It was the fight for the remaining 8 slots of the knockout stage of the Europa League as teams who dropped from the UEFA Champions League and sec
It was the fight for the remaining 8 slots of the knockout stage of the Europa League as teams who dropped from the UEFA Champions League and second-placed teams battled it out for a spot in the last 16 of the competition.
This new Europa League knockout format established last season eliminated the Round of 32 and replaced it with eight playoff ties between the teams that finished third in the UEFA Champions League group stage against the sides that came in second in their Europa League groups. The eight group winners from the Europa League await in the Round of 16, but it’s safe to say that this is the most anticipated tie of the entire tournament no matter what else happens.
With Arsenal having a place in the last 16, The stand-out game was the clash between Barcelona and Manchester United as the Blaugrana failed to qualify for the knockout stage of the UEFA Champions League for the second consecutive time.
With a decisive game at Old Trafford last night, the Red Devils continued their home dominance after a strong comeback after conceding first in the first department of the game via Freda and Anthony, giving them the nod into the last 16 of the competition under their boss Erik Ten Hag.
Juventus also pulled up a performance in the decisive game against FC Nantes after drawing out the first game at home. The old ladies went three goals past the French-based club away from home keeping their fight for a European trophy alive.
However, all 16 teams await their opponents for the next stage later today as the draw is set to take place in Nyon (Switzerland).
Manchester United could face any of the seeded teams in the last-16, meaning they will face any of the Europa League group-stage winners, except for Arsenal of course.
They could be drawn against the likes of Union Saint-Gilloise, SC Freiburg, Ferencvaros, Feyenoord, Real Betis, Real Sociedad or Fenerbahce.
Erik ten Hag’s side will no doubt be hoping for Union Saint-Gilloise, SC Freigburg or Ferencvaros if they had the choice, and to avoid Real Sociedad, Real Betis, Feyenoord, and Fenerbahce.
Arsenal also can face any of the unseeded teams in the last-16, meaning they can end up facing Champions League drop-outs and play-off round winners.
They could be drawn against any of Juventus, Bayer Leverkusen, Sporting Lisbon, Union Berlin, Shakhtar Donetsk, Sevilla or Roma, but not Manchester United from the unseeded teams.
None of which look like an easy tie, but no doubt they’ll be hoping to avoid Serie A giants Juventus and six-time Europa League winners Sevilla in the next round.
The unseeded teams include Juventus, Bayer Leverkusen, Sporting CP, Union Berlin, Manchester United, Shakhtar Donetsk, Sevilla and AS Roma.
The seeded ones include Arsenal, Union Saint-Gilloise, SC Freiburg, Ferencvaros, Feyenoord, Real Betis, Real Sociedad, and Fenerbahçe.
By: Herosportgh.com/Solomon Duah (Sports Atom)
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