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PSV Eindhoven will face Sevilla in the round of 32 of the second continental competition
The bogeyman of the Europa League round of 32 draw fell to Barça. The rival that nobody wanted, Manchester United, was paired with the Barça team in an explosive tie whose first leg will be played on February 16 at the Camp Nou and on the 23rd of the same month at Old Trafford. Cristiano Ronaldo will play against Barcelona again, in this case with the United shirt, which the last time he faced the Catalans was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the Champions League for the 2018-2019 season. Sevilla, six-time Europa League champions, were luckier, as PSV Eindhoven fell to them, with Luuk de Jong in the ranks of the Netherlands side now led by Ruud van Nistelrooy. Betis and Real Sociedad, directly qualified for the round of 16 by finishing top of their respective groups, will play the Europa League again in March.
After their second consecutive failure in the Champions League, their pairing with United fell like a blow to Barça, who finished second in the group stage of the Europa League after Real and now occupies fifth position in the Premier after a lousy season start. «You point to the worst and that touches you. He has touched us again the most difficult rival that could touch us. Manchester United is a great team, and not only because of Cristiano”, lamented Xavi Hernández, for whom “sometimes, playing against the best gives a plus” and describes this tie as “a challenge” for the culé team.
“The draw has once again given us the most difficult rival. It’s cruel,” insisted the Barcelona coach, whose team had to face and beat Naples last season in the round of 32 after the fiasco in the Champions League, to later be eliminated by Eintracht in the quarterfinals of the second continental competition. “It is a tie between two very big clubs that is spectacular for the neutral fan,” said Jordi Cruyff, Barça’s sports director, who played for both teams during his time as a footballer.
Unless Cristiano Ronaldo leaves United in the winter market, the Portuguese striker will meet Barça again after so many memorable clashes between the eternal rivals of Spanish football, like Casemiro and Varane, although the French central defender is currently injured. Cristiano and Casemiro have played all six matches in the Europa League group stage. Despite his estrangement from coach Erik ten Hag, the Portuguese striker is a starter in the Europa League and is the English team’s outfield player who has played the most minutes this season on the continent, only surpassed by David de Gea, although He has only scored two goals in this competition.
In the case of Sevilla, the team now led by Jorge Sampaoli and sunk in the League, with relegation points, will also have to play the first leg at home and the return leg at home, on the ground of the current leader of the Dutch league, which remained second in their Europa League group behind Arsenal, also with only one loss. «We have not been very lucky, because we have had a difficult rival. It will be a complicated tie, ventured the sports director of the Seville club.
Round of 16 draw:
– BARCELONA-Manchester United.
– Juventus-Nantes.
– Sporting CP-Midtjlland.
– Shakhtar-Rennes.
– Ajax -Berlin Union.
– Bayer Leverkusen-Monaco.
– SEVILLE-PSV Eindhoven.
– Salzburg-Rome.
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