Manchester United have qualified for the UEFA Champions League round of 16 after their fifth group stage match, but Wednesday’s 1-1 draw against Young Boys was what was missing for them to clinch the top spot. Following Villarreal’s thrilling 3-2 win against Atalanta on Thursday night, it is the English and the Spanish side that progress from this group.
This means we will not see Man United in Champions League action until February, when the Round of 16 will commence. But before that happens, Manchester United will be at the round of 16 draw on Monday, 13 December. With United finishing top of the group, they will be among the eight seeded teams in the draw.
What Means Being A Seeded Team?
This means a team has finished top of the group and will face one of the eight second-placed teams that progressed to the round of 16. It also means they will only be able to face those teams that do not come from their group and those that are not from the same country. The third part of it is that the seeded team will also play the return leg at home.
Which Teams Can Manchester United Face?
Man United finished top of the group which usually means facing a potentially weaker side, but that does not always have to happen.
The Red Devils will be able to face one of these teams – Paris Saint Germain, Atletico Madrid, Sporting, Inter Milan, Benfica or Red Bull Salzburg. They cannot face Villarreal as they were in the same group and they cannot face Chelsea either, as they are from the same country.
How Those Six Teams Fared In The Champions League?
Here is how all of Man United’s potential opponents played in the Champions League this seaosn.
Paris Saint Germain finished behind Manchester City in Group A, with 11 points, one less than their rival, managin in the process to beat City 2-0 in Paris. However, they lost 2-1 in Manchester and also failed to win in the other two away matches against Leipzig and Club Brugge.
Atletico Madrid are champions of Spain, but they really struggled to finish second in the group. They were behind Liverpool who had maximum 18 points, with Diego Simeone’s side winning just seven – losing three games in the process, but still getting ahead of Porto and AC Milan.
Sporting are another surprise, as they finished equal on points with Borussia Dortmund in Group C. Both sides had nine points, but Sporting were better in head-to-head matches, finishing second, behind Ajax (18 points).
Inter Milan are the team we can face from Group D and they were expected there, as they finished ahead of Sheriff Tiraspol and Shakhtar Donetsk, but behind Real Madrid.
Benfica come from Group E as another surprise, as they knocked Barcelona out of the Champions League to Europa League. Benfica had two wins, two draws and two losses, but ultimately finished with one point more than Barca. Bayern Munich were top of that group with maximum 18 points.
And the final team Man United could face are Red Bull Salzburg. Austrian club are another team many have not expected to go through, but a very closely fought group had seen Sevilla go to Europa League and Wolfsburg finish their European season. Lille topped the group with one point more than Salzburg.
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