UEFA Europa League round of 16 draw: Real Sociedad get Manchester United, AZ Alkmaar welcome Tottenham, Roma draw final hosts Athletic Club

The 2024/25 UEFA Europa League round of 16, quarter-final and semi-final draw has been made at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.

Real Sociedad and Manchester United have been paired once more in a UEFA club competition, while AZ Alkmaar will face Tottenham for a second time this season, having met in the league phase. José Mourinho's Fenerbahçe are up against Rangers, while final hosts Athletic Club are at Roma in their first leg.

2024/25 Europa League round of 16 fixtures

First legs

Thursday 6 March
AZ Alkmaar vs Tottenham (18:45 CET)
FCSB vs Lyon (18:45 CET)
Fenerbahçe vs Rangers (18:45 CET)
Real Sociedad vs Manchester United (18:45 CET)
Ajax vs Eintracht Frankfurt 
Bodø/Glimt vs Olympiacos
Roma vs Athletic Club
Viktoria Plzeň vs Lazio

Second legs

Thursday 13 March
Athletic Club vs Roma (18:45 CET)
Eintracht Frankfurt vs Ajax (18:45 CET)
Lazio vs Viktoria Plzeň (18:45 CET)
Olympiacos vs Bodø/Glimt (18:45 CET)
Lyon vs FCSB
Manchester United vs Real Sociedad
Rangers vs Fenerbahçe
Tottenham vs AZ Alkmaar

2024/25 Europa League quarter-final draw

Bodø/Glimt (NOR)/Olympiacos (GRE) vs Viktoria Plzeň (CZE)/Lazio (ITA)
AZ Alkmaar (NED)/Tottenham (ENG) vs Ajax (NED)/Eintracht Frankfurt (GER)
Fenerbahçe (TUR)/Rangers (SCO) vs Roma (ITA)/Athletic Club (ESP)*
FCSB (ROU)/Lyon (FRA) vs Real Sociedad (ESP)/Manchester United (ENG)

Ties will take place on 10 and 17 April.

* The potential home match of Roma in the quarter-finals may be subject to a change of schedule.

2024/25 Europa League semi-final draw

AZ/Tottenham/Ajax/Frankfurt vs Bodø/Glimt/Olympiacos/Plzeň/Lazio
Fenerbahçe/Rangers/Roma/Athletic Club vs FCSB/Lyon /Real Sociedad/Manchester United

Ties will take place on 1 and 8 May.

2024/25 Europa League final draw

For administrative purposes, the winners of semi-final 1 will be the 'home' side for the Europa League final in Bilbao on 21 May.

How did the Europa League knockout draw work?

How did the round of 16 draw work? 

The clubs were paired based on their positions at the end of the league phase to form four seeded pairs (clubs in positions 1 and 2, 3 and 4, 5 and 6, and 7 and 8).

The clubs in each seeded pair were drawn into one of two positions in the round of 16 against the relevant winner of the knockout phase play-offs, whose position was determined by the knockout phase play-off draw.

Four bowls were prepared for the draw, with the balls containing the names of each pair of seeded teams placed in the corresponding marked bowls according to the league rankings.

The draw allocated the side of the bracket for all the seeded teams, starting with the teams ranked 7/8 and finishing with the teams 1/2.

One ball was taken from the bowl containing the two relevant ranked teams (i.e. the teams ranked 7 and 8) and was opened to display the team. The first team drawn from this bowl was placed in their reserved spot on the silver side of the bracket. The other seeded team of the pairing was then drawn and displayed, and allocated in the corresponding reserved spot on the orange side of the bracket.

The same procedure was carried out with the remaining seeded teams.

In principle, the seeded clubs play the return leg at home.

How did the Europa League quarter-final draw work? 

The draw was made to determine the order of the matches (i.e. which team will host the first leg and which team the return leg) as all the potential opponents are known until the final.

Four bowls were prepared for this draw, two for the silver side of the bracket and two for the orange side of the bracket. Each bowl contained two balls representing the winners of the round of 16 matches from one rung of the relevant side of the bracket, with the first silver bowl containing slips of paper marked 'Winners R16 1' and 'Winners R16 2' and the second silver bowl 'Winners R16 3' and 'Winners R16 4'.

The first bowl on the orange side contained slips of paper marked 'Winners R16 5' and 'Winners R16 6' and, finally, 'Winners R16 7' and 'Winners R16 8' in the second bowl on the orange side.

The draw started by shuffling and then drawing the balls placed in the first bowl of the silver side of the bracket. The first ball drawn from this bowl indicated the team which will play the first match of the quarter-final at home, and the second ball the team which will play the return leg at home.

The procedure was repeated with the remaining bowls to complete the quarter-final pairings.

How did the Europa League semi-final draw work? 

Two bowls were prepared for this draw, one for the silver side of the bracket with balls containing slips of paper marked 'Winners Q-F 1' and 'Winners Q-F 2', and one for the orange side of the draw containing 'Winners Q-F 3' and 'Winners Q-F 4'.

The draw started by shuffling and then drawing the balls placed in the bowl for the silver side of the bracket. The first ball drawn indicated the team which will play the first match of the silver side semi-final at home, and the second ball the team which will play the return leg at home.

The procedure was repeated with the remaining bowl to complete the semi-final pairings.

Was there also a draw for the Europa League final?

As the teams were designated to a side of the bracket by the draw for the knockout phase play-off / round of 16, no draw was made for the final. The winners of the semi-final on the silver side of the bracket are designated as the nominal home team for the final.