Key events
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.”
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.
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.
Penalty to Forest! Handball!
Jan Bednarek, the former Southampton centre-back, is penalised and the Porto defender can’t really have any complaints!
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!
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!
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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