Live Updates
Major Moments
- Full-time: Young Boys 1-2 Aston Villa
- Goal scored!: Joël Monteiro scores for Young Boys at 90+1
- Game over: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
- Lineups announced: Nottingham Forest v Malmö teams!
- Lineups revealed: Starting XI for Rangers vs Braga
- Preamble
Latest Standings
These early results greatly affect the competition standings. The Glasgow side rose to the 17th spot and are back in the safety of qualification spots.
| Rank | Team | Matches | Goal Difference | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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
The English side clung on for the victory and moved level on points with table-toppers Midtjylland at the peak of the league phase standings. Villa made hard work of that in the final stages.
90+1: Monteiro Pulls One Back
Young Boys gave themselves a hope through Monteiro but had just stoppage time to find an equaliser!
Full-time: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
A significant and important win for the Glasgow side. Even after falling 1-0 down, Celtic fought back with goals from Yang, Hatate and Benjamin Nygren.
Match Updates
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 sparked furious scenes in the away end, with Swiss fans clashing with police. Physical altercations occurred and objects thrown at both the officers and toward the field, with Malen himself being caught on the head by a drinking vessel.
Starting XI Revealed
Forest: John Victor, The defender, Milenkovic, Murillo, Morato, The midfielder, Sangare, Dominguez, McAtee, The winger, Kalimuendo.
Malmö FF: Ellborg, The defender, The center-back, Duric, Rosler, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, The midfielder, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, The striker.
Official: The German referee (from Germany)
Starting Players
Rangers: The goalkeeper, Tavernier, The center-back, The defender, The full-back, The midfielder, The midfielder, Raskin, The attacker, Danilo, The striker.
Braga: Hornicek, Gomez, Lagerbielke, Niakate, Arrey-Mbi, The midfielder, Joao Moutinho, Gorby, The attacker, Navarro, Horta.
Match official: Allard Lindhout (from Netherlands)
Historical Context
Nottingham Forest v Malmö and past encounters. The two clubs have a historical link, also competing in Forest's most recent continental tour in the 1995-96 Uefa Cup, but it is the continental championship 46 years ago that entwines these two together, with Britain's first £1m player Francis scoring the winner 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 colour and celebration, stood for a moment on a bench calmly observing the celebrations," commented the writer. Theirs has been an extraordinary accomplishment that it is difficult to imagine happening again – from the lower league to European football in three seasons."
It's also interesting to pause a little on Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Swedish club to reach the final under manager Houghton.
This match is a distant from that pinnacle, closer perhaps to the Uefa Cup first-round tie between Forest and Malmö in the mid-nineties. Forest are riding high after beating Liverpool 3-0 at Liverpool's home on Saturday, while Malmö have been inactive since early November following the conclusion of their domestic campaign. The general expectation is on the home team tonight.
Numerous other matches on offer in this clockwatch. Rangers have already been beaten by a Braga this season. Rangers are at the foot of the 36-team Europa League standings at the half-way stage of the initial phase with exactly zero. They badly want a victory if they are to have any opportunity for a recovery for a knockout position.
Updates will continue with all the late games and provide the most recent results from the previous games, including Aston Villa v Young Boys and Feyenoord v Celtic.
