EUROPA League
Ronaldo back in Manchester United squad
France defender Raphael Varane will not feature for Manchester United until after the World Cup, manager Erik ten Hag said on Wednesday, adding that forward Cristiano Ronaldo will be involved in their Europa League clash with Sheriff Tiraspol.
Centre back Varane, 29, went over his ankle midway through the second half in Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Chelsea and looked distraught as he made his way into the tunnel at Stamford Bridge.
Ten Hag confirmed that Varane, who won the World Cup in 2018, will miss United’s six remaining games before the mid-season break but did not rule him out of the Nov. 20-Dec. 18 tournament in Qatar.
“Rapha Varane isn’t in the squad,” Ten Hag told reporters before Sheriff visit Old Trafford on Thursday. “He will be out, certainly until the World Cup so he will not play in this block (of games) for Man United.
“I think so (he will be fit for the World Cup), but the prognosis is we have to wait. We have to see how it develops, how the rehab will develop.”
Ronaldo was training away from the team towards the end of last week and left out of the squad for Saturday’s trip to Chelsea after being dropped for refusing to go on as a substitute against Tottenham Hotspur in their previous match.
The 37-year-old re-joined the group on Tuesday, providing a welcome boost for United in attack with Anthony Martial still sidelined after missing their last four games due to a back problem.
“Cristiano will be in the squad tomorrow,” Ten Hag said. “It was not difficult. We said everything and we answered all the questions last week. So he was out for one game and now he is back in the squad as usual”
Ten Hag added he will make a late call on the availability of captain Harry Maguire, Donny van de Beek and Aaron Wan-Bissaka, all of whom also returned to training on Tuesday following their injury layoffs.
United are second in Group E on nine points, three behind leaders Real Sociedad, while Sheriff are third on three points with two games remaining.
A point against Sheriff will see United through to the knockout stage, but they need a win to stand any chance of winning their group and avoid a two-leg playoff tie against one of the third-placed teams from the Champions League.
-Reuters
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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