Manchester United will face Real Sociedad in the Europa League round of 16, as their potential route to the final has been revealed after Friday’s draw.
The draw for the last-16 stage took place on Friday morning, with the eight teams who won their knockout play-off ties joining the top eight sides from the league phase table.
Those eight teams – United, Tottenham, Rangers, Lazio, Athletic Bilbao, Frankfurt, Lyon and Olympiacos – automatically progressed to the last-16 thanks to their performances earlier in the competition.
They were joined by Sociedad, Roma, Viktoria Plzen, Bodo/Glimt, AZ Alkmaar, Ajax, FCSB and Fenerbahce, while Friday’s draw also decided which half of the draw teams go into for the rest of the competition, meaning they can plot their routes to the final.
Ruben Amorim’s side are undefeated in the Europa League this season, and it is their most realistic route to booking a spot in next year’s Champions League campaign, amid their dismal form in the Premier League.
Should they advance, United will face either Lyon or FCSB in the quarter-final, the latter they defeated 2-0 in the group phase last month.
Manchester United have been drawn against Real Sociedad in the Europa League round of 16
The draw, determining the last-16 games and the rest of the competition, took place on Friday
Rangers will face Turkish giants Fenerbahce in the round of 16, managed by Jose Mourinho
Down the line, the Red Devils could meet either Rangers, Fenerbahce, Roma or Bilbao in their semi-final bracket.
This means former United boss Jose Mourinho could earn a second chance at a grudge match against his former club, after Fenerbahce were held to a 1-1 draw with United in the group phase back in October.
But Mourinho’s side will have to get through Rangers first, who drew each other in the round of 16.
Elsewhere, Tottenham will take on AZ Alkmaar, as they seek to make it past the last-16 in Europe for the first time since suffering a 2-0 defeat by Liverpool in the 2019 Champions League final.
Ange Postecoglou’s side will face Ajax or Frankfurt should they make it to the quarter-finals.
UEFA’s new ‘tennis’ style seeding prevents teams finishing next to one another in the league phase meeting until the final.
This means third-placed United and fourth-placed Spurs make up a seeded pair and are on opposite ends of the bracket.
Table-toppers Lazio will face Viktoria Plzen. Behind the Italian club in the group phase table were Athletic Bilabo, who will have to beat Roma in the last-16 if they wish to reach the 2025 final at their San Mames Stadium.
Should United and Fenerbahce make it to the semi-final, Mourinho would face his former club
Tottenham will face off against Dutch side AZ Alkmaar, who lie fifth in the Eredivisie table
Pictured above is the silver and orange branch, showing each team’s path to the final
The rest of the draw is as follows: Ajax vs Frankfurt, FCSB vs Lyon, and Bodo/Glimt vs Olympiacos.
Fans will only have to endure a short wait until the first legs of the aforementioned ties kick-off on March 6.
It is a short turnaround for the return legs, which come one week later on March 13, but teams will have four weeks of respite until the quarter-finals get underway on April 10.
Two notable absentees from the last-16 are Porto and Galatasaray, as the former suffered a 4-3 defeat on aggregate by Roma on Thursday night, while Galatasaray bowed out of this year’s competition after losing 6-3 to AZ across both playoff legs.