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Porto draws City, United faces Ajax
Source: Agencies |
December 17, 2011, Saturday
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DEFENDING champion Porto will face Premier League leader Manchester City while former European champion Ajax Amsterdam will meet Manchester United in two glittering Europa League round of 32 ties following yesterday's draw.
All four teams were in the Champions League and dropped down to the Europa League and were, oddly, the first four teams out of the bag when the draw was made at UEFA's headquarters in Nyon.
Davor Suker, who was making the draw, was unable to open the plastic ball containing Manchester City's name and in a moment of farce UEFA's director of competitions Giorgio Marchetti and general secretary Gianni Infantino had to help to twist open the ball and reveal Porto's opponents.
The two Manchester clubs, who are first and second in the Premier League and will play each other in the third round of the FA Cup next month, avoided each other though they could meet later in a competition.
City failed to qualify for the last 16 of the Champions League after finishing third in Group A behind Napoli and Bayern Munich, while United, which has reached three of the last four Champions League finals, failed to advance, finishing behind Basel and Benfica.
The draw for the round of 16 means the winner of the Porto-Manchester City tie will play either Porto's Portuguese rival Sporting or Legia Warsaw. Whoever wins the Ajax-Manchester United tie will face Lokomotiv Moscow or Athletic Bilbao.
Braga, which lost last season's all-Portuguese final to Porto in Dublin, will face Besiktas in the round of 32 with the winner meeting either Lazio or Atletico Madrid in the last 16.
All four teams were in the Champions League and dropped down to the Europa League and were, oddly, the first four teams out of the bag when the draw was made at UEFA's headquarters in Nyon.
Davor Suker, who was making the draw, was unable to open the plastic ball containing Manchester City's name and in a moment of farce UEFA's director of competitions Giorgio Marchetti and general secretary Gianni Infantino had to help to twist open the ball and reveal Porto's opponents.
The two Manchester clubs, who are first and second in the Premier League and will play each other in the third round of the FA Cup next month, avoided each other though they could meet later in a competition.
City failed to qualify for the last 16 of the Champions League after finishing third in Group A behind Napoli and Bayern Munich, while United, which has reached three of the last four Champions League finals, failed to advance, finishing behind Basel and Benfica.
The draw for the round of 16 means the winner of the Porto-Manchester City tie will play either Porto's Portuguese rival Sporting or Legia Warsaw. Whoever wins the Ajax-Manchester United tie will face Lokomotiv Moscow or Athletic Bilbao.
Braga, which lost last season's all-Portuguese final to Porto in Dublin, will face Besiktas in the round of 32 with the winner meeting either Lazio or Atletico Madrid in the last 16.
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