Match report
Here’s Ben Fisher’s verdict from the City Ground. Thanks for joining me, it’s been fun. Until next time …
Here’s Ed Aarons’ report from Lublin on Palace’s earlier victory …
And a roundup of the early Europa League action.
Here’s Ange Postecoglou: “Really disappointing. Really, really poor – the goals we conceded … key moments let us down, we haven’t shown as much desire as the opposition. It’s been the story of the last few games.” Did refereeing decisions play a part? “We allowed them to play a part, it shouldn’t have come to that. We’re not winning games, which is what we need to do.
“I heard [the chants at the end] – they’re fans, they want to see their team win. Does it surprise me? Nothing surprises me in football. We’ve just got to keep our heads up. I’ve not seen anything to suggest the players are not trying to take my ideas on board, but we’re not delivering in key moments.”
Conference League late results
Aberdeen 2-3 Shakhtar Donetsk
AEK Larnaca 4-0 AZ Alkmaar
Celje 3-1 AEK Athens
Fiorentina 2-0 Sigma Olomouc
Legia Warsaw 0-1 Samsunspor
Rakow 2-0 Univ. Craiova
Shelbourne 0-0 Häcken
Slovan Bratislava 1-2 Strasbourg
Sparta Prague 4-1 Shamrock Rovers
Europa League late results
Basel 2-0 Stuttgart
Celta Vigo 3-1 PAOK
Porto 2-1 Red Star
Feyenoord 0-2 Aston Villa
Genk 0-1 Ferencvaros
Lyon 2-0 Salzburg
Maccabi Tel Aviv 1-3 Dinamo Zagreb
Nottingham Forest 2-3 Midtjylland
Sturm Graz 2-1 Rangers
Full time: Nottingham Forest 2-3 Midtjylland
Forest have time to swing in a couple of dangerous crosses, but the visitors see it out for an impressive win. At full-time the boos ring out, following chants of “sacked in the morning” after Midtjylland’s winner. Six games without a win as Forest manager now for Big Ange.
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Full time: Feyenoord 0-2 Aston Villa
A job well done for Unai Emery’s side, who withstood first-half pressure before grabbing all three points with goals from Emi Buendía and John McGinn.
Full time: Aberdeen 2-3 Shakhtar Donetsk
Aberdeen scored the first and last goals of the game but were undone by three Shakhtar goals in a 20-minute spell either side of half-time.
Full time: Sturm Graz 2-1 Rangers
The positives: Rangers won the second half, after a dismal first 45 minutes. The negatives: they still lost the game.
GOAL! Nottm Forest 2-3 Midtjylland (Wood pen 91')
Chris Wood slots home the penalty, and there’s still three minutes for the hosts to rescue something – despite plenty of home fans heading for the exits straight after Byskov struck.
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Penalty for Forest! Anderson gets a kick on the ankle and after being invited to look at the monitor, the referee points to the spot.
GOAL! Nottingham Forest 1-3 Midtjylland (Byskov 88')
A bad night gets even worse for Ange Postecoglou. Here, the visitors mix things up by scoring from a Forest corner, breaking downfield before Valdemar Byskov sweeps home. There was certainly a case that Hudson-Odoi was fouled in the buildup, but the referee waved play on.
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Basel double their lead at home to Stuttgart, Moritz Broschinski finishing off a cross from Xherdan Shaqiri. At least it’s a reasonably short trip home for the away fans. In the Conference League, Slovenian upstarts Celje – who reached the quarter-finals last season – are 3-1 up at home to AEK Athens.
GOAL! Feyenoord 0-2 Aston Villa (McGinn 79')
It’s looking like a very happy return to Rotterdam for Villa. Donyell Malen bustles through on goal and while the keeper closes down his shot, it rebounds nicely for John McGinn to fire home.
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And again! Chris Wood sees a second goal disallowed after racing through and prodding into the far corner – but he’s a couple of yards offside.
Forest have the ball in the net, but Elliot Anderson was offside when he pounced on a rebound from Neco Williams’ shot and crossed for Wood to tap home. Still, Forest have the momentum …
Celta now lead PAOK 3-1, the excellently-named Williot Swedberg extending their lead. In the Conference League, AZ Alkmaar are 3-0 down at AEK Larnaca, having been down to 10 men since the second minute.
Buendía and Watkins head off in Rotterdam, replaced by Donyell Malen and young defender Lamarae Bogarde. A big change for Forest: Igor Jesus is going off, with Chris Wood coming on.
I suppose one upside of Aston Villa’s PSR concerns this summer is that they’ve been forced to use Emi Buendía, a player they had left in a cupboard somewhere but who is now reminding Unai Emery he’s quite a decent footballer.
GOAL! Aberdeen 2-3 Shakhtar (Devlin 69')
Maybe Jimmy Thelin’s goose isn’t entirely cooked yet – Nicky Devlin has headed home to get Aberdeen back in the game.
Forest have started to find some attacking rhythm, and overcome another nervous moment from a Midtjylland corner. They still trail though, with the clock ticking towards 70 minutes.
In the Conference League, Shamrock Rovers are 3-0 down in an admittedly tough away day at Sparta Prague – but Shelbourne are holding Häcken at home, where it’s still goalless.
Aberdeen now trail 3-1 to Shakhtar, Pedro Henrique extending the visitors’ lead. Elsewhere, Borja Iglesias has put my Europa League dark horses, Celta Vigo, 2-1 up against Greece’s PAOK.
GOAL! Feyenoord 0-1 Aston Villa (Buendía 62')
It had been coming since the restart and now Villa lead! It’s their comeback kid, Emi Buendía, who finishes clinically from the edge of the area after a scrappy passage of play. That came moments after a decent penalty shout was waved away.
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A big chance for Aston Villa, with Evann Guessand unable to turn home Ian Maatsen’s dangerous low cross from the left. At the City Ground, Forest just about deal with a string of Midtjylland corners before Igor Jesus heads wide at the other end.
GOAL! Aberdeen 1-2 Shakhtar (Ferreira 54')
Shakhtar have turned it round to lead at Pittodrie, with Lucas Ferreira climbing to head home a cross at the far post. On the touchline, visiting manager Arda Turan looks very pleased with his side’s fightback.
GOAL! Sturm Graz 2-1 Rangers (Gassama 47')
A lifeline for Rangers in Austria as Djeidi Gassama cuts inside two defenders and smashes home at the near post. The away fans – many of whom are holding banners with Russell Martin’s face crossed out – celebrate tentatively.
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“Why are there so many more British and Irish players playing in Europe these days?” asks John Brennan. “By my reckoning the following continental teams have someone in their squad tonight: Bologna, Fenerbahce, Roma, Ferencvaros, Lyon, Dinamo Zagreb & Strasbourg. When did this start happening?”
It’s what I’m minded to call the Jude Bellingham effect – as the Premier League’s financial domination has continued to grow, more players in the UK and Ireland can see a clearer path to first-team football – and possible international recognition – by moving overseas. It’s broadly a positive thing, I would venture.
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Conference League half-times:
Aberdeen 1-1 Shakhtar Donetsk
AEK Larnaca 1-0 AZ Alkmaar
Celje 1-1 AEK Athens
Fiorentina 1-0 Sigma Olomouc
Legia Warsaw 0-1 Samsunspor
Rakow 0-0 Univ. Craiova
Shelbourne 0-0 Häcken
Slovan Bratislava 0-2 Strasbourg
Sparta Prague 2-0 Shamrock Rovers
Half time: Aberdeen 1-1 Shakhtar Donetsk
All square at the break, Jesper Karlsson’s early penalty cancelled out by Yehor Nazaryna near the end of the first half.
Europa League half-times:
Basel 1-0 Stuttgart
Celta Vigo 1-1 PAOK
Porto 1-1 Red Star
Feyenoord 0-0 Aston Villa
Genk 0-1 Ferencvaros
Lyon 1-0 Salzburg
Maccabi Tel Aviv 1-2 Dinamo Zagreb
Nottingham Forest 1-2 Midtjylland
Sturm Graz 2-0 Rangers
Half time: Feyenoord 0-0 Aston Villa
Compared to messrs Martin and Postecoglou, Unai Emery is on easy street – but that could all change if Villa concede. Robin van Persie’s Feyenoord could have been down to 10 men, but have grown into the game.
Half time: Nottm Forest 1-2 Midtjylland
Ah look mate, it’s not going well is it? There are scattered boos around the City Ground as Forest go in behind, with Midtjylland scoring twice from set pieces and looking the better side as the half progressed.
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Half time: Sturm Graz 2-0 Rangers
“So far, Rangers have not done a great job weathering the Sturm,” notes Peter Oh. Russell Martin’s side trail 2-0 in Graz. Will their much-maligned manager be put out to pasture?
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There are brief but audible cries of “you don’t know what you’re doing” from the Forest fans as the hosts struggle to regain a foothold. Hudson-Odoi’s hopeful shot is blocked by Diao as we enter three minutes of stoppage time.
GOAL! Aberdeen 1-1 Shakhtar Donetsk (Nazaryna 39')
Shakhtar are level at Pittodrie, midfielder Yehor Nazaryna finishing nicely from Pedrinho da Silva’s cross. Shakhtar have two players called Pedrinho in their team tonight, by the way.
GOAL! Sturm Graz 2-0 Rangers (Kiteishvili 36')
Rangers go two down and it’s an utterly rubbish goal to concede. From a free kick, a low pass forward exposes a needlessly high line, allowint Kiteishvili to stroll through and lift the ball over Butland.
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Apparently the VAR screens aren’t working properly at the City Ground tonight. Another element to throw into a combustible mix, with Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis currently huffing and puffing in the stands. If only he could find a manager capable of organising a defence, eh?
Watkins also saw a shot cleared off the line while at the other end, Bizot has made saves to deny Hadj Moussa and Ueda in quick succession. Over in Austria, Butland has been called into action to keep Rangers in touch – Sturm Graz still lead 1-0.
With all this chaos at the City Ground, I’ve barely had time to report on Villa’s progress. Feyenoord’s Anel Ahmedhodzic was booked for a last-man foul on Ollie Watkins, with the referee reviewing but sticking with his decision after a word in the ear from VAR.
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GOAL! Nottm Forest 1-2 Midtjylland (Sorensen 22')
Forest are back behind almost immediately, and it’s another set-piece nightmare. Sorensen, who set up the opener from a free kick, stabs home a loose ball from a corner. Murillo is injured in the melee, and will have to go off. I wonder if Nuno’s watching.
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GOAL! Nottm Forest 1-1 Midtjylland (Ndoye 21')
A welcome quick leveller to quiet any murmurs of discontent at the City Ground. Dan Ndoye sweeps home to finish off a nice team move, and we’re all square. Or are we?
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There was a late change to the Aston Villa line-up, with Marco Bizot replacing Emi Martínez in goal. No official word on why that is, although Tony Hughes has had enough: “That’s two European games running he’s missed. He and Villa should part ways in January.”
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GOAL! Nottm Forest 0-1 Midtjylland (Diao 18')
It’s another goal conceded from a set piece as Forest fail to deal with a free kick, flicked on by Sorensen and smashed in at the far post by fellow centre-back Ousmane Diao.
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It’s been a spicy start to Forest v Midtjylland, with some hefty challenges flying in already. The visitors are second in the Danish league and recently won 3-1 at Brondby – who are managed by none other than Steve Cooper.
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Porto lead Red Star Belgrade through William Gomes’ penalty, while Lyon lead Salzburg 1-0 through Martin Satriano’s header after Pavel Sulc missed an early spot-kick for the hosts.
GOAL! Aberdeen 1-0 Shakhtar Donetsk (Karlsson pen 9')
Better news for another struggling Scottish side, though, with Jesper Karlsson firing home an early penalty at Pittodrie. It could have been even better for the hosts, with Leighton Clarkson failing to punish an awful error from the Shakhtar keeper.
GOAL! Sturm Graz 1-0 Rangers (Horvat 7')
A nightmare start for Russell Martin as the hosts take an early lead. It’s all too easy, a diagonal pass causing defensive chaos before Tomi Horvat’s shot deflects in off Jack Butland’s knee.
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Speaking of early aberrations, AZ Alkmaar’s Penetra has been sent off after just two minutes at AEK Larnaca in the Conference League. We got our first red card before a first goal – that came three minutes in at Basel, who lead Stuttgart through Albian Ajeti.
We’re under way in all of the 8pm kick-offs. At the City Ground, Postecoglou has gone for a back three of Milenkovic, Murillo and Morato – but the latter picks up an immediate booking and Midtjylland have a dangerous free kick, which deflects wide.
Conference League early results
Dynamo Kyiv 0-2 Crystal Palace
Jagellonia 1-0 Hamrun
KuPS 1-1 Drita
Lausanne 3-0 Breidablik
Lech Poznan 4-1 Rapid Vienna
Noah 1-0 Rijeka
Omonia Nicosia 0-1 Mainz
Rayo Vallecano 2-0 Shkendija
Zrinjski 5-0 Lincoln Red Imps
Europa League early results
Roma 0-1 Lille
Bologna 1-1 Freiburg
Brann 1-0 Utrecht
Celtic 0-2 Braga
FCSB 0-2 Young Boys
Fenerbahce 2-1 Nice
Ludogorets 0-2 Betis
Panathinaikos 1-2 Go Ahead Eagles
Viktoria Plzen 3-0 Malmö
Ange Postecoglou: “It’s an exciting night, the club has a rich European history and it’s an overdue return. We’re gonna need some energy tonight … they’ve got a big focus on set plays, they’re very direct. We’ve done our work to make sure we’re ready. But ultimately we’re at home, and we should be able to put the pressure on them.”
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Rangers’ Russell Martin: “We have to run together, work together, fight to the end. [Sturm Graz] are very good at what they do, so we have to try and utilise our strengths and hurt them if we can, by playing the way we want to.”
Unai Emery: “We are in a process but I am seeing an improvement, in how we are playing as a team, introducing the new players. The Premier League is such a demanding league, we have to be so focused and consistent. Europe is always very difficult and we have our own experience with this. It’s a very good test for us today.”
Tonight’s later Conference League games feature two League of Ireland teams:
“Shelbourne and Shamrock Rovers are the first pair of Irish teams to reach the group stage of the same competition,” writes John Brennan. Shelbourne (who host Häcken) beat Linfield to reach the league phase, while Shamrock Rovers will be looking to do better than last year when they qualified for the knockout rounds before eventually losing to Molde on penalties. They beat Santa Clara of Portugal to get here, and face Sparta Prague last night. Former Ireland U21 international Pico Lopes starts in defence – he could feature at the World Cup next summer with Cape Verde.”
Full time: Celtic 0-2 Braga
More Euro woe for Celtic, beaten at home by Braga, who top the (very early) Europa League table with two wins. Brendan Rodgers can point to VAR’s decision to disallow Kelechi Iheanacho’s equaliser for a handball nobody else could see, but it’s still another disappointing night for his team.
Full time: Dynamo Kyiv 0-2 Crystal Palace
Palace begin their Conference League group-stage campaign with a deserved win, Daniel Muñoz and Eddie Nketiah the scorers. Borna Sosa’s late red card was the only blemish on an otherwise excellent night for Oliver Glasner’s army.
Shout out to Lille keeper Berke Ozer, who has saved three Roma penalty attempts to preserve his team’s lead. Ozer saved Matias Soulé’s spot-kick after his two previous saves – both from Artem Dovbyk – were ruled out for encroachment. Hat-tip to Iain Kelly for pointing out there were three attempts, rather than two. There’s a bit more on Ozer here, although in the interests of balance I should point out that my list also included Borna Sosa.
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GOAL! Celtic 0-2 Braga (Martínez 84')
Oh dear. Celtic fans head for the exits en masse after Braga double their lead. Rodrigues’ shot was parried by Schmeichel and while Gabri Martínez’s first shot was blocked, an attempted clearance ricochets off his shins and into the net.
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Red card! Palace were cruising, but Borna Sosa has been sent off after a second yellow card, for what was a pretty careless challenge. There’s just under 15 minutes for Dynamo Kyiv to get back into the game …
Nottingham Forest v Midtjylland team news
Nottingham Forest (3-4-3): Sels; Milenkovic, Morato, Murillo; Ndoye, Anderson, Sangaré, Williams; Gibbs-White, Igor Jesus, Hudson-Odoi.
Subs: John Victor, Wood, Kalimuendo, Domínguez, Yates, McAtee, Bakwa, Boly, Savona, Abbott.
Midtjylland (3-4-3): Olafsson; Diao, Erlic, Sorensen; Mbabu, Castillo, Billing, Jensen; Junior Brumado, Cho, Simsir.
Subs: Lossl, Lee, Franculino, Osorio, Gabriel, Chilufya, Bravo, Paulinho, Daniel Silva, Etim, Andreasen, Gogorza.
Rangers and Aberdeen team news
Sturm Graz v Rangers
Sturm Graz (4-3-1-2): Christensen; Oermann, Aiwu, Lavalee, Karic; Stankovic, Horvat, Chukwuani; Kiteishvili; Malone, Beganovic.
Subs: Wiener-Pucher, Bignetti, Mitchell, Jatta, Beck,
Hierlander, Haider, Geyrhofer, Grgic, Weinhandl, Hodl.
Rangers (4-2-3-1): Butland; Tavernier, Cornelius, Souttar, Meghoma; Barron, Raskin; Antman, Aasgaard, Gassama; Chermiti.
Subs: Kelly, Wright, Aarons, Rothwell, Cameron, Djiga, Miovski, Moore,
Rice, Curtis, McCallion, Danilo.
Aberdeen v Shakhtar Donetsk
Aberdeen (3-5-2): Mitov; Knoester, Milne, Dorrington; Devlin, Armstrong, Palaversa, Clarkson, Keskinen; Lazetic, Karlsson.
Subs: Suman, Vitols, Shinnie, Nilsen, Aouchiche, Polvara, Yengi, Milanovic, Nisbet, Molloy, Lobban, Gyamfi.
Shakhtar Donetsk (4-1-4-1): Riznyk; Augusto, Bondar, Matviyenko, Pereira Pedrinho; Nazaryna; Ferreira, Ocheretko, Marlon Gomes, Da Silva Pedrinho; Kaua Elias.
Subs: Fesyun, Marlon, Kryskiv, Shved, Isaque, Azarovi, Ghram, Glushchenko, Bondarenko, Konoplya, Meirelles, Faryna.
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Celtic are pushing for an equaliser, but risk conceding a second on the break. João Moutinho is on for Braga, while Brendan Rodgers has thrown on Arne Engels and Reo Hatate.
Given how both teams’ seasons have panned out so far, Palace getting demoted to the Conference League and replaced by Nottingham Forest looks to have actually worked out in the Eagles’ favour.
Team news: Feyenoord v Aston Villa
Feyenoord (4-3-3): Wellenreuther; Read, Ahmedhodzic, Watanabe, Smal; Valente, Steijn, Hwang; Hadj Moussa, Ueda, Sauer.
Subs: Bijlow, Bossin, Nieuwkoop, Larin, Borges, Bos, Tengstedt, Diarra, Targhaline, Lotomba, Sliti, Plug.
Aston Villa (4-3-3): Martínez; Cash, Konsa, Torres, Maatsen; Rogers, Kamara, McGinn; Guessand, Watkins, Buendía.
Subs: Bizot, Proctor, Lindelöf, Elliott, Digne, Malen, Jimoh, Bogarde, Burrowes, Broggio.
Dynamo Kyiv 0-2 Crystal Palace (Nketiah 57')
Moments later, Nketiah does get his goal, finishing well after Yeremy Piño’s lovely turn and cross into the area. It’s no more than Palace deserve.
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Another disallowed goal, more clear-cut this time as substitute Eddie Nketiah’s effort for Crystal Palace is chalked off for an offside …
Celtic thought they were level, but Kelechi Iheanacho’s strike has been disallowed by VAR, who ruled that the forward controlled the ball with his arm in the buildup. From the angle we’ve seen, it wasn’t clear the ball touched his arm at all.
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Conference League half-time scores:
Dynamo Kyiv 0-1 Crystal Palace
Jagellonia 0-0 Hamrun
KuPS 0-0 Drita
Lausanne 3-0 Breidablik
Lech Poznan 3-0 Rapid Vienna
Noah 1-0 Rijeka
Omonia Nicosia 0-0 Mainz
Rayo Vallecano 2-0 Shkendija
Zrinjski 3-0 Lincoln Red Imps
Europa League half-time scores:
Roma 0-1 Lille
Bologna 1-0 Freiburg
Brann 1-0 Utrecht
Celtic 0-1 Braga
FCSB 0-2 Young Boys
Fenerbahce 2-1 Nice
Ludogorets 0-1 Betis
Panathinaikos 0-0 Go Ahead Eagles
Viktoria Plzen 2-0 Malmö
Half time: Dynamo Kyiv 0-1 Crystal Palace
A fine start to the Conference League proper for Palace, with Daniel Muñoz’s header giving the visitors a deserved lead in Lublin.
Half time: Celtic 0-1 Braga
Another tough European night for Brendan Rodgers so far, as the visitors lead through Ricardo Horta’s long-range shot, which had Kasper Schmeichel flapping at thin air.
Preamble
Nottingham Forest’s last home game in Europe was a sobering affair: hopeful after returning from Munich with just a 2-1 deficit, the hosts shipped five goals to a rampant Bayern side in March 1996. Tonight’s opponents, Midtjylland, did not even exist back then – the Danish side were formed by a merger in 1999 but have amassed extensive European experience in the last decade, and represent a tough test for Ange Postecoglou, still seeking his first win as Forest manager.
Aston Villa have also made an underwhelming start to the season and face a more established European name in Feyenoord – whose home ground in Rotterdam was scene of Villa’s greatest night back in 1982. While fans enjoy a nostalgic trip to De Kuip, Unai Emery’s chief concern will be maintaining momentum after eking out successive victories over Bologna and Fulham in the last week.
Speaking of tough starts, Russell Martin may have finally won a game and boosted his standing among Rangers fans by around 0.0001%, but Sturm Graz look capable of returning the beleaguered manager to rock bottom. Another manager under pressure, Aberdeen’s Jimmy Thelin, welcomes Shakhtar Donetsk to Pittodrie in the Conference League.
All those games kick off at 8pm (BST), but we’ll have updates from Crystal Palace’s Conference League trip to face Dynamo Kyiv in Poland and Celtic’s home Europa League game against Braga, plus all the other hot Euro action. Hold tight!
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