Manchester United progressed through to the round of 16 in the Europa League after their 0-0 draw on Thursday with Real Sociedad. Their 4-0 first-leg win proved to be enough to carry The Reds through to the next round where they'll face AC Milan and former striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who they'll be aiming to keep quiet over the two legs.

Goals from Bruno Fernandes, Marcus Rashford and Daniel James in that game ensured that United had a comfortable lead going into Thursday nights game.

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Real Sociedad failed to respond with Mikel Oyarzabal missing a penalty early on. Both sides hit the bar in the game and Axel Tuanzebe did put the ball in the back of the net, but that was chalked off and disallowed.

The draw for the round of 16 games was made on Friday afternoon.

  • Both sides journeys to the Round of 16

Manchester United's Europa League journey started after they were knocked out of the Champions League earlier this season after finishing third in their group with nine points - the most out of any teams that finished third in the Champions League this season.

They then faced Real Sociedad, who as mentioned previously, they beat 4-0 on aggregate.

AC Milan topped their Europa League group, winning four games, drawing one and losing one.

In the round of 32 AC Milan just scraped through against FK Crvena Zvezda, their aggregate score was 3-3, however, Milan went through on away goals.

  • AC Milan

AC Milan are giants when it comes to European football. The Italian side and United are two of Europe's most successful sides, between them they've won the European Cup/Champions League on 10 occasions. Ibrahimovic played a big part in helping United to win the Europa League back in 2017, with his only United hattrick coming against AS Saint-Étienne in the round of 32 that year.

  • AC Milan Manager - Stefano Pioli

Pioli was appointed as Milan's manager in 2019. The Italian has managed many clubs, with him starting his managerial career in 2003.

Last season Pioli and Milan finished sixth in the Serie A and earned themselves a Europa League spot. 

As a manager he is yet to win anything substantial, however with his team and with their current form this season, they could be successful and earn some silverware. His side also sit second in the Serie A this season, four points behind their rivals Inter Milan.

  • Who to watch out for

Whenever Ibrahimovic is playing he is always the man to look out for. In the Serie A this season, the Swede has scored 14 goals and assisted one in 13 games. Even at 39-years-old Ibrahimovic is not slowing down and could cause his former club some big problems. Although, he is yet to score in this season Europa League.

Franck Kessie is also a player that United should be aware of. The midfielder has provided his club with seven goals and two assists so far in the Serie A this season. The 24-year-old has shown that he can attack and defend and therefore could cause United a lot of problems.

 

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