Manchester United handed grueling Europa League draw

Manchester United have been given a fitting punishment for their rubbish season last year, by being sent to the far corners of the known universe for the group stage of this year’s Europa League. United were drawn in Group L, alongside Astana, Partizan Belgrade, and AZ Akmaar. Astana is closer to Shanghai than it is to Manchester, we’ve been told, but that’s what you get for finishing sixth. Kazakhstan, here we come, baby!

The full draw for the 2019/20 Europa League group stage is as follows:

Group A: Sevilla, Apoel, Qarabag, Dudelange

Group B: Dynamo Kiev, Copenhagen, Malmo, Lugano

Group C: FC Basel, Krasnodar, Getafe, Trabzonspor

Group D: Sporting CP, PSV, Rosenborg, LASK

Group E: Lazio, Celtic, Rennes, CFR Cluj

Group F: Arsenal, Eintracht Frankfurt, Standard Liege, Vitoria FC

Group G: Porto, Young Boys, Feyenoord, Rangers

Group H: CSKA Moscow, Ludogorets, Espanyol, Ferencvaros

Group I: Wolfsburg, Gent, St Etienne, Olexandriya

Group J: Roma, Borussia Mönchengladbach, Istanbul Basaksehir, Wolfsberg

Group K: Besiktas, Braga, Wolves, Slovan Bratislava

Group L: Manchester United, Astana, Partizan Belgrade, AZ Akmaar

Matchday 1 for the Europa League is September 19th.

The draw for the third round of the Carabao Cup also took place this week, and United were drawn at home against Rochdale. The tie is set for the week of September 23rd, and likely to be played on Wednesday September 25th, since the Reds face West Ham in the Premier League the Sunday before.