The opening scores strongly influence the Europa League table. The Glasgow side rose to the 17th spot and are back in the secure qualification spots.
| Rank | Side | P | Goal Difference | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 league phase standings. The Birmingham club made hard work of that during the closing minutes.
Young Boys gave themselves a lifeline through Monteiro but only have stoppage time to get the tying goal!
A famous and valuable win for the Scottish team. Despite going 1-0 down, Celtic fought back with goals from Yang Hyun-jun, the Japanese midfielder and the Swedish striker.
Villa, meanwhile, held onto a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with roughly 300 seconds left at their home ground.
The Dutch forward's brace there sparked furious scenes in the opposition stands, with Young Boys supporters confronting police. Physical altercations occurred and items launched at both the police and toward the field, with Malen himself being hit on the head by a plastic cup.
Nottingham Forest: The goalkeeper, Abbott, Milenkovic, Murillo, Morato, Yates, Sangare, Dominguez, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
Malmö: Ellborg, The defender, The center-back, The defender, The full-back, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, Skogmar, The attacker, The forward, Busanello.
Match official: Harm Osmers (from Germany)
The Glasgow side: Butland, Tavernier, Fernandez, Djiga, The full-back, Barron, The midfielder, Raskin, Gassama, Danilo, Chermiti.
The Arsenalistas: The goalkeeper, Gomez, Lagerbielke, The defender, Arrey-Mbi, The midfielder, Moutinho, Gorby, The attacker, Navarro, The striker.
Match official: Lindhout (Holland)
Forest vs Malmö and historical connections. The two clubs have a unique relationship, also facing each other in Forest's last European campaign in the mid-90s European competition, but it is the continental championship 46 years ago that entwines these two together, with the groundbreaking transfer Francis heading the only goal of a pretty miserable final to secure historic victory for the red half of Nottingham.
"The legendary management duo, unassuming and low-key amid all the colour and celebration, stood for a moment on a bench serenely viewing the revelry," noted the journalist. This represented an extraordinary accomplishment that it is hard to see being repeated – from Second Division to European stage in three seasons."
One should note to consider Malmö, who became the initial and final Swedish club to make the championship match under manager Houghton.
This match is a distant from that pinnacle, closer perhaps to the previous continental meeting between Forest and Malmö in 1995-96. Forest are full of confidence after thrashing Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday, while Malmö haven't played officially since 9 November following the conclusion of their domestic campaign. The smart money is on the home team tonight.
Numerous other matches on offer in this live coverage. 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 half-way stage of the group stage with no points whatsoever. They urgently require a victory if they are to have any hope of making a comeback for a qualification place.
Updates will continue with all nine of the 8pm kick-offs and provide the current standings from the previous games, including Villa vs Young Boys and the Dutch-Scottish clash.
