Having beaten St-Etienne rather convincingly over two legs in the UEFA Europa League, Manchester United have now been drawn against Russian side FC Rostov in the round of 16.
Rostov are a team from Southern Russia, and they came second in the Russian Premier League in 2015-16.
This qualified Selmashi for this season’s Champions League – but they weren’t given any favours with their group stage draw. The Russian outfit were placed in a group alongside Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid and PSV Eindhoven.
A shock win over Bayern Munich gave them hope, as well as draws in both games with Dutch side PSV.
After rather expectedly (though valiantly) being knocked out of Europe’s top club competition, Rostov fell into the Europa League and breezed past Sparta Prague in the last round.
Many people will and already have joined Jose Mourinho in bemoaning the draw – mainly because United will face a 3,700 mile round-trip for the away leg against Rostov, managed by Ivan Daniliants.
However, United avoided many potentially trickier ties in drawing Rostov in the round-of-16; AS Roma, Borussia Monchengladbach, Olympique Lyonnais and Celta Vigo were all potential opponents for United.
So, what makes the draw a gift for United?
Not only have United avoided the aforementioned teams – but some of them are guaranteed to be leaving the competition in the round of 16.
How? I hear you ask… No, I’m not predicting shock losses for these big sides – they just happen to be playing each-other.
Every team United would want to avoid should they get through to the quarter-finals is playing a team at least capable of seeing them off…
Celta Vigo vs Kuban Krasnodar: Celta are obviously a side United would prefer not to face – they have beaten Valencia and Barcelona in La Liga this season and have been involved in many high-scoring draws, too.
Krasnodar themselves are a dangerous outfit, too. They saw off Fenerbahce in the last round of the Europa League and have recently beaten Zenit in the Russian Premier League
Schalke 04 vs Borussia Monchengladbach: Clearly a massive tie between the German sides, it needs no explanation as to how it’s a blessing for United – one of these two dangerous teams will be out of the competition soon!
Lyon vs Roma: What. A. Tie. Definitely the pick of the round, I can’t wait for these games to roll around and that’s made even better by the fact that, as above, one of the two sides will be out of the Europa League before they get a chance to face United.
Olympiakos vs Besiktas: Well, any United fan could tell you that Olympiakos are no push-overs… it took a Robin van Persie hat-trick on a special night at Old Trafford to see them off in the Champions League round of 16 back in 2014-15.
Besiktas possess the talents of Ricardo Quaresma, Vincent Aboubakar, Talisca, Oguzhan Ozyakup, Tolgay Arslan and more. They’re my pick as the real dark horses of the tournament and Jose will be pleased if Olympiakos knock them out, as an away trip to Turkey is something United will want to avoid.
Kobenhavn vs Ajax:
Another exciting tie, Kobenhavn aren’t the best side in the compeition but they certainly pose a threat. They came out of the Champions League this season, but managed a point away at Porto and scored six in two games against Club Brugge while they were in the competition.
Ajax are another big team left to avoid in the Europa League, with on-loan Chelsea man Bertrand Traore firing from both barrels this season – alongside the likes of Hakim Ziyech and Lasse Schone also dangerous for the Dutch side.
United may be facing a long, long trip to Southern Russia for the away game against FC Rostov – but I’d rather that than facing the mercurial Alexandre Lacazette of Lyon, or needing to go to Roma and win in a second leg – wouldn’t you?
