Man United drawn with Real Betis in last 16 of Europa League

Sports PTI 25/02/2023

Manchester United was paired with Real Betis in the round of 16 of the Europa League on Friday, giving the 2017 champions another Spanish opponent after eliminating Barcelona.

Manchester United's Antony, center, celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the Europa League playoff second leg soccer match between Manchester United and Barcelona at Old Trafford stadium in Manchester, England, Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)(AP)

Man United will host the first leg at Old Trafford on March 9.

The last Ukrainian team left in this season's European competitions, Shakhtar Donetsk, was drawn to face Feyenoord. Shakhtar will host the first leg in neighboring Poland because of the Russian military invasion of Ukraine.

Premier League leader Arsenal will face Sporting Lisbon, with the first leg played in Portugal.

Arsenal was seeded in the draw because it was among the eight winners of Europa League groups, and those teams play the second leg at home. Unseeded teams hosting the first leg came through the playoff round, which involved Europa League group runners-up and teams which placed third in a Champions League group.

Juventus was paired with Freiburg and six-time champion Sevilla will be at home first against Fenerbahce. Union Berlin will have a reunion with Union Saint-Gilloise after they also met twice in the group stage.

Roma, coached by José Mourinho, will play Real Sociedad, while Bayer Leverkusen was paired with Ferencvaros.

Ferencvaros will host the second leg at the Puskas Arena in Budapest, the stadium that will also stage the Europa League final on May 31.

In the round of 16 of the third-tier Europa Conference League, Villarreal — a Champions League semifinalist last season — was paired with Anderlecht while Fiorentina will host the first leg against Sivasspor.

In other matches, West Ham travels to Cyprus for the first leg against AEK Larnaca, Sheriff will host Nice in Moldova, and Lazio is at home first against AZ Alkmaar, potentially on March 7 to avoid a clash at Stadio Olimpico with Roma's game in the Europa League.

Also, it was: Lech Poznan vs. Djurgarden; Basel vs. Slovan Bratislava; and Gent vs. Istanbul Basaksehir.

The Europa Conference League final is scheduled for June 7 in Prague.

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