Manchester United are back in the Champions League but their participation rests on their navigation of a tricky two-legged play-off in August
Louis van Gaal last night learned the final make-up of the 15 sides that will compete in the ‘non-champions’ section of the play-off, which will see five teams win places in the group stage.
As top seeds, United will at least avoid the toughest opposition, with Valencia, Ajax, Bayer Leverkusen and Shakhtar Donetsk joining the Red Devils in the top tier.
However that still leaves the likes of Monaco, Sporting Lisbon, Fenerbahce and CSKA Moscow in the mix, while there is now the daunting prospect of taking on Lazio after they completed the field thanks to last night’s 3-2 victory over Rafael Benitez’s Napoli in the Spaniard’s last game in charge.
The full list of teams in the play-off draw:
Seeded:
Manchester United
Valencia
Bayer Leverkusen
Shakhtar Donetsk*
Ajax*
Unseeded:
Sporting Lisbon
CSKA Moscow*
Lazio
Club Brugge*
Monaco*
Young Boys*
Sparta Prague*
Fenerbahce*
Panathinaikos*
Rapid Vienna*
*Must play preliminary two-legged tie.
