Manchester United avoided the remaining big guns and have been paired with tournament newcomers LASK of Austria in the draw for the last 16 of the Europa League.
United earned their place in the next knockout stage with a 6-1 aggregate win over Brugge of Belgium on Thursday, and with sides such as Sevilla, Leverkusen, Roma and Inter, could have faced a stern test of credentials on the road to Gdansk, Poland.
Instead, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side were handed probably the best possible draw against opponents making their first appearance in the Europa League. Valerien Ismael’s side progressed from a group containing Sporting Lisbon and Bruno Fernandes, PSV and Rosenborg.
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United are currently joint favourites with Antonio Conte’s Inter to lift the trophy at odds of 4/1, and will be pleased not to be facing the Italian giants at this stage. That’s a match definitely befitting of a final.
The two-legged tie against the unknown Austrian quantity will take place next month with the first game to be played Waldstadion Linzer ahead of the return at Old Trafford.
There can certainly be no reason to suggest United won’t make the quarter finals after this draw, held in the city of Nyon, Switzerland, at UEFA’s headquarters.
Check out the full draw below:
Full draw: https://t.co/h07C1vSnNW
— StrettyNews.com (@StrettyNews) February 28, 2020
