The Europa League knockout stage draw has taken place, with Manchester United, Tottenham, and Rangers learning their last-16 opponents in the competition. The three British representatives are among the strongest sides left in an intriguing competition that feels wide open given the Premier League's pair respective travails. Manchester United take on Real Sociedad with both clubs struggling domestically this season, while Tottenham face Dutch opposition in the form of AZ Alkmaar. Rangers, meanwhile, face a long trip to Turkey and a meeting with Jose Mourinho's Fenerbahce.
The Europa Conference League draw, which includes Chelsea, follows the second-tier proceedings. Chelsea now know their potential route to the Conference League final after the draw for the next rounds of the competition took place in Switzerland. What started off as a brilliant campaign for the Blues has quickly tailed off into a mixed run of form that has seen them drop out of both domestic cup competitions as well as the Premier League top four. Nevertheless, their form in Europe has been imperious, with Enzo Maresca's side winning all six of their league phase games and scoring 26 goals in the process. They are overwhelming favourites to win the third-tier tournament and would become the first side to triumph in all three of Uefa's main competitions should they do so. A place in next season's Europa League is also up for grabs as added incentive.
Here is the list of last-16 matches:
- AZ Alkmaar vs Tottenham
- Ajax vs Eintracht Frankfurt
- Bodø/Glimt vs Olympiacos
- Viktoria Plzeň vs Lazio
- Fenerbahçe vs Rangers
- Roma vs Athletic Club
- FCSB vs Lyon
- Real Sociedad vs Manchester United
The two legs of those last-16 encounters will be played on 6 and 13 March. The quarter-final and semi-final draws have also taken place, with the matches scheduled to take place on 10 and 17 April, and 1 and 8 May, respectively. The final will be played on 21 May in Bilbao.
The Europa League round of 16, quarter-final, and semi-final draws took place on 21 February at the House of European Football in Nyon, Switzerland. The eight winners of the two-legged knockout phase play-offs joined the top eight sides from the league phase in the round of 16 draw. The clubs were paired based on their positions at the end of the league phase to form four seeded pairs. The clubs in each seeded pair were drawn into one of two positions in the round of 16 against the relevant winner of the knockout phase play-offs, whose position was determined by the knockout phase play-off draw. The draw allocated the side of the bracket for all the seeded teams, starting with the teams ranked 7/8 and finishing with the teams 1/2. The draw was made to determine the order of the matches, as all the potential opponents were known until the final. The competition is heating up, with the best teams in Europe battling it out for the top prize.
The dates for the remainder of the knockout phase are as follows:
- Round of 16: 6 & 13 March
- Quarter-finals: 10 & 17 April
- Semi-finals: 1 & 8 May
- Final: 21 May (Bilbao)
All matches are played in accordance with the UEFA Match Calendar, and the final is played on a Wednesday. Exceptions to this rule can be made by the UEFA administration. The UEFA administration decides the match schedule of each round, and the round of 16 match schedule will be available on 21 February. The quarter-final and semi-final match schedules will be communicated on 14 March, following the return legs of the round of 16.
