These early results strongly influence the Europa League table. Celtic have moved up to 17th place and returned to the secure knockout positions.
| Pos | Side | 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 |
Aston Villa secured for the victory and became tied on points with front-runners Midtjylland at the top of the competition table. The English side had difficulty of that during the closing minutes.
The Swiss side created a hope through Monteiro but had just additional time to get the tying goal!
A significant and important win for the Celtic. Despite going 1-0 down, Celtic fought back with goals from Yang, Hatate and Benjamin Nygren.
Aston Villa, at the same time, held onto a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with around five minutes left at the stadium.
The Dutch forward's brace there triggered intense reactions in the visitors' section, with Young Boys supporters engaging with police. Physical altercations occurred and items launched at both the officers and onto the pitch, with the goalscorer being hit on the head by a drinking vessel.
Forest: John Victor, The defender, Milenkovic, Murillo, Morato, Yates, The defensive midfielder, The midfielder, The attacker, The winger, The striker.
Malmö FF: The goalkeeper, Stryger Larsen, Jansson, Duric, Rosler, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, Skogmar, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, Busanello.
Official: Osmers (from Germany)
The Glasgow side: The goalkeeper, Tavernier, Fernandez, Djiga, The full-back, Barron, Diomande, Raskin, The attacker, Danilo, The striker.
The Portuguese side: The goalkeeper, Gomez, Lagerbielke, The defender, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, Moutinho, The midfielder, Martinez, Navarro, Horta.
Official: Allard Lindhout (from Netherlands)
Forest vs Malmö and memories of 1979. The two clubs have a special connection, also meeting in Forest's most recent continental tour in the 1995-96 Uefa Cup, but it is the European Cup final 46 years ago that links these clubs, with Britain's first £1m player the English forward scoring the winner of a pretty miserable final to secure historic victory for the red half of Nottingham.
"The legendary management duo, modestly dressed amid all the excitement and joy, stood for a moment on a bench calmly observing the revelry," commented the writer. Their achievement was an outstanding achievement that it is difficult to imagine happening again – from second tier to European football in a short period."
Worth mentioning to pause a little on Malmö, who became the initial and final Swedish club to reach the final under English manager Bob Houghton.
The current fixture is a very different to that peak, closer perhaps to the previous continental meeting between Forest and Malmö in the mid-nineties. Forest are absolutely buzzing after defeating Liverpool convincingly at the famous ground on Saturday, while Malmö haven't played officially since last month following the conclusion of their domestic campaign. The smart money is on the home team tonight.
Plenty of other action on offer in this live coverage. The Scottish side have already been defeated by a European rival this season. Rangers are last place of the competition table at the half-way stage of the league phase with precisely zero points. They badly want a victory if they are to have any opportunity for a late surge for a playoff spot.
We'll keep you up to date with all the evening matches and provide the latest scores from the concluded fixtures, including the Birmingham match and the Dutch-Scottish clash.
A health enthusiast and writer passionate about sharing evidence-based wellness advice and personal health journeys.
