Man United, Inter favourites for Europa League
This year's Europa League final was initially due to be played in the Polish city of Gdansk in late May before the health crisis forced a change of plans.
NAMPA/AFP
Manchester United, Inter Milan and Sevilla headline a quintet of former champions travelling to Germany for a remodelled eight-team straight knockout tournament that will crown the winner of a Europa League campaign heavily disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic.
All games from the quarter-finals onwards in this season's competition will be played behind closed doors as one-off ties across four venues in Cologne, Duisburg, Dusseldorf and Gelsenkirchen, following a five-month interruption.
While a Champions League berth still awaits the victor of the final in Cologne on 21 August, much has changed since the Covid-19 outbreak that brought European football to a standstill in March.
“There are rules and regulations on the bubble that's going to travel. We've got to stick together, stay together in and around the hotel and the training ground,” United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said of the strict health protocols clubs must respect.
Compulsory testing
Players and staff will undergo virus testing before departing for Germany and again on the eve of a match once arriving, a process repeated for each subsequent game in the final tournament.
The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) has advised teams to travel on charter flights and minimise contact with the general public, strongly recommending the use of exclusive hotels to which players will largely be confined in order to avoid potential cross-contamination. United, the 2017 winners, face FC Copenhagen in Monday's quarter-final in Cologne while Serie A runners-up Inter take on Bayer Leverkusen in a clash of former UEFA Cup champions at Dusseldorf Arena.
England forward Jesse Lingard, who played in United's 2-0 win over Ajax in the final three years ago, is confident the team can capture the title for a second time.
Lingard rejuvenated
“We can't wait to get there and play this game now. 100%, I want to win it again,” Lingard said.
“Lifting a trophy is a special feeling you can't really explain and winning it before, you take that confidence forward.
We have a mixture of youth and experience in the squad and for the young lads to win their first trophy, it will be perfect for them.”
Should United advance to the last four, they would face either Sevilla, who have won the Europa League and its precursor the UEFA Cup a record five times, or Premier League rivals Wolves in Cologne on 16 August.
Wolves are through to a first European quarter-final since 1972 but were punished by UEFA in midweek after failing to comply with financial fair play requirements. They take on Sevilla in Duisburg tomorrow.
Ukrainian champions Shakhtar Donetsk, winners of the 2009 edition, play Swiss outfit Basel in the other quarter-final in Gelsenkirchen.
Gdansk will host next year's final instead.
Unique German finale
Manchester United, Inter Milan and Sevilla headline a quintet of former champions travelling to Germany for a remodelled eight-team straight knockout tournament that will crown the winner of a Europa League campaign heavily disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic.
All games from the quarter-finals onwards in this season's competition will be played behind closed doors as one-off ties across four venues in Cologne, Duisburg, Dusseldorf and Gelsenkirchen, following a five-month interruption.
While a Champions League berth still awaits the victor of the final in Cologne on 21 August, much has changed since the Covid-19 outbreak that brought European football to a standstill in March.
“There are rules and regulations on the bubble that's going to travel. We've got to stick together, stay together in and around the hotel and the training ground,” United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said of the strict health protocols clubs must respect.
Compulsory testing
Players and staff will undergo virus testing before departing for Germany and again on the eve of a match once arriving, a process repeated for each subsequent game in the final tournament.
The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) has advised teams to travel on charter flights and minimise contact with the general public, strongly recommending the use of exclusive hotels to which players will largely be confined in order to avoid potential cross-contamination. United, the 2017 winners, face FC Copenhagen in Monday's quarter-final in Cologne while Serie A runners-up Inter take on Bayer Leverkusen in a clash of former UEFA Cup champions at Dusseldorf Arena.
England forward Jesse Lingard, who played in United's 2-0 win over Ajax in the final three years ago, is confident the team can capture the title for a second time.
Lingard rejuvenated
“We can't wait to get there and play this game now. 100%, I want to win it again,” Lingard said.
“Lifting a trophy is a special feeling you can't really explain and winning it before, you take that confidence forward.
We have a mixture of youth and experience in the squad and for the young lads to win their first trophy, it will be perfect for them.”
Should United advance to the last four, they would face either Sevilla, who have won the Europa League and its precursor the UEFA Cup a record five times, or Premier League rivals Wolves in Cologne on 16 August.
Wolves are through to a first European quarter-final since 1972 but were punished by UEFA in midweek after failing to comply with financial fair play requirements. They take on Sevilla in Duisburg tomorrow.
Ukrainian champions Shakhtar Donetsk, winners of the 2009 edition, play Swiss outfit Basel in the other quarter-final in Gelsenkirchen.
Gdansk will host next year's final instead.
Unique German finale
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