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Topics: Manchester United, Ruben Amorim, Europa League
Jack Kenmare
Topics: Manchester United, Ruben Amorim, Europa League
Ruben Amorim has already given his thoughts on who can win this season's Europa League ahead of the much-anticipated draw in Switzerland on Friday afternoon.
At around 12pm GMT, Manchester United will discover their next opponents in the Europa League after they secured a place in the last-16 following an impressive run in the league phase.
In fact, despite their poor form in the Premier League, United ended up being the only unbeaten team in the competition, finishing third in the table with five wins from a possible eight.
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They ended their league phase campaign with a 2-0 win over Steaua Bucharest as second-half goals from Diogo Dalot and Kobbie Mainoo secured their place in the next stages.
And after the full-time whistle, an encouraged Ruben Amorim was convinced his side could go on and win the competition.
Speaking in his post-match interview, the Portuguese head coach said he didn't see a "big difference" in the way they played in Romania but it was enough for him to make a bold statement.
“I think we can go game by game and we can win it," he said. "Then you have the responsibility, no matter the context, because you are in Manchester United so you must fight for winning trophies. So we will see.
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“When you get to this stage of any competition, anything is possible and they can prove, on a good day, that they can win against anybody. So we can think about that [winning the competition.]"
Amorim added: “I didn’t see a big difference in the way we play, but today we had more time to think and now you can see, in some movements, that the idea is there, because we have more time to play and understand the game.”
United will face either AZ Alkmaar or Real Sociedad in the next stage of the competition.
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On Thursday night, Eredivisie side AZ Alkmaar secured their spot in the last-16 with a 6-3 aggregate win over Galatasaray, while Real Sociedad beat Midtjylland 7-3 on aggregate to progress.
Spurs will also face either AZ Alkmaar or Sociedad as they are paired with third seeds United in the knockout bracket.
In terms of the other potential draws, Ajax will face either Eintracht Frankfurt or Lyon in last-16, while Fenerbahce will come up against either Olympiacos or Rangers. Roma, meanwhile, will play either Lazio or Athletic Bilbao.