Jose shrugs off Europa nightmare

Manchester United were handed a dreadful Europa League draw, ending with a trip deep into war-torn Ukraine in December. Photo: Darren Staples

Manchester United were handed a dreadful Europa League draw, ending with a trip deep into war-torn Ukraine in December. Photo: Darren Staples

Published Aug 27, 2016

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Manchester United were handed a dreadful Europa League draw, ending with a trip deep into war-torn Ukraine in December.

Uefa confirmed that United’s Group A opponents Zorya Luhansk will play their fixture against Jose Mourinho’s side 550 miles away in the Black Sea port of Odessa due to fighting between government troops and Russian-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine.

United must also travel to Istanbul, which has been hit by terrorism and a failed military coup in recent months, to face Turkish club Fenerbahce on November 3.

Their third game will be against Feyenoord in a half-empty stadium in Rotterdam on September 15 after the Dutch team acted to prevent more bad behaviour by their fans.

The Foreign Office advise UK travellers not to visit Luhansk but have also warned of incidents in Odessa where United play on December 8.

In total, United must travel 7 500 miles in Europe, twice as much as neighbours Manchester City will cover in the Champions League.Mourinho said: ‘It’s quite far but it’s part of the competition. You have to manage the competition. It’s not knockout, it’s six games.’

However, the United manager said that drawing Feyenoord and Fenerbahce will give their Europa League campaign the feeling of a Champions League group.

‘We think we are in the Champions League,’ he said. ‘I think it’s good for the fans and for the players because we will be much more motivated, and it’s good for the competition which doesn’t have the same glamour as the Champions League.’

Southampton, who face trips totalling more than 7,000 miles, have a glamour tie against Inter Milan and have also been drawn against Sparta Prague and Israel’s Hapoel Be’er Sheva while League of Ireland side Dundalk also have to go to Israel to face Maccabi Tel-Aviv with Zenit St Petersburg and AZ Alkmaar their other opponents.

GROUP K

FIXTURES: Thur Sep 15 Southampton v S Prague; Inter v Hapoel BS. Thur Sep 29 Hapoel BS v Southampton; S Prague v Inter. Thur Oct 20 Inter v Southampton; Hapoel BS v S Prague. Thur Nov 3 Southampton v Inter; S Prague v Hapoel BS. Thur Nov 24 S Prague v Southampton; Hapoel BS v Inter. Thur Dec 8 Southampton v Hapoel BS; Inter v S Prague.

FIXTURES: Thur Sep 15 Feyenoord v Man Utd; Zorya v Fenerbahce. Thur Sep 29 Fenerbahce v Feyenoord; Man Utd v Zorya. Thur Oct 20 Man Utd v Fenerbahce; Feyenoord v Zorya. Thur Nov 3 Fenerbahce v Man Utd; Zorya v Feyenoord. Thur Nov 24 Fenerbahce v Zorya; Man Utd v Feyenoord. Thur Dec 8 Feyenoord v Fenerbahce; Zorya v Man Utd. – Daily Mail

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