Official: Barcelona will face Manchester United in UEFA Europa League playoffs | OneFootball

After dropping down to the UEFA Europa League for the second time in a row, Barcelona have learnt their opponents for the playoffs. They will be coming up against Manchester United over two legs to earn a place in the Round of 16.

Barcelona finished third in their UEFA Champions League group behind Bayern Munich and Inter Milan, and ended up getting relegated to the Europa League.

Entering in the playoff stages where they face the runners-up from the Europa League group phase, the Blaugrana could have drawn the second-best teams from any of the eight groups as Spanish sides Real Sociedad and Real Betis had finished as group winners.

It meant that Barça could have faced Manchester United, AS Roma, PSV Eindhoven, AS Monaco, Nantes, Stade Rennais, Union Berlin and FC Midtjylland.

And, in the end, the La Liga heavyweights have ended up drawing Manchester United when the competition resumes next February, in an absolute heavyweight encounter.

The Red Devils finished second in Group E behind Real Sociedad. Under new manager Erik ten Hag, the Premier League giants have so far been hit and miss. But it will certainly be a huge challenge for Barcelona to overcome one of Europe’s traditional giants.

Fans will also be treated to a battle between Robert Lewandowski and Cristiano Ronaldo. The first leg will be played at Camp Nou on February 16, with the return leg at Old Trafford a week later on February 23.

Other UEL Playoff fixtures:

Juventus vs NantesSporting CP vs FC MidtjyllandShakhtar Donetsk vs Stade RennaisAjax vs FC Union BerlinBayer Leverkusen vs AS MonacoSevilla vs PSV EindhovenFC Salzburg vs AS Roma