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.
Ferencvaros will host the second leg at the Puskas Arena in Budapest, the stadium that will also stage the Europa League final on May 31.
In the round of 16 of the third-tier Europa Conference League, Villarreal — a Champions League semifinalist last season — were paired with Anderlecht while Fiorentina will host the first leg against Sivasspor.
In other matches, West Ham travel to Cyprus for the first leg against AEK Larnaca, Sheriff will host Nice in Moldova, and Lazio are at home first against AZ Alkmaar, potentially on March 7 to avoid a clash at Stadio Olimpico with Roma’s game in the Europa League.
Also, it was: Lech Poznan vs. Djurgarden; Basel vs. Slovan Bratislava; and Gent vs. Istanbul Basaksehir.
The Europa Conference League final is scheduled for June 7 in Prague.
Man United drawn with Real Betis in last 16 of Europa League
https://arab.news/58uds
Man United drawn with Real Betis in last 16 of Europa League
- United will host the fifth-place Spanish team on March 9 in the first leg at Old Trafford
- Premier League leader Arsenal will face Sporting Lisbon, with the first leg played in Portugal
Neres’ double leads Napoli to Super Cup glory in Riyadh
- Napoli defeats first-time participants Bologna in Italian Super Cup final at Al-Awwal Park
- In semifinals Napoli beat AC Milan, while Bologna edged Inter Milan on penalties
RIYADH: It was a night to remember for David Neres. Arriving in Riyadh on Monday looking to cement a regular starting role, the Brazilian winger delivered in emphatic fashion by scoring twice to lead Napoli to the title and win the Man of the Match award.
Neres, who netted his first brace for the club a month ago against Atalanta in Serie A, will have given Napoli’s coaching staff plenty to think about after his decisive performances in the four-team tournament.
Napoli were made to work for their breakthrough. Bologna kept them at bay for the opening half hour, with Neres and Rasmus Hojlund managing to break past the lines on more than one occasion, only to be denied by Torborjn Heggem and Jhon Lucumi.
Semifinal hero Federico Ravaglia’s composure was on show as he protected Bologna between the posts, but he was finally beaten in the 39th minute by a moment of quality, as Neres curled his strike into the corner to give Napoli the lead.
Napoli maintained control after the break, showcasing their passing combinations in front of the energetic Riyadh crowd while searching for a second.
That goal arrived in the 57th minute, with Neres once again at the heart of it. The winger won possession from Lucumi on the edge of the box before clipping it over Ravaglia to extend Napoli’s lead.
Neres also came centimeters away from completing a hat-trick, racing forward on the counter following a through-ball to Hojlund, but the latter’s pass across the box proved a tad too powerful for the Brazilian to convert.
When Neres was withdrawn 15 minutes later, the stadium rose to applaud his performance because he carried Napoli to their first Super Cup title in over a decade.
Napoli nearly added a third, when in the 87th minute Matteo Politano was found right in front of the open net only to lift his effort narrowly over the crossbar.
The victory, Napoli’s maiden triumph in Riyadh, represents their third Italian Super Cup title, following previous triumphs in 1990 and 2014. It was a fitting moment of redemption after their injury-time defeat to Inter Milan at Al-Awwal Park in the 2023 final.
The game was the sixth Italian Super Cup hosted in the Kingdom, with Napoli becoming the fourth winner after Juventus (2018, 2019), Inter Milan (2022, 2023) and AC Milan (2024/25).
