Ten Hag reacts to Europa League last-16 draw
Erik ten Hag has reacted positively to Manchester United being drawn against Real Betis in the Europa League last 16 following the UEFA ceremony on Friday morning.
The electric atmosphere at Old Trafford was reminiscent of our classic triumphs against the Nou Camp club in 1984 and 2008, and Ten Hag is determined to go all the way in Europe this season.
While the United players were still recovering, UEFA held a last-16 draw in Nyon, Switzerland, that conjured a familiar opponent for our squad and coaching staff - Real Betis.
In case you didn’t know, the Reds played a friendly against the Andalusia side during the recent winter break in the World Cup.
Both squads were missing key players to international duty at that time, but Ten Hag has a very good idea of what we can expect next month.
In an interview with club reporter Mark Sullivan at Carrington, Erik gave his reaction to the draw: “I just heard and we played them in the pre-season after the winter break, and you know what you get from Spanish football. We faced it yesterday.
“It is a playing team, a skilful team, so we will have to play our best. We also played Real Sociedad this season and so we know, only when you play your best, you have a chance to survive and to get into the next round.
“So, we will go deeper when we face them.
“First we have to put the energy and the focus into the next games, and games [after that], because first we have the Carabao Cup, the FA Cup and then the Premier League.”
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Real Betis are currently managed by former Manchester City and West Ham United boss Manuel Pellegrini, and they sit fifth in La Liga at present.
They advanced to the Europa League last-16 stage by winning Group C, notably finishing above Jose Mourinho’s Serie A giants AS Roma.
Our first leg will be played at Old Trafford on Thursday 9 March, before the return fixture takes place in Spain on Thursday 16 March.
EUROPA LEAGUE ROUND OF 16
Union Berlin v Union Saint-Gilloise
Sevilla v Fenerbahçe
Juventus v Freiburg
Leverkusen v Ferencvaros
Sporting CP v Arsenal
Manchester United v Real Betis
Roma v Real Sociedad
Shakhtar Donetsk v Feyenoord