Europa League draw: Man Utd face reunion with Robin van Persie

Last updated on .From the section Footballcomments35

Robin Van Persie
Van Persie scored 58 goals in 105 games for Manchester United

Manchester United will face Fenerbahce, Feyenoord and Zorya Luhansk in the group stage of the Europa League.

It pits United against their former striker Robin van Persie, who is now with Fenerbahce.

Southampton, the other Premier League side still in the competition, will play Inter Milan, Sparta Prague and Hapoel Beer Sheva.

League of Ireland side Dundalk have been drawn with Zenit St Petersburg, AZ Alkmaar and Maccabi Tel-Aviv.

The match dates for the group stage are 15 and 29 September, 20 October, 3 and 24 November, and 8 December.

United boss Jose Mourinho said he knew little about Ukrainian opponents Zorya, whose home ground is close to the Russian border, meaning they will play their fixtures 500 miles away in Odessa.

But welcomed being drawn with Fenerbahce and Feyenoord, who will have a reduced capacity at their De Kuip stadium due to trouble at previous games.

"We all know the competition is not the same as the Champions League but to have Manchester United playing against clubs with tradition like Fenerbahce and Feyenoord is good for us," he said.

"We know that it will be a difficult group, but I think that is a good thing. It is good for the fans and for the players because it will help motivation."

Full draw:

Group A: Man Utd, Fenerbahce, Feyenoord, Zorya Luhansk

Group B: Olympiacos, Apoel Nicosia, Young Boys, Astana

Group C: Anderlecht, St Etienne, Mainz, Qabala

Group D: Zenit St Petersburg, AZ Alkmaar, Maccabi Tel-Aviv, Dundalk

Group E: Plzen, Roma, Austria Vienna, FC Astra Giurgiu

Group F: Athletic Bilbao, Genk, Rapid Vienna, Sassuolo

Group G: Ajax, Standard Liege, Celta Vigo, Panathinaikos

Group H: Shakhtar Donetsk, Braga, Gent, Konyaspor

Group I: Schalke 04, FC Red Bull Salzburg, Krasnodar, Nice

Group J: Fiorentina, PAOK Salonika, Liberec, Qarabag

Group K: Inter Milan, Sparta Prague, Southampton, Hapoel Beer Sheva

Group L: Villarreal, Steaua Bucharest, FC Zurich, Osmanlispor

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35 comments

  • Comment posted by U16364392, at 14:25 26 Aug 2016

    A footballer coming up against his old team? Something that hasn't happened ten million times already.....
    Did McNulty write this?

  • Comment posted by In Wenger We Trust, at 14:04 26 Aug 2016

    who actually cares? NOT HYS worthy in the slightest

  • Comment posted by U15427493, at 15:26 26 Aug 2016

    Yeah go mufc, go rvp, go break a leg

    Ps :Break a leg is an idiom used to wish "good luck".

  • Comment posted by Zapi, at 14:47 26 Aug 2016

    Man Utd have a lot of ex-players, it isn't really a big deal.

  • Comment posted by PopeBenedict, at 14:30 26 Aug 2016

    Open the comments in a new tab

  • Comment posted by PGB Addick, at 14:22 26 Aug 2016

    @4 Yeah great except nobody is here to see it, so maybe the Beeb should sort it out. whatever engine runs the comments at the bottom of an article is not working

  • Comment posted by BearMcRowdy, at 21:36 26 Aug 2016

    @ 24 So they should report on Leyton Orient as much as they report on Arsenal? Silly comment. They will report on the items that are the leading items in public interest. And love them or loathe them, Man U must be one of the most consistent clubs to report on as their is such interest from all sides.

    I'm amazed people still don't get this.

  • Comment posted by ant, at 20:37 26 Aug 2016

    Looking at the teams it seems to be a bit of a joke until the final 16. Great for the smaller teams to play some great players. Then again, its Utds fault for putting up with Mr Philoshophy for far too long.

  • Comment posted by M1cha5l, at 18:25 26 Aug 2016

    Quit commenting the same stuff all time time!

    This article has obviously been written because was one of the best strikers the Premier league has seen and just so happens to be a former Manchester United player.

    If Bale comes back against spurs, they'd have done the same article!

  • Comment posted by king ledley, at 14:11 26 Aug 2016

    3. or simply put /comments at the end of the address bar (after the 37196269)
    so in full it should read - www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/37196269/comments

    worked for me

  • Comment posted by BearMcRowdy, at 20:51 26 Aug 2016

    @16 Man U have a hell of a lot of fans. And enemies. And so regardless of whether you comment as a fan or a foe, United articles are published frequently and often get the most comments. media these days operates in many ways and measurement of clicks on an article is one of them. So just remember, every time you refresh this comment section to moan, you feed the need for more of the same.

  • Comment posted by Mr Red, at 15:05 27 Aug 2016

    PGB

    I noticed the same thing. Just because it's down marked doesn't mean its not true though.

  • Comment posted by PGB Addick, at 13:21 27 Aug 2016

    Why would someone down rate a post without saying something themselves? Weird.

    Some penalty indecisions at White Hart Lane. Coutinho is playing despite not being named in the provisional squad. Fantasy players will be gutted. Still all even

    Lewis is not caring about qualifying seeing as he has a 55 grid penalty, couple of cars are out. Wow a fantastic 3rd Quali
    Nas, Oco,Kyv, Eri the outs

  • Comment posted by cananyonehearme, at 20:56 26 Aug 2016

    As a Celtic fan, as soon as barca and city were out of the bag, I knew that there was a place in that group for them! Interesting to see rvp back. Apart from talking about himself in the third person, Ibra reminded me of rvp last week

  • Comment posted by U15141560, at 18:15 26 Aug 2016

    Good group for ManU and....OYSTON OUT ... could do with ManU support on this

  • Comment posted by PGB Addick, at 13:02 27 Aug 2016

    With nobody here may as well rabbit on until somebody wakes up and fixes HYS.

    Still nil all at White Hart Lane, not really following. F1 qualifying is starting at Spa. C'mon Daniel.

    Leicester got an easier group in the CL but still don't think they will progress. City Barca and Celtic is like dejavu

    I really think CFC have stuffed up making Conte manager. He's a muppet

  • Comment posted by PGB Addick, at 12:27 27 Aug 2016

    Hey they weren't supposed to refer my post lol. I reported it simply to tell more people at the Beeb that HYS is NOT working

    Anyway, a new round of the PL is about to start, and we have qualifying from Spa later on.

    I feel Utd will have a good shot at the Europa League and don't think RVP will have a lot to offer with Fenerbache

  • Comment posted by PGB Addick, at 11:30 27 Aug 2016

    Any chance the Beeb could sort out the problem with HYS. I sent a report in over a day ago.

    When posters know to open the comments in a new tab they can comment, but nobody else can.

    Might report this comment and tell the moderators.

  • Comment posted by Zapi, at 23:42 26 Aug 2016

    @29 Jim Shorts

    Most people commenting on here are just the usual moaners, so if there are any actual fans, there posts will probably get drowned in the usual Salford bias crap.
    Most United fans don't really care too much whether we win it or not, so nothing has actually changed there. Myself, I see it as good practice for the likes of Depay and Rashford, but not as a serious competition.

  • Comment posted by cwisdom, at 20:34 26 Aug 2016

    Good draw for man utd, shuld get out of d group without much stress, best bet is maybe quarter-finals, depending on d drop outs frm champs league. In other news, BBC, why is it hard to get your radio during d day unlike b4, nd wen l do, weak signal nd jam with other radio stations. Man utd for life

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