Nottingham Forest v Malmö, Rangers vs Braga, and Additional – Europa League Updates
Live Updates
Important Updates
- Match ended: Young Boys 1-2 Aston Villa
- Goal scored!: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
- Game over: Celtic 3-1 Feyenoord
- Starting XI: Nottingham Forest v Malmö teams!
- Starting players: Rangers and Braga lineups
- Preamble
League Position
These early results strongly influence the league rankings. Celtic have moved up to the 17th spot and returned to the secure playoff places.
| Rank | Team | P | Goal Difference | 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 front-runners Midtjylland at the summit of the group rankings. The Birmingham club made hard work of that during the closing minutes.
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
The Swiss side created a chance through Monteiro but were left with four more minutes to score the leveler!
Celtic Secure Victory
A famous and valuable win for the Celtic. Even after falling 1-0 down, Celtic responded strongly with goals from the Korean forward, the Japanese midfielder and Nygren.
Match Updates
The Birmingham side, at the same time, maintained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with approximately five minutes left at the stadium.
The Dutch forward's brace there triggered intense reactions in the visitors' section, with visiting fans confronting police. Punches were thrown and objects thrown at both the police and onto the pitch, with the player being caught on the head by a throwable object.
Lineups: Forest vs Malmö
Nottingham Forest: The goalkeeper, The defender, Milenkovic, Murillo, Morato, The midfielder, Sangare, The midfielder, The attacker, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
Malmö FF: Ellborg, Stryger Larsen, The center-back, Duric, Rosler, Haksabanovic, The midfielder, The midfielder, Bolin, The forward, Busanello.
Match official: Harm Osmers (from Germany)
Team News: Rangers v Braga
The Light Blues: Butland, Tavernier, Fernandez, Djiga, Aarons, Barron, Diomande, Raskin, The attacker, Danilo, Chermiti.
The Portuguese side: Hornicek, The defender, Lagerbielke, Niakate, The full-back, Zalazar, Moutinho, Gorby, Martinez, Navarro, Horta.
Referee: Allard Lindhout (from Netherlands)
Match Background
Nottingham Forest v Malmö and historical connections. The both teams have a special connection, also facing each other in Forest's last European campaign in the mid-90s European competition, but it is the European Cup final from 1979 that entwines these two together, with the record-breaking signing Francis netting the decisive goal of a rather dull championship game to claim legendary status for the the English club.
"The legendary management duo, unassuming and low-key amid all the festivities and cheers, stood for a moment on a bench calmly observing the celebrations," wrote the match reporter. This represented an extraordinary accomplishment that it is unlikely to be replicated – from second tier to European stage in a short period."
Worth mentioning to pause a little on Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Scandinavian side to reach the final under English manager Bob Houghton.
This match is a distant from that summit, closer perhaps to the earlier European encounter between Forest and Malmö in 1995-96. Forest are full of confidence 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 popular prediction is on the English side tonight.
Numerous other matches on offer in this clockwatch. Rangers have already been lost to a Braga this season. Rangers are last place of the league rankings at the half-way stage of the initial phase with precisely zero points. They urgently require a victory if they are to have any opportunity for a recovery for a playoff spot.
Updates will continue with all the evening matches and provide the current standings from the earlier matches, including Aston Villa v Young Boys and Feyenoord v Celtic.