Manchester United and Arsenal were handed potentially tricky draws in the last 16 of the UEFA Europa League.
Manchester United produced the standout result of the Europa League playoffs, beating Barcelona 4-3 on aggregate after two entertaining and intriguing clashes over the last week.
Juventus had been held to a 1-1 draw at home by Nantes, though an Angel di Maria hat-trick in France saw the Italians progress to the last-16, while Jose Mourinho’s Roma overturned a first-leg deficit to beat RB Salzburg 2-1 on aggregate.
Perennial Europa League challengers Sevilla edged through 3-2 on aggregate despite being beaten 2-0 by PSV in their second leg meeting, while Bayer Leverkusen and Shakhtar Donetsk progressed on penalties at the expense of Monaco and Rennes respectively.
The playoff winners were joined by the eight Europa League group winners in the hat for the last 16, with Arsenal the standout name, with the likes of Feyenoord, Real Betis, Real Sociedad and Fenerbahce among those going into the draw.
Three sides, Union Berlin, SC Freiburg and Union Saint Gillois, will compete in this stage of the competition for the first time in their histories.
The winners of the Europa League groups went into the draw as the seeded team, with the winners of the playoff ties being unseeded, though teams from the same country were prevented from being drawn against each other.
Both English sides were handed potentially tricky ties, with Arsenal paired against entertaining Portuguese side Sporting Lisbon, while Manchester United were drawn against La Liga outfit, Real Betis.
Europa League last 16 draw in full
Union Berlin v Union Saint Gillois
Sevilla v Fenerbahce
Juventus v SC Freiburg
Bayer Leverkusen v Ferencvaros
Sporting Lisbon v Arsenal
Manchester United v Real Betis
Roma v Real Sociedad
Shakhtar Donetsk v Feyenoord
The first legs of the last 16 will be played on March 9, and the second legs will be played a week later. The final is in Budapest on May 31st.
