Manchester United will face Barcelona in the Europa League for the first time ever.
The Europa League round of 32 draw took place today with UEFA deputy general secretary Giorgio Marchetti, former Fulham player Zoltán Gera and UEFA Head of club competitions and calendar Tobias Hedstuck conducting the draw.
United knew that they will not be playing an English side under UEFA ruling which meant they could not face Arsenal, they also knew that they would be getting a harder team because they finished below Real Sociedad in Group E.
The first name to be pulled out of the hat was Barcelona and I felt United would get them because of the history between these two European giants. as soon as I saw the Ma letters when we were the second drawn team I knew we had finally got Barcelona in a European competition with the wait being four years.
Four years ago these two were competing in the Champions League and both faced each other in the Quarter Finals with the Catalonians coming out on top in both legs with a 1-0 win away from home and a 3-0 win at the Camp Nou.
🇪🇸 Barcelona vs Manchester United 🏴#UELdraw pic.twitter.com/kG6YiYq6Io
— UEFA Europa League (@EuropaLeague) November 7, 2022
There is no question that this tie is a traditional Champions League tie however it also does feel that the mighty have fallen with these two legs being played in the second competitive UEFA competition.
However, I am sure both sets of fans will be ecstatic with them facing each other again with a deep history behind these teams playing each other ten times in the Champions League.
Lisandro Martinez will miss the game through suspension, with the two legs not having an official date just yet due to both teams’ schedules and when the TV companies think it is best to air the games.
It also means Cristiano Ronaldo will come up against his biggest rivals again with his record being 20 goals in 34 appearances against Barca.