Manchester United and Tottenham discover potential Europa League opponents in the round of 16
Manchester United and Tottenham have found out who they may face in the Europa League round of 16 following the conclusion of the group phase on Thursday night.
Both sides qualified for the last-16 automatically after beating Romanian outfit FCSB and Swedish side Elfsborg respectively.
That means they will avoid the added burden of having to advance via a two-legged play-off round.
United ran out as 2-0 winners in Bucharest courtesy of goals from Diogo Dalot and Kobbie Mainoo while Spurs enjoyed a return to winning ways in north London thanks to goals from youngsters Damola Ajayi, Dane Scarlett and Mikey Moore.
Much of the pre-match build-up had centred around Marcus Rashford’s future after he was left behind in Manchester.
However, United still needed a win to be certain of finishing in the top-eight or a point to virtually guarantee their progression to the last 16 without the need for a play-off.
Youngsters coming to the fore in the second half to help Spurs to victory against Elfsborg
United ran out as 2-0 winners in Bucharest courtesy of goals from Diogo Dalot and Kobbie Mainoo
That did not stop Ruben Amorim from making five changes, bringing in his No.2 goalkeeper Altay Bayindir and Kobbie Mainoo, Toby Collyer, Christian Eriksen and Tyrell Malacia.
It still proved to be enough against an FCSB side that only cost around £30million to assemble and lost 4-0 to Rangers in this competition.
As a result, United will come up against one of Real Sociedad, Galatasaray, AZ Alkmaar or FC Midtjylland.
A win for Tottenham in north London sees them have the same possible four opponents, having finished just one spot below United.
Rangers – who finished in eighth – will face one of Bodo/Glimt, Anderlecht, FC Twente or Fenerbahce.
Tottenham were facing an Elfsborg team that were playing in just their fourth competitive game since November when the Swedish league ended with them in seventh place.
The Lillywhites and Postecoglou were boosted by the return of Micky Van de Ven after three months out of action with a hamstring injury.
He limped out of the Carabao Cup tie against Manchester City at the end of October and injured himself again just 79 minutes into his return against Chelsea in December.
His absence has been keenly felt and his name greeted with a great roar of approval from the home crowd when the teams were announced.
United and Spurs will both hope to advance to the final, which will take place at Athletic Club’s San Mames Stadium on May 21
Postecoglou made it clear before kick-off that he would not be risking him for longer than 45 minutes – and he was duly substituted at half-time.
The mood then turned to one of concern for Spurs once again after Radu Dragusin was forced to come off with a knee injury.
But youngsters coming to the fore in the second half ensured that Postecoglou’s men ultimately near had to lift off cruise-control.
The round of 16 matches will be held on March 6 and March 13, with the quarter-finals to follow on April 10 and April 17.
Semi-finals will be held on May 1 and May 8, with both United and Spurs hoping to be in the final, which will take place at Athletic Club’s San Mames Stadium on May 21.
