Europa League draw: Bournemouth, Sunderland get glamour ties with AC Milan
Teams playing in UEFA's Europa League and Conference League find out their opponents as league phase draws made.
English football clubs Bournemouth and Sunderland were both awarded high-profile Europa League ties featuring AC Milan as the draw for the league phase took place on Friday in Monaco. This is Bournemouth's first appearance in a continental competition, as they finished sixth in the Premier League last season. The English side will host AC Milan on the south coast of England, and play home matches against Viktoria Plzen of the Czech Republic, Sturm Graz from Austria, and Hapoel Be'er Sheva of Israel.
Their European itinerary also includes matches in Spain against Real Sociedad and Celta Vigo, as well as visits to Sparta Prague and last year's Norwegian Cup winners Lillestrom.
Sunderland, who finished seventh in the Premier League last season, made their European debut since 1973. They will travel to Milan's San Siro stadium and face former UEFA Cup winners Anderlecht. Sunderland's home matches will take place against AZ Alkmaar of the Netherlands, Dinamo Zagreb from Croatia, and Levski Sofia from Bulgaria.
The team will also play two Polish clubs, Jagiellonia Bialystok and Lech Poznan, as well as Portuguese side Torreense, who won last season's Portuguese Cup. Torreense, from the town of Torres Vedras 50 kilometres north of Lisbon, will host matches at the Estadio do Algarve, located just outside Faro.
Like Bournemouth and Sunderland, third pot seeds Crystal Palace were also drawn to face AC Milan. Now coached by Frenchman Pierre Sage, Palace will host matches against Real Sociedad, Sparta Prague, Lech Poznan, and German club Hoffenheim at home. They will travel to Lyon, Salzburg, and Jagiellonia, and compete in Istanbul against Besiktas.
Celtic, who finished fourth in the Scottish Premiership last season, secured a Europa League spot after their Champions League play-off loss to LASK of Austria. The Scottish champions will host Marseille and visit Benfica, while other opponents include Celta Vigo, Besiktas, and Torreense.
Other notable teams in this season's Europa League include Bayer Leverkusen and Juventus, who are three-time winners of the tournament's predecessor, the UEFA Cup. The league phase will see fixtures announced by UEFA over the weekend, with the first matches set to take place on September 16 and 17. The final is scheduled for May 26, 2027, at the German city of Frankfurt.
Written by urgent.news from New Straits Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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