These early results have significant impact on the Europa League table. The Glasgow side rose to 17th position and returned to the secure playoff places.
| Rank | Club | 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 |
Aston Villa secured for the victory and moved level on points with table-toppers Midtjylland at the peak of the group rankings. The English side had difficulty of that in the final stages.
Young Boys earned a lifeline through Monteiro but were left with four more minutes to find an equaliser!
A significant and important win for the Scottish team. Even after falling 1-0 down, Celtic fought back with goals from the Korean forward, Hatate and the Swedish striker.
Aston Villa, concurrently, held onto a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with around five minutes left at Villa Park.
The Dutch forward's brace there triggered intense reactions in the opposition stands, with Young Boys supporters engaging with police. Scuffles broke out and objects thrown at both the officers and at the playing surface, with Malen himself being hit on the head by a plastic cup.
Nottingham Forest: Victor, Abbott, Milenkovic, Murillo, The full-back, The midfielder, Sangare, Dominguez, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
Malmö: Ellborg, Stryger Larsen, Jansson, Duric, The full-back, The midfielder, Johnsen, The midfielder, Bolin, Gudjohnsen, The striker.
Match official: Harm Osmers (Germany)
The Glasgow side: Butland, Tavernier, The center-back, Djiga, Aarons, The midfielder, The midfielder, The midfielder, Gassama, Danilo, Chermiti.
Braga: The goalkeeper, Gomez, The center-back, Niakate, The full-back, Zalazar, The experienced midfielder, Gorby, The attacker, Navarro, Ricardo Horta.
Match official: Allard Lindhout (Netherlands)
Nottingham Forest v Malmö and past encounters. The two clubs have a unique relationship, also competing in Forest's most recent continental tour in the UEFA Cup of 1995-96, but it is the European Cup final 46 years ago that connects these teams, with Britain's first £1m player the English forward heading the only goal of a rather dull championship game to clinch eternal glory for the Forest supporters.
"Brian Clough and Peter Taylor, modestly dressed amid all the festivities and cheers, stood for a moment on a bench quietly watching the celebrations," commented the writer. This represented an remarkable feat that it is difficult to imagine happening again – from the lower league to European football in a short period."
It's also interesting to reflect upon Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Scandinavian side to reach the final under British coach Houghton.
This match is a very different to that summit, closer perhaps to the earlier European encounter between Forest and Malmö in that era. Forest are full of confidence after defeating Liverpool convincingly at Anfield on Saturday, while Malmö haven't played officially since early November following the completion of Allsvenskan. The smart money is on the Forest tonight.
Plenty of other action on offer in this match tracking. The Scottish side have already been beaten by a Braga this season. Rangers are at the foot of the 36-team Europa League standings at the midpoint of the group stage with no points whatsoever. They urgently require a victory if they are to have any chance of achieving a late surge for a knockout position.
Coverage will persist with all the late games and provide the most recent results from the previous games, including the Birmingham match and the Dutch-Scottish clash.
A tech journalist with over a decade of experience covering digital innovations and consumer electronics.
