Malmö vs Nottingham Forest, Rangers v Braga, and Additional – Europa League Coverage
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Key Events
- Full-time: Young Boys 1-2 Aston Villa
- Score!: Joël Monteiro scores for Young Boys at 90+1
- Game over: Celtic 3-1 Feyenoord
- Lineups announced: Forest and Malmö lineups
- Starting players: Rangers and Braga lineups
- Introduction
League Position
The opening scores have significant impact on the league rankings. Celtic climbed to the 17th spot and regained position in the secure playoff places.
| Pos | Team | P | 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 victory and moved level on points with leaders Midtjylland at the peak of the competition table. Villa struggled of that in the final stages.
90+1: Monteiro Pulls One Back
Young Boys earned a chance through Monteiro but had just four more minutes to get the tying goal!
Celtic Secure Victory
A memorable and crucial win for the Scottish team. Despite going 1-0 down, Celtic fought back with goals from Yang, Reo Hatate and Benjamin Nygren.
Game Developments
The Birmingham side, at the same time, retained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with approximately five minutes left at their home ground.
The Dutch forward's brace there triggered intense reactions in the away end, with Young Boys supporters clashing with police. Punches were thrown and objects thrown at both the officers and onto the pitch, with the player being hit on the head by a throwable object.
Lineups: Forest vs Malmö
Forest: John Victor, Abbott, Milenkovic, The defender, Morato, Yates, The defensive midfielder, Dominguez, McAtee, The winger, Kalimuendo.
The Swedish side: Ellborg, The defender, Jansson, Duric, The full-back, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, Skogmar, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.
Official: Harm Osmers (from Germany)
Team News: Rangers v Braga
The Glasgow side: Butland, Tavernier, Fernandez, The defender, Aarons, The midfielder, Diomande, The midfielder, Gassama, Danilo, Chermiti.
The Portuguese side: The goalkeeper, The defender, Lagerbielke, Niakate, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, Moutinho, Gorby, Martinez, Navarro, Horta.
Official: Allard Lindhout (Holland)
Historical Context
Forest vs Malmö and memories of 1979. The two clubs have a special connection, also meeting in Forest's previous European adventure in the mid-90s European competition, but it is the continental championship from 1979 that entwines these two together, with the groundbreaking transfer Trevor Francis scoring the winner of a rather dull championship game to secure historic victory for the Forest supporters.
"The legendary management duo, modestly dressed amid all the excitement and joy, stood for a moment on a bench serenely viewing the mafficking," commented the writer. Theirs has been an outstanding achievement that it is difficult to imagine happening again – from Second Division to European stage in just three years."
It's also interesting to reflect upon Malmö, who became the initial and final Scandinavian side to advance to the ultimate game under manager Houghton.
Tonight's game is a distant from that pinnacle, closer perhaps to the Uefa Cup first-round tie between Forest and Malmö in 1995-96. Forest are absolutely buzzing after beating Liverpool 3-0 at the famous ground on Saturday, while Malmö haven't played officially since last month following the completion of Allsvenskan. The general expectation is on the English side tonight.
Plenty of other action on offer in this live coverage. The Glasgow club have already been beaten by a European rival this season. Rangers are at the foot of the 36-team Europa League standings at the half-way stage of the group stage with precisely zero points. They desperately need a victory if they are to have any opportunity for a late surge for a qualification place.
Updates will continue with all the evening matches and provide the most recent results from the previous games, including Aston Villa v Young Boys and the Dutch-Scottish clash.
