Manchester United progressed through to the Europa League Round of 16 with ease as they dispatched FCSB 2-0 at the National Arena in Bucharest on Thursday.
The win not only meant that the Red Devils finished the group stage in third position but they also became the only team to remain unbeaten throughout the course of the group games.
And as per the Europa League draw, by virtue of their third-place finish, Ruben Amorim’s side will play either of four teams: Real Sociedad, Galatasaray, AZ Alkmaar or FC Midtjylland.
Teams that finish in the top eight qualify directly for the Round of 16 in the new format while teams from nine to 24 have to go through a two-legged playoff to join them.
United through to the Round of 16
Potential opponents are pre-defined by the teams’ final league positions with United set to face either the 13th, 14th, 19th or 20th placed teams.
It will get narrowed down to two sides when the play-off round draw is completed on Friday. Teams from ninth to 16th will be seeded and will face a team placed 17th to 24th. The seeded team will play the return leg at home.
Teams can face off against the same opposition in the knockout stages as well as a team from the same association.
However, courtesy of Tottenham Hotspur’s fourth-place finish, the earliest United can face the North London side are in the finals should both qualify.
Potential opponents
United faced both the Spanish and Turkish sides recently. The 20-time English league champions faced the team from Donostia-San Sebastián in Erik ten Hag’s first season in the same competition, losing the first leg at home before winning the away tie courtesy of Alejandro Garnacho’s goal.
United faced Gala last season in the Champions League, losing the home tie 2-3 before drawing the away game 3-3. Both games should have been wrapped up much earlier but it was a poor European campaign for the Red Devils. And fans will remember all about the “Welcome to Hell” classic.
United last faced the Danish side in the Europa League back when Louis van Gaal was in charge, losing the away game before a fabulous win at home.
As for the Dutch side, United had faced them when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was boss back in 2019, winning 4-0 at home.
On paper, Sociedad and especially Galatasaray look the most difficult game especially away from home but Amorim must be confident given the team’s performance in the competition under him so far.
Feature image Vasili Mihai-Antonio via Getty Images
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Ayantan Chowdhury
Ayantan has worked for 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites but his heart was always set on writing about his favourite club. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25
