Premier League giants Manchester United defeated Spanish club Real Sociedad 1-0 in their final UEFA Europa League Group E fixture on Thursday, however, failed to exceed the White and Blues in the group standings and will contest in a play-off round next year.
Manchester United opened their UEL 2022-23 campaign with a 1-0 defeat against Real Sociedad at the Old Trafford. Although, the Red Devils won all their remaining five games including the away game against the Spanish club, Erik ten Hag’s side trailed behind Sociedad on goal difference and failed to qualify for the knockout stage.
Eight second-placed UEL 2022-23 teams:
- PSV Eindhoven – Group A
- Rennes – Group B
- Roma – Group C
- Union Berlin – Group D
- Manchester United – Group E
- Midtjylland – Group F
- Nantes – Group G
- Monaco – Group H
According to the UEFA, eight group toppers from the Europa League automatically qualify for the knockout stage while the eight second-placed teams would play against the eight third-placed teams from the Champions League in the play-off round to qualify for the knockout stage. The eight third-placed teams from the UEL group stage will feature in Europa Conference League playoffs.
Eight third-placed UCL 2022-23 teams:
- AFC Ajax – Group A
- Bayer Leverkusen – Group B
- Barcelona – Group C
- Sporting CP – Group D
- RB Salzburg – Group E
- Shakhtar Donetsk – Group F
- Sevilla – Group G
- Juventus – Group H
Manchester United could face any of these eight teams relegated from the UCL 2022-23 as Barcelona, Juventus are the biggest names from the list. The winners of the play-off matches will qualify for the UEL 2022-23 Round of 16, where they will face the eight Europa League group winners.
The draw for the play-off round will take place at 5:30 pm IST on Monday, November 7 at UEFA’s headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland. The first legs are scheduled to be played on Thursday, February 16, while the second legs are scheduled for a week later on February 23.
