Nottingham Forest v Malmö, Rangers vs Braga, and Additional – Europa League Coverage
Match Coverage
Key Events
- Final whistle: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- GOAL!: Late goal from Monteiro makes it 2-1
- Game over: Feyenoord defeated 1-3 by Celtic
- Team news: Forest and Malmö lineups
- Starting players: Rangers and Braga lineups
- Introduction
League Position
These early results greatly affect the league rankings. The Glasgow side rose to 17th place and regained position in the safety of qualification spots.
| Pos | Club | P | GD | 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 |
Final Score: Aston Villa 2-1
Villa managed to hold on for the victory and became tied on points with front-runners Midtjylland at the top of the competition table. The Birmingham club made hard work of that in the final stages.
Late Goal: Monteiro Scores
Young Boys earned a hope through Monteiro but were left with stoppage time to get the tying goal!
Glasgow Side Wins 3-1
A memorable and crucial win for the Scottish team. Although they went 1-0 down, Celtic fought back with goals from Yang, Hatate and the Swedish striker.
Game Developments
Aston Villa, at the same time, held onto a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with roughly 300 seconds left at the stadium.
The Dutch forward's brace there sparked furious scenes in the away end, with Swiss fans engaging with police. Scuffles broke out and objects thrown at both the officers and toward the field, with the player being caught on the head by a drinking vessel.
Team News: Nottingham Forest v Malmö
Nottingham Forest: The goalkeeper, Abbott, Milenkovic, Murillo, The full-back, Yates, Sangare, Dominguez, The attacker, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
Malmö: Ellborg, Stryger Larsen, The center-back, Duric, Rosler, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, Skogmar, Bolin, The forward, Busanello.
Referee: Harm Osmers (Germany)
Starting Players
Rangers: Butland, Tavernier, Fernandez, Djiga, Aarons, The midfielder, The midfielder, Raskin, Gassama, The forward, The striker.
Braga: The goalkeeper, The defender, The center-back, Niakate, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, Joao Moutinho, Gorby, The attacker, The forward, Horta.
Official: The Dutch referee (Holland)
Preamble
Forest vs Malmö and past encounters. The these sides have a special connection, also competing in Forest's last European campaign in the 1995-96 Uefa Cup, but it is the continental championship from 1979 that connects these teams, with the groundbreaking transfer Trevor Francis netting the decisive goal of a rather dull championship game to claim legendary status for the red half of Nottingham.
"Brian Clough and Peter Taylor, unassuming and low-key amid all the colour and celebration, stood for a moment on a bench serenely viewing the revelry," wrote the match reporter. This represented an extraordinary accomplishment that it is hard to see being repeated – from Second Division to European stage in a short period."
It's also interesting to pause a little on Malmö, who became the pioneering and only Swedish club to reach the final under English manager Bob Houghton.
The current fixture is a distant from that summit, closer perhaps to the earlier European encounter between Forest and Malmö in that era. Forest are riding high after beating Liverpool 3-0 at Anfield on Saturday, while Malmö haven't kicked a competitive ball since last month following the end of the Swedish league season. The general expectation is on the home team tonight.
Additional games on offer in this match tracking. The Glasgow club have already been lost to a Braga this season. Rangers are at the foot of the competition table at the half-way stage of the group stage with exactly zero. They badly want a victory if they are to have any chance of achieving a late surge for a knockout position.
Updates will continue with all the evening matches and provide the most recent results from the concluded fixtures, including the Birmingham match and the Dutch-Scottish clash.
