Manchester United: Zlatan Ibrahimovic will return to Old Trafford
Oh No! Must have been every Manchester United fan following the Europa League draw for the round of 16. The Red Devils lucky pick, not so lucky pick, is AC Milan.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic will return to Old Trafford, this time not as a friendly but as a foe. He and his AC Milan teammates will travel to Manchester first and then entertain them at the San Siro in their round of 16 doubleheader.
Of all the teams to draw from, United sadly gets one of the toughest oppositions. While they probably dread a Milan challenge, Spurs travels to Croatia for their matchup against Dinamo Zagreb… A more favourable fixture for the North London outfit.
In the meantime, the Europa League has offered Arsenal a shot at redemption from last season’s tournament. They go up against the side who knocked them out in the round of 32, Olympiacos.
That or the Europa League has a sick sense of humour and wants to remind the Gunners who shot their European hopes down and what all went wrong at the club at the time – including what went wrong around the world.
🔥 Round of 16 draw! 🔥
— UEFA Europa League (@EuropaLeague) February 26, 2021
Best game? 🤩#UELdraw pic.twitter.com/LlPsMyZjgo
What are the chances of Ibrahimovic meeting his old club so early?
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Zlatan Ibrahimovic is meeting a lot of his old teammates, most notably the meeting between him and ex-mate Romelu Lukaku. The two literally squared up against each other at San Siro in the Milan derby – and boy what a showdown it was.
If this clash of heads was anything to go by then you have to be thinking about how Zlatan will treat his old club? Will get under their skin?
Will he cause the same flamboyant scenes as he did when he was about to spar with Lukaku? Will he be the man to deliver the first strike at the Theatre of Dreams and/or then the final blow in Italy?
The last the Swede was in Manchester was the last he played for the club back in 2018. He opted to not extend his stay and left for his challenge in the USA with LA Galaxy – where he stayed for a full season.
In his time at Old Trafford, he scored a total of 17 Premier League goals in 33 appearances. In his last two seasons in the Serie A the ruthless goalscorer, who is also 39 years old, has 24 goals in 31 features.
Two in-form league teams battle it out
Both clubs ironically sits in second place in their respective league standings – and are behind their neighbouring rivals. This makes it appear even more as if was written in the stars for these two powerhouses to meet in the competition.
Milan has dipped in form of late while United have picked it up but remain inconsistent. This in some way displays the encounter is pretty much balanced and it is anybody’s game to win.
It’s going to be a well-contested duel between the two European giants! In the past, this fixture has never disappointed on the European stage.
It should not fail to exceed expectations once again with all the novelty added to it ahead of the rodeo. This has been dubbed the most anticipated match in the Europa League round of 16, hands down!
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The stage is set for Manchester United and AC Milan… As well as Zlatan Ibrahimovic! The date set for the clash to take place will be March 11.