Man United drawn with Real Betis in last 16 of Europa League

NYON, Switzerland: Manchester United were paired with Real Betis in the round of 16 of the Europa League on Friday, giving the 2017 champions another Spanish opponent after eliminating Barcelona. United will host the fifth-place Spanish team on March 9 in the first leg at Old Trafford, where Barcelona were beaten 2-1 on Thursday to complete a 4-3 aggregate victory. “They are a playing team, a skillful team,” Man United manager Erik ten Hag said of Betis, who his team played in a friendly during the mid-season break for the World Cup.

“You know what you get from Spanish football. We also played Real Sociedad this season and so we know (that) only when you play your best, you have a chance to survive.” The last Ukrainian team left in this season’s European competitions, Shakhtar Donetsk, were drawn to face Dutch league leader Feyenoord. Shakhtar will have three defenders suspended for the first leg they will host in neighboring Poland because of the Russian military invasion of Ukraine.

Premier League leader Arsenal will face Sporting Lisbon, with the first leg played in Portugal. Arsenal were seeded in the draw because they were among the eight winners of Europa League groups, and those teams play the second leg at home. Unseeded teams hosting the first leg came through the playoff round, which involved Europa League group runners-up and teams which placed third in a Champions League group.

Juventus were paired with Freiburg and six-time champion Sevilla will be at home first against Fenerbahce. Union Berlin will have a reunion with Union Saint-Gilloise after they also met twice in the group stage. Roma, coached by José Mourinho, will play Real Sociedad, while Bayer Leverkusen were paired with Ferencvaros.