UEFA Europa League quarter-final fixtures are set

After a year full of delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic, finally, the UEFA Europa League has reached its last-eight stage. After the completion of the round-of-16, all the slots for the quarter-finals are ready.

As the tournament proceeds into its the quarter-finals, there are two English clubs (Manchester United and Wolverhampton Wanderers) and one Spanish side (Sevilla) remaining in the competition. Getafe was eliminated after suffering a 0-2 defeat against Inter Milan. This means Inter would be the only Italian side remaining in the Europa League. They will now face Bayer Leverkusen in Dusseldorf on August 10.

In another game, Sevilla defeated Roma 2-0 to knock them out of the tournament. Sevilla has won the competition five times in the past. They will face Wolverhampton Wanderers in their last-eight encounter, due on August 11 in Duisburg.

This year, the last-eight and semi-finals will all be played in the form of knock out matches. There would be no home and away games available this season because of the pandemic situation.

A lot of valuable time has already been lost because of the lockdown measures that were imposed in March. As a result, UEFA was eager to complete the European season as early as possible. The 2020-21 domestic leagues of each country are scheduled to start soon. Consequently, UEFA had to figure out the best possible way to complete their season before the next campaign kicks off.

Premier League side Manchester United will face FC Copenhagen in another last-eight encounter on August 10, due in Cologne. The winner of this match will take on either Wolves or Seville. Shakhtar Donetsk and Basel will face each other in Gelsenkirchen on August 11 in another quarter-final tie.

Meanwhile, Manchester Evening News reports that United player Fred expressed his concerns about his team playing straight knockout games.

The 27-year old Brazilian said, "I think in tournaments you need to concentrate more. There are two important games and a single match in the final. You have to make sure you're highly prepared, you can't make mistakes. In league football you still have the chance to recover, you make a mistake and lose the game you can still recover later in the competition. I think that is what's most important for us. That will be the biggest test."

Former Manchester United skipper and England international Ashley Young, who joined Inter Milan in January, might eventually face his old club in the Europa League final in Cologne on August 21. However, that would be only possible if both clubs advance through the next two rounds. The 35-year old had joined the Serie A side on an initial loan. The loan eventually turned out to be a permanent move.