EUROPA League
MAN UNITED TO PLAY AUSTRIA’S LASK IN EUROPA LEAGUE LAST 16
Manchester United will meet Austrian club LASK in the last 16 of the Europa League, while Wolves were pitted against Olympiakos in Friday’s (Feb 28) draw in Nyon.
United, who lifted the trophy in 2017, are one of six former champions left in the competition. The first leg will be played in Linz on March 12 with the return a week later at Old Trafford.
Austrian league leaders LASK made their group stage debut this season and secured a 3-1 aggregate win over Dutch outfit AZ Alkmaar in the last 32.
Wolves progressed to the last 16 of a major European competition for the first time since finishing runners-up in the Uefa Cup in 1971-72, after overcoming Spanish strugglers Espanyol.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s side will take on an Olympiakos team that shocked Arsenal in the last round, the Greeks advancing on away goals following a 2-1 extra-time victory in London.
Steven Gerrard’s Rangers, the 2008 finalists, face Bayer Leverkusen who dumped out Porto in a clash of two former winners of the competition.
Inter Milan were drawn against La Liga surprise package Getafe, conquerors of last year’s Champions League semi-finalists, Dutch giants Ajax.
The Italian government ordered Inter’s return fixture against Bulgarians Ludogorets on Thursday be played in front of an empty stadium because of the spread of coronavirus, which has particularly hit the northern Lombardy region of which Milan is the capital.
Five-time former champions Sevilla face a tricky tie against Roma, while 2009 winners Shakhtar Donetsk will lock horns with Wolfsburg.
Turkey’s Istanbul Basaksehir face FC Copenhagen, while Basel will take on Eintracht Frankfurt after their weather-delayed 6-3 victory on aggregate against Salzburg.
The Swiss government has imposed a ban until March 15 on large-scale events involving more than 1,000 people as part of measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus. Basel are scheduled to host the return leg four days later. The final will be played in the Polish city of Gdansk on May 27.
Four-times Europa League winner Unai Emery booked an astonishing sixth final in the competition as a manager on Thursday when his Aston Villa team swept aside Nottingham Forest in the second leg of their all-English semi-final.
The 54-year-old Spaniard has won three times with Sevilla (2014, 2015, 2016) and once with Villarreal (2021) – either side of a defeat with Arsenal (2019) – deservedly earning him the epithet “Mr Europa League” from some fans and media.
Now he goes to the 2026 final seeking a fifth title, this time with Aston Villa against Bundesliga side Freiburg.
“His track record speaks for itself,” said Villa striker Ollie Watkins, heaping praise on his boss as the man to guarantee Europa League success. “We need to go and win it now.”
Emery was delighted with how his team overturned a 1-0 deficit to Forest in the first leg of the Europa League semi-final to score four times at home and win 4-1 on aggregate.
“Now we have to look to the final,” he said, hoping that Villa will do “something fantastic” for their fans.
Though thrilled at Thursday’s win, Emery left the pitch quickly after the final whistle, pumping his fist a few times at the crowd before letting his players enjoy the moment with fans
He and his Villa side will be favourites at the Europa League final in Istanbul on May 20, but Emery was taking nothing for granted. “Of course German teams are so difficult, their coaches, their players are so good,” he added of the upcoming opponents.
-Reuters
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List of teams which have qualified for the next round of the Europa League after the league phase concluded on Thursday, ranked by table position:
Directly to the round of 16:
1. Olympique Lyonnais (France)
2. Aston Villa (England)
3. Midtjylland (Denmark)
4. Real Betis (Spain)
5. Porto (Portugal)
6. Braga (Portugal)
7. Freiburg (Germany)
8. AS Roma (Italy)
Knockout phase play-off places (seeded)
9. Genk (Belgium)
10. Bologna (Italy)
11. VfB Stuttgart (Germany)
12. Ferencvaros (Hungary)
13. Nottingham Forest (England)
14. Viktoria Plzen (Czech Republic)
15. Red Star Belgrade (Serbia)
16. Celta Vigo (Spain)
Knockout phase play-off places (unseeded)
17. PAOK (Greece)
18. Lille (France)
19. Fenerbahce (Turkey)
20. Panathinaikos (Greece)
21. Celtic (Scotland)
22. Ludogorets (Bulgaria)
23. Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia)
24. SK Brann (Norway)
-Reuters
UEFA Europa League – Aston Villa v RB Salzburg – Villa Park, Birmingham, Britain – January 29, 2026 Aston
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Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv will not accept any away fan tickets for their Europa League match at Aston Villa next month, even if local authorities reverse the decision to ban their supporters, they said on Monday.
The ban followed safety concerns raised by British Police, who cited potential protests outside Villa Park, following demonstrations at Israel’s recent World Cup qualifiers in Oslo and Udine.
“From hard lessons learned we have taken the decision to decline any allocation offered on behalf of away fans and our decision should be understood in that context,” Maccabi said in a statement.
“We hope that circumstances will change and look forward to being able to play in Birmingham in a sporting environment in the near future.”
Aston Villa announced the decision last week, saying they were following instructions from the Safety Advisory Group (SAG), who are responsible for issuing safety certificates for games at Villa Park.
West Midlands Police described the match as high risk, past incidents, including violent confrontations and hate crime offences involving Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters ahead of a November 2024 game in Amsterdam.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar described the announcement as “shameful”.
Villa are third in the Europa League standings while Maccabi Tel Aviv are 30th after two rounds.
-Reuters
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