BEVERLY HILLS, December 14, (THEWILL) – In the concluded draws for the UEFA Europa League, English Premier League side Manchester United will contend with La Liga leaders Real Sociedad in a tough last 32 tie when European competitions resume in 2021. Arsenal, meanwhile have been paired with Portugal’s Primeira Liga’s Benfica.
Jose Mourinho, who has won this trophy twice with Porto and Manchester United, will take his high-flying Tottenham side into a tie against Wolfsberger from Austria, who are in their debut knockout rounds of a European competition.
In keeping with the usual rules at this stage of the competition, the draws featured 12 group winners and four best third-placed teams of eight dropping down from the Champions League seeded. Seeds also have the added advantage of playing the second leg of the last 32 at home.
No club was drawn against the team that qualified from the same group, while country protection also remained in place, therefore no sides from the same nation could be paired.
2020/21 UEFA Europa League Last 32 Draw:
Wolfsberger vs Tottenham Hotspur
Dynamo Kyiv vs Club Brugge
Real Sociedad vs Manchester United
Benfica vs Arsenal
Red Star Belgrade vs AC Milan
Royal Antwerp vs Rangers
Slavia Prague vs Leicester City
Red Bull Salzburg vs Villarreal
Braga vs Roma
Krasnodar vs Dinamo Zagreb
Young Boys vs Bayer Leverkusen
Molde vs Hoffenheim
Granada vs Napoli
Maccabi Tel Aviv vs Shakhtar Donetsk
Lille vs Ajax
Olympiacos vs PSV Eindhoven
The first legs will be played on Thursday 18 February 2021, with second legs scheduled for one week later on 25 February. The draw for the last 16 will then be made the following day on Friday 26 February 2021 and that round will be played between 11 and 18 March.
The final game will be at the Gdansk City Stadium in Gdansk on Wednesday 26 May 2021, which was initially supposed to be the venue for the 2020 final.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
