AC Milan and coach Amorim get English opponents Sunderland and Bournemouth in Europa League draw

AC Milan and freshly appointed coach Ruben Amorim are set to face two English teams, Sunderland and Bournemouth, in the Europa League following a recent draw. The Italian club will host Sunderland in their first match and will travel to play Bournemouth.

Amorim, who recently took over as Milan's coach, had a difficult tenure at Manchester United which concluded in January. Milan will also host Benfica, the team they defeated in the 1990 European Cup final, at their home ground, the San Siro, in the league phase.

Meanwhile, Juventus were paired with two Spanish teams, Real Sociedad and Celta Vigo, and will play away against Israeli side Hapoel Beer-Sheva. Hapoel Beer-Sheva, in turn, will have to travel to the Netherlands, Belgium, England, and Turkey to face AZ Alkmaar, Union Saint-Gilloise, Bournemouth, and Besiktas.

Crystal Palace, who won the Conference League last season after being blocked from the Europa League due to ownership disputes with Lyon, will finally participate in the competition one year after its initial denial. Lyon, previously owned by John Textor, will now play Crystal Palace in the competition after severing ties with the French club.

Celtic will face Marseille and play two matches against Portuguese teams, Benfica and Torreense, both of which won significant European cups (1967 and 2017, respectively). Bayer Leverkusen, who lost the 2024 final, will face two French teams, Marseille and Lyon. The Europa League kicks off on September 16-17, with the final set to be played at Eintracht Frankfurt's stadium in May. A total of 36 teams will participate, sharing a prize money fund of 565 million euros ($658 million).