Pranav Nair
Europa League: The first leg of Manchester United vs Real Sociedad to be held in Turin
As confirmed by the club’s official site, Manchester United and Real Sociedad will face off in the first leg of their Europa League round of 32 fixture at Juventus’ Allianz Stadium in Turin.
The first leg fixture was to be held at the Reale Arena, in San Sebastian, Spain on 18th February. However, the Spanish government has placed restrictions on travellers entering the country from England, thanks to the new COVID-19 variant.
With no other choice but to change the venue, the game will now go forward in Italy.
The Game in Turin will take place behind closed doors. Sociedad are a tricky team and can cause United pause for concern.
United are no strangers to playing European fixtures in neutral venues. The club played the quarter-final and semi-final of the 2019/20 Europa League campaign in Germany. The one-off ties were also a consequence of COVID-19 regulations.
The Red Devils have already played at the Allianz Stadium once before in the 2018/19 Champions League group stages. Then managed by Jose Mourinho, we defeated 36-time Italian champions Juventus 2-1.
The second leg will take place at Old Trafford on 25th February. Having fallen short at the semifinal stage last season, United will be looking to go one better this time around.
The Europa League also represents the last major trophy we won, all the way back in 2017. Since then, we have made it to four semifinals under Solskjaer, losing them all.
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Four years is a long time for a club such as United to go without winning a trophy. The Europa League represents a real opportunity and it is up to us to make the most of it.
