Roma coach Paulo Fonseca said it was ‘destiny’ that the Giallorossi are drawn his former club Shakhtar Donetsk. ‘I know it’s difficult to play in Ukraine’.
Fonseca eliminated former club Sporting Braga in the last 32 and will now face Shakhtar in back-to-back rounds against his previous employers.
“It was destiny that I was going to be drawn against my old team,” Fonseca told the club’s official channel.
Milan are drawn Manchester United in the Europa League, adding to a tough month of fixtures including games against Roma and Napoli in Serie A.
The two legs against the Premier League giants are scheduled for March 11 and 18, on either side of a home game against Napoli in the League.
The Rossoneri will not get a break next week either, as they play seven games in 22 days and host Udinese on Wednesday and face Hellas Verona at the Bentegodi four days later.
Roma sporting director Tiago Pinto expects ‘two great Finals’ against Shakhtar Donetsk in the Europa league. ‘They’re a very experienced team’.
The Giallorossi director briefly commented on the draw for the last 16 of the Europa League and expects a tough battle against Ukrainians.
“It will be a difficult match, Shakhtar is a very experienced team in these competitions and very well equipped,” Tiago Pinto told UEFA.
“We know we have two great battles ahead, two great Finals.”
One trait most successful coaches share is the ability to make the difficult, and perhaps unpopular, decisions and Matt Santangelo argues that is what is now necessary for Stefano Pioli.
After suffering their fifth defeat in all competitions this year to Inter, Milan survived against a gritty Red Star side to advance into the UEFA Europa League round of 16 where they will meet Manchester United.
The performance against Dejan Stankovic’s side failed to convince, highlighting further the issues that remain prevalent throughout the squad.
Milan coach Stefano Pioli said Manchester United are the ‘biggest favourites’ in the Europa League, but ‘recall glorious moments’ in the Rossoneri history.
The Rossoneri will face Manchester United for the first time in 11 years in the last 16 of the Europa League in March, and Sky Sport Italia reported some Milan players reacted with sarcastic smiles to the draw.
Manchester United coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer claimed the match against Milan ‘could be a Champions League game’ and said Zlatan Ibrahimovic has ‘impressed’ at the Rossoneri.
The Norwegian coach, who turns 48 today, spoke about the ‘tradition and history’ of Milan after his team were drawn the Rossoneri in the last 16 of the Europa League.
“It's a nice birthday gift, isn't it? To watch that draw!” he told the club’s official website.
Roma forward Edin Dzeko has suffered a first-degree injury in the left thigh and will reportedly be out for two weeks.
Calciomercato.com reports the Giallorossi forward underwent instrumental tests at the Villa Stuart clinic today and the Bosnian will be out for two weeks due to a first-degree adductor injury in the left leg.
According to Sky Sport Italia, some Milan players reacted with a sarcastic smile after knowing they had picked up Manchester United in the Europa League round of 16.
The Rossoneri will face Manchester United for the first time in 11 years in the last 16 stage of the Europa League in March.
According to Sky Sport, some Milan players welcomed the news with frustration.
Paulo Fonseca will face his former club Shakhtar in the last-16 stage of the Europa League.
The Giallorossi were drawn with the Ukrainian side in the round of 16 of the competition.
They had eliminated Braga from the last 32 stage.
Paulo Fonseca had coached both the Portuguese side and Shakhtar before joining Roma in the summer of 2019.
Fonseca won seven trophies in charge of Shakhtar, including three league titles, between 2016 and 2019.
Milan will face Manchester United in the last 16 stage of the Europa League, their last meeting in March 2010 ended with a 4-0 win of the Red Devils.
The draw for the last 16 stage of Europa League took place today.
Milan eliminated Red Star from the last 32 stage and the Red Devils had the better of Real Sociedad.
The last meeting between the two sides is dated back to March 2010 when the Rossoneri suffered a 4-0 defeat at the Old Trafford.
