That’s me done for the night. Thanks for reading, and for your emails. Congratulations to Forest and Celtic and commiserations to Rangers, Aston Villa and Crystal Palace! Cheers!
This is what all those results do to the Europa League standings after 3/8 matches played in the league phase. Only three teams – Midtjylland, Braga and Lyon – retain a 100% record. Rangers are rock bottom, dead last of the 36 teams.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Midtjylland | 3 | 6 | 9 |
| 2 | Braga | 3 | 5 | 9 |
| 3 | Lyon | 3 | 5 | 9 |
| 4 | Dinamo Zagreb | 3 | 4 | 7 |
| 5 | Plzen | 3 | 4 | 7 |
| 6 | Freiburg | 3 | 3 | 7 |
| 7 | Ferencvaros | 3 | 2 | 7 |
| 8 | Brann | 3 | 3 | 6 |
| 9 | Celta Vigo | 3 | 2 | 6 |
| 10 | Aston Villa | 3 | 2 | 6 |
| 11 | Lille | 3 | 1 | 6 |
| 12 | Go Ahead Eagles | 3 | 1 | 6 |
| 13 | Young Boys | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| 14 | Fenerbahce | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| 15 | FC Porto | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| 16 | Real Betis | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| 17 | Nottm Forest | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| 18 | Bologna | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| 19 | Genk | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| 20 | PAOK | 3 | -1 | 4 |
| 21 | Celtic | 3 | -1 | 4 |
| 22 | Panathinaikos | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 23 | Roma | 3 | -1 | 3 |
| 24 | Basel | 3 | -1 | 3 |
| 25 | Feyenoord | 3 | -1 | 3 |
| 26 | Ludogorets | 3 | -2 | 3 |
| 27 | Sturm Graz | 3 | -2 | 3 |
| 28 | FCSB | 3 | -2 | 3 |
| 29 | Stuttgart | 3 | -2 | 3 |
| 30 | Red Star Belgrade | 3 | -3 | 1 |
| 31 | Malmo FF | 3 | -4 | 1 |
| 32 | Maccabi Tel-Aviv | 3 | -5 | 1 |
| 33 | Nice | 3 | -3 | 0 |
| 34 | Red Bull Salzburg | 3 | -4 | 0 |
| 35 | Utrecht | 3 | -4 | 0 |
| 36 | Rangers | 3 | -5 | 0 |
Sean Dyche speaks to TNT. He arrives for the interview in shorts of course – “the furnace is burning”, he explains. I have rarely heard his so gloriously gruff. He has been screaming on the touchline for the first time in a few months, so fair enough!
Marvellous. The players have been through a lot. We’ve had two days with the players, they have listened, crammed it all in, accepted it and they have made a good start. The defensive shape was good, patient. We played long with Igor [Jesus], who I thought was terrific, but also through the lines. We have the players to do that.
We [Dyche and the backroom staff Ian Woan and Steve Stone] are very proud to be here, with our past. But that goes away quickly. To get the clean sheet, the win for the crowd, get that belief back into them. It’s a good start, but it’s only a start.
We tried to take the shackles off Gibbs-White. I have known Morgan a few years. He’s a calming influence, we know he can play, he’s infectious, the glue that holds the team together.
A reminder of our match reports from the early kick-offs. Aston Villa were surprisingly beaten 2-1 at Go Ahead Eagles, while Rangers were pasted 3-0 by Norwegian side Brann.
Match report: Crystal Palace 0-1 AEK Larnaca
Match report: Celtic 2-1 Sturm Graz
Match report: Nottingham Forest 2-0 Porto
Europa League: full-time scores in the 8pm BST kick-offs
Roma beaten at home by Viktoria Plzen! Lille denied a 97th-minute equaliser against PAOK – Benjamin André bundled the ball home for the French side but was ruled offside by VAR, so the Greek side won 4-3!
Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White speaks to TNT, with some particularly barned comments aimed at Ange Postecoglou.
I feel like I can finally breathe. It’s been a difficult couple of months here, with all the changes, the bad performances. Thanks to the fans for sticking by us. The gaffer [Dyche] has come in and said ‘last season you had a real identity’ and he’s trying to recreate that.
I hope this is the turning point. It’s just one game, we’ve just had a few training session. Credit to the manager that’s come in. We have to keep maintaining that positive energy.
Full-time in the Conference League: Crystal Palace 0-1 AEK Larnaca
Glasner’s unbeaten run comes to an end with a shock defeat to the Cypriot side!
Full-time: Nottingham Forest 2-0 Porto
One Forest clean sheet (the first of the season). Two penalties. Three points. Sean Dyche.
Full-time: Celtic 2-1 Sturm Graz
A good comeback win for Celtic! Although Carter-Vickers seems to have picked up an injury just on the final whistle. That is three first-team players sidelined for Rodgers tonight: Carter-Vickers, Iheanacho and Alistair Johnston.
90+2 min: This is comfortable for Forest. The home fans are already singing ‘Sean Dyche’s red-and-white army!’
89 min: “I just wondered if there was anything more chilling in recent football memory than the pictures of Maranakis’s empty seat,” emails Chris Lyth.
Ha, it’s true. Although I think the empty seat tonight is the Forest owner’s attempt to beat the traffic. It says ‘a job well done’ rather than ‘Ange, I’m gonna sack you in around 18 minutes’
87 min: As you might expect against 10 men, Celtic are looking comfortable against Sturm Graz. But their 2-1 lead is still a slender one. It is not beyond them to chuck one in.
85 min: Things are hotting up in Lille, with former Rangers striker Hamza Igamane getting two goals for the French side against PAOK. It’s currently 4-3 to the Greek side, with just a few minutes remaining.
83 min: A penny for the thoughts of Ange Postecoglou. He will be watching this, wondering how this Forest side lost to Swansea, Sunderland and Midtjylland, among others under his brief reign.
81 min: From what I have seen from this Forest-Porto game, when I haven’t been flicking around the other games, the Portuguese side have been very poor. I know the City Ground is rocking with a new manager bounce, but considering they have won all but one of their matches this season, they have been poor here.
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GOAL! Nottingham Forest 2-0 Porto (Igor Jesus 77)
Having scored a first-half penalty, you would expect Gibbs-White to step up again. But Igor Jesus will take the spot kick, and converts with ease, slotting it down the middle with Diogo Costa diving to his left! Sean Dyche in dreamland!
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Penalty to Nottingham Forest!
Savona was initially booked by the referee for diving, but replays show that the Forest substitute was actually clipped inside Porto’s box. VAR intervenes, sends the referee to the monitor and the decision is reversed! Savona’s booking is cancelled and Forest have their second penalty of the night!
72 min: I realised I never got back to you with Jan Bednarek’s age. He is still in his 20s – 29! It feels like the Polish defender has been around since about 2004.
Updated
Crystal Palace are 1-0 down AEK Larnaca in Conference League!
Riad Bajic has got the goal to give the Cypriot side a shock lead at Selhurst Park!
RED CARD! Sturm Graz down to 10 men against Celtic!
Chukwuani sees red for a high foot on Callum McGregor in midfield. The referee issues a straight red for the challenge. I’m probably in the minority in thinking that that is a little harsh on the Sturm Graz man – McGregor came into the 50/50 with much more force but won the ball, and Chukwuani just clumsily dangled his foot, with his studs finding McGregor’s shin. I can see why it’s a sending off, but the little smile from McGregor when he saw the red in the referee’s hand tells a little story.
67 min: Feyenoord have also turned it around against Panathinaikos! Algerian international Anis Hadj-Moussa has sold one almighty dummy and curled a finish into the far corner to give the Dutch side a 2-1 lead!
GOAL! Celtic 2-1 Sturm Graz (Nygren 64)
Two goals in three minutes! Nygren has missed a couple of chances tonight but he makes no mistake in nodding in from another Celtic corner! Celtic have turned this one around!
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GOAL! Celtic 1-1 Sturm Graz (Scales 61)
Celtic are level! A quick corner catches the Austrian side unawares and a low cross finds Scales on the six-yard box, with the centre-back turning a tidy finish into the far corner. Parkhead erupts!
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57 min: A sluggish start to the second half for Porto, who are struggling in particular with Ndoye down Forest’s right wing. Porto manager Francesco Farioli has seen enough and is preparing three substitutions. Veiga, Fernandes and Mora coming on, Varela and former Norwich forward Borja Sainz are among those being hooked.
55 min: Celtic go close! An inch-perfect through ball from Scales at the back finds Nygren, who can’t convert a header from six yards out. The only issue with the ball was that it was a little too ‘straight’ but Nygren completely misjudged the connection, the ball bouncing off his dome at a disgusting angle, as though he had a Toblerone on top of his head.
Peeeeeeeep!
We’re back underway for the second halves in our 8pm kick-offs.
Porto fans, can you tell me why Rodrigo Mora is on the bench? He’s the next big thing, apparently, and this is the first time this season that the Portuguese club have trailed.
Half-time reading:
Half-time scores in the Conference League
Palace are being held by AEK Larnaca, the Cypriot side!
Half-time scores from around the grounds
Half-time: Nottingham Forest 1-0 Porto
Morgan Gibbs-White has scored the first goal of the Sean Dyche era, from the penalty spot.
Half-time: Celtic 0-1 Sturm Graz
The Scottish side trail to that fine Tomi Horvat goal, which is one of the best goals I’ve seen live this season.
44 min: A shocking first half for Lille, who find themselves 3-0 down at home to Greek club PAOK. Giannis Konstantelias, voted the Greek player of last season, has scored the latest goal for the visitors, cutting inside on his right foot and squeezing a finish inside the near post.
42 min: Celtic are really ramping it up, as they search for an equaliser against Sturm Graz. Sebastian Tounekti has turned his marker inside out on the left wing, and the Tunisia international sends a searching cross across the face of goal, with no Celtic player able to get onto the end of it. Rodgers’ side might be 1-0 down, but they are right in this.
40 min: Pop quiz, how is Jan Bednarek? The former Southampton defender, now of Porto.
37 min: Given their record this season, it is not a surprise to see Porto coming back into this game against Porto. Alan Varela zings a swirling, dipping shot from 30 yards out towards the far corner, which nearly deceives Sels in the Forest goal, but the Belgian gets his fingertips to the ball, tipping wide.
34 min: I have only two eyes and many screens to glean, so I missed Viktoria Plzen’s opening goal against Roma. Fear not, reader Kári Tulinius caught it, and has emailed in a fine description of what sounds like a fine goal.
“Prince Kwabena Adu of Viktoria Plzen, who Guardian readers with long memories will remember from the Next Generation 2020 feature, scored an absolute beauty against Roma. For the first, he ran towards goal from the left wing, going past two or three defenders and banging it in past Mile Svilar.”
Updated
32 min: That scare has jolted Celtic into gear, as they try to find an equaliser. Tierney does well to reach the byline and his cross eventually finds Engels, who heads at goal … cleared off the line by Sturm Graz’s Emanuel Aiwu. It remains 1-0 to the Austrian side.
30 min: Sturm Graz should be 2-0 up at Celtic, as Karic has the freedom of the left wing to canter into the penalty area, cuts the ball back to the unmarked Otar Kiteishvili but the No 10 could only ping a shot against the outside of the post!
GOAL! Roma 0-2 Viktoria Plzen (Cheick Souaré 22)
Two quickfire goals, the latter from Cheick Souaré, has left Roma reeling! The Italian side are just one point off the top of Serie A at the moment but look well off the pace here, as Cheick Souaré scores another long-range scorcher, his low shot finding the far corner from 25 yards out to double Viktoria Plzen’s lead.
24 min: More bad news for Celtic, with Alistair Johnston pulling up. That looks like a recurrence of his hamstring injury. This was the Canadian’s first game since August and now he looks set for another spell on the sidelines. Colby Donovan, his replacement, isn’t quite ready to come on yet, so Celtic are going to have to play with 10 men for a short while!
Iheanacho has also had to be replaced, so more problems for Rodgers.
Updated
GOAL! Nottingham Forest 1-0 Porto (Gibbs-White 19 pen)
Gibbs-White scores his first ever European goal, sending Diogo Costa the wrong way! The City Ground absolutely erupts, but Sean Dyche is a picture of calm on the sidelines. As though he planned all this. In the stands, the spectacled Evangelos Marinakis calmly claps.
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Penalty to Forest! Handball!
Jan Bednarek, the former Southampton centre-back, is penalised and the Porto defender can’t really have any complaints!
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GOAL! Celtic 0-1 Sturm Graz (Tomi Horvat 15)
WHAT. A. GOAL! Sturm Graz take the lead through a sensational strike from Tomi Horvat! The ball breaks loose in midfield and the Slovenian pounces on it, before curling an outrageous pearler into the top corner from 30 yards out. Schmeichel no chance! Celtic are stunned!
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10 min: Forest are dominating the ball against Porto. It will be a fascinating game and very intruiging to see how strong the visitors are here, given they have won all but one of their matches this season. The only game they haven’t was a 0-0 draw with José Mourinho’s Benfica a couple of weeks ago. This season Porto have scored 26 goals in all competitions and conceded just two. How will they go against a Premier League side currently languishing in the relegation zone?
GOAL! Celta Vigo 1-0 Nice (Iago Aspas 3)
Iago Aspas might be 38 but he knows where the goal is, and the Celta Vigo legend arrows a rocket into the top corner from 25 yards!
Updated
4 mins: I can report that Dyche has immediately reverted to a back four. None of that 3-5-2 woke nonsense.
(It’s 4-3-3 tonight, for the record).
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Sean Dyche has opted for a bright blue tracksuit for his first appearance in the Forest dugout. The manager is given a fine reception as he takes his place, one of their own. Dyche is a Forest man through and through, came through the academy, still lives in the city, this is the realisation of a dream.
Peeeeeeeeep!
All 10 of the 8pm BST kick-offs get underway. Here are the fixtures.
Here is a record of all the full-time scores from the early kick-offs. A great win for Ferencvaros, who came back from 1-0 to win in Austria after three goals in eight second-half minutes.
It’s a fine atmosphere at Parkhead as the players come out onto the pitch, Celtic fans belting out a rendition of ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’. The return of Alistair Johnston is a big plus, the right back’s first appearance since August.
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers speaks to TNT:
The real leaders that I work with normally turn pressure into progress. There’s no doubt that we’ve had setbacks this season but this is a wonderful opportunity to take a step forward.
We want to bring joy and happiness to supporters and the way we do that is perform. That’s what we want to do tonight.
It’s worth noting that the travelling Rangers fans still gave Danny Röhl a warm reception when the new manager went across to greet them, despite the defeat. I don’t think anyone holds the German accountable for that dreadful defeat to Brann.
Just a laugh, like, but I had a good chuckle at this.
OFFICIAL LEAKED
— Daniel Lamb (@lambydan) October 23, 2025
Match day schedule for the Forest squad against Porto. Sean Dyche's first game in charge. #NFFC pic.twitter.com/zp969LZifY
Of course, Danny Röhl is not the only new manager in the dugout this week. Nottingham Forest now have Sean Dyche running the show. It’s a clash of two former European champions at the City Ground, as Porto come to town. Here are our preview pieces.
Celtic v Sturm Graz team news
Celtic: Schmeichel, Johnston, Carter-Vickers, Scales, Tierney, Hatate, McGregor, Nygren, Engels, Iheanacho, Tounekti.
Subs: Sinisalo, Trusty, Balikwisha, Yang, McCowan, Kenny, Bernardo, Saracchi, Murray, Forrest, Donovan, Ralston.
Sturm Graz: Bignetti, Oermann, Aiwu, Lavalee, Karic, Stankovic, Chukwuani, Horvat, Kiteishvili, Rozga, Malone.
Subs: Wiener-Pucher, Khudyakov, Mitchell, Kayombo, Jatta, Beck, Malic, Hierlander, Geyrhofer, Grgic, Hodl.
Nottingham Forest v Porto team news
Forest: Sels, Williams, Milenkovic, Murillo, Zinchenko, Anderson, Douglas Luiz, Hudson-Odoi, Gibbs-White, Ndoye, Igor Jesus.
Subs: John Victor, Morato, Sangare, Kalimuendo, Dominguez, Yates, McAtee, Boly, Savona, Abbott, Willows, Blake.
Porto: Costa, Alberto Costa, Bednarek, Kiwior, Moura, Froholdt, Varela, Rosario, Pepe, Aghehowa, Sainz.
Subs: Claudio Ramos, Joao Costa, Stephen Eustaquio, William, Veiga, Sanusi, Prpic, Gul, Alarcon, Fernandes, Bras, Mora.
Full-time: Brann 3-0 Rangers
A miserable defeat for the Scottish side in Danny Röhl’s first game in charge. Gers are rock bottom of the standings, owing to their miserable goal difference. One shot on target tonight. Ouch.
Full-time: Go Ahead Eagles 2-1 Aston Villa
A famous win for the Dutch side! The runaway favourites for this year’s competition, Villa, have been beaten in the rain!
We’re into stoppage time at Go Ahead Eagles. Just two minutes for Villa to find an equaliser … Cash crosses to the back post towards Mings … the big defender rises highest but completely fails to make contact on the greasy ball. Go Ahead Eagles survive!
“Can I be the first of many to propose ‘Brann Flakes’ for tomorrow’s breakfast headlines?” emails Keith Buchanan.
That’s excellent, Keith.
GOAL! Brann 3-0 Rangers (Noah Holm 79)
A simple goal, as Noah Holm has all the time in the world to control a cross on the penalty spot and leather his shot past Jack Butland. It’s true that Röhl might not be fully chastised for this defeat, given he is only three days into the job, but this is not a very good look. All McCoist, Rangers legend and TNT co-commentator tonight, started the night in optimistic mood, but is struggling to make sense of this performance now. That will be three defeats from three games in the Europa League for Rangers, who are also struggling domestically, sixth in the table and hosting Kilmarnock on Sunday.
Buendia misses the penalty for Villa! Go Ahead Eagles still lead 2-1!
In a swirling wind, Buendia opts to try and find the top corner and gets it all wrong, blazing the ball over the bar! A dreadful effort and the stadium erupts! The camera cuts to Emery and Villa fans in the away end, all of whom are cursing and gesturing towards the Argentinian. Ooooof.
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Penalty to Villa!
It’s a soft one, Cash’s cross clearly catches the hand of Dean James but there was nothing the Indonesia international could do about it, just a yard or two away from the Villa right back when he kicked it.
Emery has brought a lot of the big hitters off the bench – Rogers, McGinn, Cash, Kamara – as they try to get an equaliser. Rogers has just hit the outside of Go Ahead Eagles’ post through a cross/shot from an acute angle. Maatsen has just flashed a dangerous low cross across the face of goal. Villa are getting closer.
GOAL! Go Ahead Eagles 2-1 Aston Villa (Deijl 61)
Go Ahead Eagles come from behind to lead! It’s the right back and captain Mats Deijl with the goal for the Dutch side, latching onto a fine lofted through ball and finishing delicately over Martínez with a little dink! Unai Emery, half-hiding in his anorak, looks absolutely miserable on the sidelined as he is getting pelted by the rain.
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Rangers have an immediate chance to get a goal back, but Mikey Moore, the teenager on loan from Tottenham, blazes his effort over the bar from the penalty spot! He really should have hit the target after a fine cross from Meghoma.
GOAL! Brann 2-0 Rangers (Sorensen 56)
Bad to worse for Rangers and Röhl! Awful marking from a set piece as Jacob Sorensen bundles the ball into the net, doubling Brann’s lead! This is woeful stuff from the Scottish side.
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Villa are pushing for another go-ahead goal at Go Ahead Eagles. Buendia looks full of confidence following his weekend winner against Spurs, but overall they are finding things a bit tricky in windy and wet conditions.
Villa are wearing their third kit for the first time, a blue and white number, which feels all wrong. The club describes the design as “paying homage to the rich history and unique architecture of Villa Park, drawing direct inspiration from the signature stained glass windows that have adorned the stadium since it first opened in 1897”.
This is a Europa League blog, but this is what is happening in the Conference League tonight. In the early kick-offs, Aberdeen are getting a pasting at AEK Athens and Shelbourne are involved in a goalless draw in North Macedonia.
Crystal Palace face Cypriot side AEK Larnaca at Selhurst Park later on. The Lincoln Red Imps play Lech Poznan and Shamrock Rovers host Slovenian side Celje.
Elsewhere, Aston Villa have been pegged back to 1-1 by Dutch side Go Ahead Eagles after Evann Guessand scored his first goal for Unai Emery’s side, capitalising on a rebound after some very questionable goalkeeping from Jari De Busser, who failed to snaffle a Jadon Sancho cross.
Go Ahead Eagles equalised through a deflected strike from Mathis Suray after a clever set-piece play.
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Half-time scores from the early kick-offs
Appointed only on Monday, this is Danny Röhl’s first game in charge of Rangers, who are 1-0 down at half-time to Norwegian side Brann. Emil Kornvig scored a tap-in at teh back post after a deflected cross.
Not a great start for the German manager, although there is 45 minutes for Rangers to rectify things. Here is some background to Röhl’s appointment this week, courtesy of Ewan Murray.
Preamble
Breaking to your loved ones that a third consecutive night of continental football is beckoning – when there are chores to do, Celebrity Traitors to watch and children to put to bed – but the Europa League isn’t going to watch itself, and where else would you get written updates on Braga v Red Star Belgrade?*
*I am attempting to cover a total of 18 matches of football with just two typing hands, so please be kind if I miss the odd goal.
The Europa League may have been usurped in the hipster stakes by the Conference League but it remains arguably the most interesting European club competition, from which the eventual victors could come from all over the continent.
We join the evening at the mid-way point in the early 5.45pm BST kick off – we’ll bring you the half-time scores from those imminently – before gearing up for the 8pm BST kick-offs, which are below.
Let’s get it!
