Nottingham Forest v Malmö, Rangers v Braga, and Additional – Europa League Coverage
Match Coverage
Major Moments
- Final whistle: Young Boys 1-2 Aston Villa
- Goal scored!: Joël Monteiro scores for Young Boys at 90+1
- Game over: Feyenoord defeated 1-3 by Celtic
- Team news: Starting players for Forest vs Malmö
- Team news: Rangers v Braga teams!
- Preamble
Latest Standings
These early results strongly influence the league rankings. Celtic have moved up to 17th place and regained position in the protected playoff places.
| Pos | Club | P | 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 |
Match Result: Villa 2-1 Young Boys
The English side clung on for the victory and became tied on points with table-toppers Midtjylland at the top of the group rankings. The English side made hard work of that during the closing minutes.
90+1: Monteiro Pulls One Back
The Swiss side created a lifeline through Monteiro but had just four more minutes to get the tying goal!
Celtic Secure Victory
A famous and valuable win for the Glasgow side. Despite going 1-0 down, Celtic roared back with goals from the Korean forward, Hatate and the Swedish striker.
Game Developments
The Birmingham side, concurrently, maintained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with approximately five minutes left at their home ground.
Malen's double there sparked furious scenes in the visitors' section, with Young Boys supporters clashing with police. Scuffles broke out and items launched at both the authorities and toward the field, with Malen himself being struck in the head by a plastic cup.
Lineups: Forest vs Malmö
Nottingham Forest: Victor, Abbott, Milenkovic, The defender, Morato, The midfielder, Sangare, Dominguez, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
Malmö: Ellborg, Stryger Larsen, The center-back, Duric, The full-back, The midfielder, The midfielder, The midfielder, The attacker, Gudjohnsen, The striker.
Referee: Harm Osmers (Germany)
Team News: Rangers v Braga
The Light Blues: The goalkeeper, Tavernier, Fernandez, Djiga, Aarons, Barron, Diomande, Raskin, Gassama, Danilo, Chermiti.
The Portuguese side: Hornicek, Gomez, Lagerbielke, Niakate, The full-back, Zalazar, The experienced midfielder, Gorby, Martinez, Navarro, Ricardo Horta.
Match official: Allard Lindhout (Holland)
Historical Context
Nottingham Forest v Malmö and memories of 1979. The two clubs have a special connection, also competing in Forest's last European campaign in the UEFA Cup of 1995-96, but it is the continental championship decades past that connects these teams, with the record-breaking signing Trevor Francis scoring the winner of a pretty miserable final to claim legendary status for the red half of Nottingham.
"Brian Clough and Peter Taylor, grey-sweatered and anonymous amid all the colour and celebration, stood for a moment on a bench serenely viewing the revelry," commented the writer. Their achievement was an remarkable feat that it is unlikely to be replicated – from the lower league to European stage in a short period."
One should note to pause a little on Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Nordic team to make the championship match under British coach Houghton.
Tonight's game is a very different to that summit, closer perhaps to the earlier European encounter between Forest and Malmö in that era. Forest are riding high after defeating Liverpool convincingly at Liverpool's home on Saturday, while Malmö haven't played officially since last month following the end of the Swedish league season. The popular prediction is on the Forest tonight.
Additional games on offer in this live coverage. Rangers have already been lost to a European rival this season. Rangers are last place of the league rankings at the midpoint of the group stage with exactly zero. They badly want a victory if they are to have any opportunity for a late surge for a playoff spot.
Coverage will persist with all nine of the 8pm kick-offs and provide the most recent results from the previous games, including the Birmingham match and the Dutch-Scottish clash.