Man United Drawn with Real Betis in Last 16 of Europa League

Europa League ambassador Hungarian former footballer Zoltan Gera shows the paper slip of Real Betis Balompie during the draw for the round of 16 of the 2022-2023 UEFA Europa League football tournament in Nyon, on February 24, 2023. (AFP)
Europa League ambassador Hungarian former footballer Zoltan Gera shows the paper slip of Real Betis Balompie during the draw for the round of 16 of the 2022-2023 UEFA Europa League football tournament in Nyon, on February 24, 2023. (AFP)
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Man United Drawn with Real Betis in Last 16 of Europa League

Europa League ambassador Hungarian former footballer Zoltan Gera shows the paper slip of Real Betis Balompie during the draw for the round of 16 of the 2022-2023 UEFA Europa League football tournament in Nyon, on February 24, 2023. (AFP)
Europa League ambassador Hungarian former footballer Zoltan Gera shows the paper slip of Real Betis Balompie during the draw for the round of 16 of the 2022-2023 UEFA Europa League football tournament in Nyon, on February 24, 2023. (AFP)

Manchester United was paired with Real Betis in the round of 16 of the Europa League on Friday, giving the 2017 champions another Spanish opponent after eliminating Barcelona.

Man United will host the first leg at Old Trafford on March 9.

The last Ukrainian team left in this season’s European competitions, Shakhtar Donetsk, was drawn to face Feyenoord. Shakhtar will host the first leg in neighboring Poland because of the Russian military invasion of Ukraine.

Premier League leader Arsenal will face Sporting Lisbon, with the first leg played in Portugal.

Arsenal was seeded in the draw because it was among the eight winners of Europa League groups, and those teams play the second leg at home. Unseeded teams hosting the first leg came through the playoff round, which involved Europa League group runners-up and teams which placed third in a Champions League group.

Juventus was paired with Freiburg and six-time champion Sevilla will be at home first against Fenerbahce. Union Berlin will have a reunion with Union Saint-Gilloise after they also met twice in the group stage.

Roma, coached by Jose Mourinho, will play Real Sociedad, while Bayer Leverkusen was paired with Ferencvaros.

The Europa League final will be played in Budapest on May 31 at Puskas Arena.



Madrid Rests Stars and Still Whips Lowly Deportiva Minera 5-0 in Copa Del Rey

Real Madrid's Croatian midfielder #10 Luka Modrić runs back with the ball after scoring a goal during the Spanish league football match between Valencia CF and Real Madrid CF at the Mestalla stadium in Valencia on January 3, 2025. (AFP)
Real Madrid's Croatian midfielder #10 Luka Modrić runs back with the ball after scoring a goal during the Spanish league football match between Valencia CF and Real Madrid CF at the Mestalla stadium in Valencia on January 3, 2025. (AFP)
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Madrid Rests Stars and Still Whips Lowly Deportiva Minera 5-0 in Copa Del Rey

Real Madrid's Croatian midfielder #10 Luka Modrić runs back with the ball after scoring a goal during the Spanish league football match between Valencia CF and Real Madrid CF at the Mestalla stadium in Valencia on January 3, 2025. (AFP)
Real Madrid's Croatian midfielder #10 Luka Modrić runs back with the ball after scoring a goal during the Spanish league football match between Valencia CF and Real Madrid CF at the Mestalla stadium in Valencia on January 3, 2025. (AFP)

Real Madrid rested most of its big stars and still hammered fourth tier Deportivo Minera 5-0 to reach the last 16 of the Copa del Rey on Monday.

Vinicius Jr., Kylian Mbappé, Jude Bellingham and goalkeeper Ferland Mendy all started on the bench as coach Carlo Ancelotti gave a debut to 17-year-old central defender Diego Aguado, who lined up alongside his elder brother Lorenzo.

Endrick, Brahim Díaz and Arda Güler all got rare starts up front for Real and the visitors took just four minutes to score when Federico Valverde volleyed home.

Eduardo Camavinga headed a second after 12 minutes and a slight deflection helped Güler get a third a quarter of an hour later.

Minera reached the last 32 after beating La Liga side Alaves in the previous round but there was no way back against a vastly superior club that has won this trophy 20 times, especially when Ancelotti gave Vinicius and Mbappé a second half runout.

Captain Luka Modrić added the fourth nine minutes into the second half and Güler got the fifth with two minutes remaining.