Courtesy: UEFA/Man Utd
Manchester United, the former UEFA Europa League (UEL) champions, are slated to take on either AZ Alkmaar or Real Sociedad in the round of 16 clash in the competition this season. After finishing in third place in the 36-team UEL league stage standings, the English footballing giants made it through to the round of 16 without playing the play-off tie, which is quite a feat considering their dismal form in the Premier League, where they have already lost 12 out of first 25 matches.
Notably, in their eight UEL league stage matches, Manchester United drew the first three before winning the next five, to collect 18 points from a possible 24, to end up finding themselves just a point behind Italian club Lazio and Spanish club Athletic Bilbao in first and second place respectively. It is important to note that Manchester United were the only team to stay undefeated throughout the league stage matches of the UEL this season.
UEFA Europa League round of 16 draw is slated to take place later today
In the UEFA Europa League play-off tie that finished last night, Dutch side AZ Alkmaar managed to draw their second leg against Galatasaray 2-2 in Turkey, to progress to the round of 16 with a 6-3 aggregate result. Meanwhile, in the other play-off tie, Spanish outfit Real Sociedad smashed Midtjylland 5-2 in the second leg, to make it through to the next UEL stage 7-3 on aggregate.
Before their round of 16 tie in the UEL comes on the horizon next month, Manchester United will be taking on Everton on February 22 and Ipswich Town February 26 in the Premier League away and home matches respectively. Following that, they will be hosting Fulham in the FA Cup fifth round at Old Trafford, to continue their march towards defending the coveted title.
Moreover, the UEFA Europa League round of 16 draw is slated to take place on Friday, February 21, at 12:00 GMT/ 5:30 PM IST.
