2016/17 Europa League group stage draw: Manchester United handed tough Group with Van Persie reunion
The draw for the 2016/17 UEFA Europa League took place in Monaco on Friday, a day after the UEFA Champions League draw was announced. The biggest clash of the tournament is probably Manchester United taking on Turks Fenerbahce, with a return for Robin van Persie
Manchester United face a relatively slippery group, with Fenerbahce, Feyenoord and Ukranians Zorya Luhansk drawn in Group A. It’s a return to former clubs for Fenerbahce striker Robin van Persie who started his career at Feyernoord, and also played for the Red Devils.
Southampton were drawn with Inter Milan in a difficult group that alongside Sparta Praha and Hapoel Beer-Sheva in Group K.
With former Sevilla keeper Andreas Palop doing a much better job of unscrewing balls than Ian Rush last night, the proceedings of tonight’s event finished at a rather quick pace, with Giorgio Marchetti overseeing the draw again.
48 teams were split into 4 pots of 12 teams each, with a chronological assignment, except for teams from the same countries that could not be assigned together. UEFA have also announced that teams from Russia and Ukraine cannot be drawn together.
Pots for Europa League group stage draw
| Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 | Pot 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Schalke (GER) | AZ Alkmaar (NED) | Gent (BEL) | Panathinaikos (GRE) |
| Zenit (RUS) | Braga (POR) | Young Boys (SUI) | Sassuolo (ITA) |
| Manchester United (ENG) | Salzburg (AUT) | Krasnodar (RUS) | Qaraba (AZE) |
| Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR) | Roma (ITA) | Rapid Wien (AUT) | Astana (KAZ) |
| Athletic Club (ESP) | Fenerbahçe (TUR) | Slovan Liberec (CZE) | Nice (FRA) |
| Olympiacos (GRE) | Sparta Praha (CZE) | Celta Vigo (ESP) | Zorya Luhansk (UKR) |
| Villarreal (ESP) | PAOK (GRE) | Maccabi Tel-Aviv (ISR) | Astra Giurgiu (ROU) |
| Ajax (NED) | Steaua Bucureti (ROU) | Feyenoord (NED) | Konyaspor (TUR) |
| Internazionale Milano (ITA) | Genk (BEL) | Austria Wien (AUT) | Osmanlspor (TUR) |
| Fiorentina (ITA) | APOEL (CYP) | Mainz (GER) | Qäbälä (AZE) |
| Anderlecht (BEL) | Standard Liège (BEL) | Zürich (SUI) | Hapoel Beer-Sheva (ISR) |
| Viktoria Plze (CZE) | St-Étienne (FRA) | Southampton (ENG) | Dundalk (IRL) |
2016/17 Europa League Group Stage Draw
| Group A | Group B | Group C | Group D | Group E | Group F |
| Manchester United | Olympiacos | Anderlecht | Zenit | Viktoria Plze | Athletic Bilbao |
| Fenerbahce | Apoel | St. Etienne | AZ Alkmaar | AS Roma | Genk |
| Feyenoord | BSC Young Boys | Mainz | Maccabi Tel-Aviv | Austria Wien | Rapid Wien |
| Zorya Luhansk | Astana | Qäbälä | Dundalk | Astra Giurgiu | Sassuolo |
| Group G | Group H | Group I | Group J | Group K | Group L |
| Ajax | Shaktar Donetsk | Schalke | Fiorentina | Inter Milan | Villarreal |
| Standard Liege | Braga | Salzburg | PAOK | Sparta Praha | Steaua Bucarest |
| Celta Vigo | Gent | Krasnodar | Slovan Liberec | Southampton | Zurich |
| Panathanaikos | Konyaspor | Nice | Qaraba | Hapoel Beer-Sheva | Osmanlspor |