Larsen, Jansson, Duric, The full-back, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, Skogmar, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, The striker.
Match official: The German referee (from Germany)
Lineups: Rangers vs Braga
The Light Blues: The goalkeeper, The defender, Fernandez, The defender, Aarons, Barron, Diomande, Raskin, Gassama, The forward, Chermiti.
Braga: Hornicek, The defender, Lagerbielke, Niakate, The full-back, Zalazar, The experienced midfielder, Gorby, Martinez, Navarro, Horta.
Match official: The Dutch referee (Netherlands)
Historical Context
Nottingham Forest v Malmö and past encounters. The both teams have a unique relationship, also facing each other in Forest's most recent continental tour in the mid-90s European competition, but it is the continental championship decades past that entwines these two together, with the record-breaking signing the English forward heading the only goal of a largely forgettable match to secure historic victory for the red half of Nottingham.
"Forest's famous bosses, grey-sweatered and anonymous amid all the colour and celebration, stood for a moment on a bench quietly watching the celebrations," wrote the match reporter. This represented an outstanding achievement that it is difficult to imagine happening again – from Second Division to continental competition in three seasons."
Worth mentioning to pause a little on Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Swedish club to advance to the ultimate game under manager Houghton.
The current fixture is a very different to that pinnacle, closer perhaps to the previous continental meeting between Forest and Malmö in the mid-nineties. Forest are absolutely buzzing after beating Liverpool 3-0 at Liverpool's home on Saturday, while Malmö have been inactive since early November following the completion of Allsvenskan. The general expectation is on the English side tonight.
Plenty of other action on offer in this clockwatch. The Scottish side have already been lost to a European rival this season. Rangers are rock bottom of the league rankings at the middle of the league phase with exactly zero. They desperately need a victory if they are to have any chance of achieving a comeback for a playoff spot.
Updates will continue with all the late games and provide the latest scores from the concluded fixtures, including Aston Villa v Young Boys and Feyenoord v Celtic.
