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Winning the Europa League may be the only way for either to secure a UCL spot
Published : 21 Feb 2025, 09:15 PM
Manchester United were handed a tricky Europa League last 16 tie against Real Sociedad while Tottenham Hotspur will play Dutch side AZ Alkmaar after the draw was held on Friday, but both managers are more concerned about their Premier League form.
The two English sides have struggled in the league this season, with Spurs 12th and United 15th, and winning the second-tier Europa League may be the only way they can return to the Champions League next season.
United and Real Sociedad have met before in the Europa League, with the English side knocking them out in the last 32 in 2021 while they won a game each in the group stage in 2022.
"I just want to win everything. I want to be really, really clear on that. I think we are in a difficult situation in the Premier League, we have a lot of issues to solve in every game," United boss Ruben Amorim told reporters.
"If you see our performances, if I focus on the games against Real Sociedad and think about trophies, it is not the right way to do my job in the moment. So I just focus and I want to win against (our next opponents) Everton."
Spurs will be facing Alkmaar again having beaten them 1-0 in the group stage.
"Europe's always been at the forefront of our minds and we did really well and we saw how important it was that we did finish in the top eight, even finishing in the top four," Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou said.
"It's important, but (we are) not dismissive of the league either. There's still 12-13 games to go and from our perspective we're not happy with where we are."
United and Spurs finished in the top four of the Europa League group stage to avoid the playoffs and will play their respective second legs at home.
Athletic Bilbao's San Mames Stadium will host the final in May and the Spanish side will play Serie A side AS Roma.
Jose Mourinho's Fenerbahce, who squeezed through to the playoffs in last place, knocked out Anderlecht with a 5-2 aggregate win after the second leg was briefly paused due to crowd trouble, and they will face Scottish side Rangers.
Should Fenerbahce reach the final, Mourinho could potentially face three of his former teams -- Roma, United and Spurs.
German side Eintracht Frankfurt, who won the title in 2022, will face Eredivisie leaders Ajax Amsterdam while Greece's Olympiacos, who have the competition's top scorer in Ayoub El Kaabi (seven goals this season), take on Bodo/Glimt.
The Norwegian side are on a fairytale run in the Europa League where they overcame a 2-1 deficit against Twente in the playoff and won 5-2 in extra time on Thursday (6-4 on aggregate) to advance.
