Manchester United qualified for the Europa League for next season on the final day of the Premier League season.
Next season, Manchester United will compete in the Europa League.
Despite ending their 2021/22 Premier League season with a 1-0 loss to Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Sunday afternoon, Manchester United will compete in the Europa League next season.
Wilfried Zaha, a former United winger, scored the game's sole goal to send United to their fourth defeat in six games, meaning interim manager Ralf Rangnick's final game in command ended in defeat. Fortunately, West Ham United also lost on the penultimate day of the season, thus United did not fall out of contention.
As a result, they will compete in the Europa League alongside Arsenal next season. The Europa Conference League will host West Ham.
United came into this season with the goal of winning the Premier League, so the thought of missing out on Champions League football probably never occurred to them. United will have to settle with Europa League football next season despite bringing Cristiano Ronaldo back to the club and signing Raphael Varane and Jadon Sancho.
The reality of missing out on Champions League football hit home last month when Rangnick declared their top-four chances were finished after a 3-1 loss to Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium, despite the arithmetic suggesting otherwise.United still had a chance, despite the fact that they needed snookers. However, the Europa League is not without merit.
Rangnick told United's in-house reporters before of the final day meeting with Palace, "I mean, it's bad enough that we aren't going to play on a Tuesday and Wednesday night in the Champions League." "But, given that we'll be playing on Thursday evening, I believe it's critical.
"Even more so for the players and our supporters, we qualified for the Europa League since Manchester United had previously reached the final. They played in the final against Villarreal last season, and Frankfurt won the Europa League in style two days ago, qualifying for the Champions League.This is why I believe qualifying for the Europa League is crucial."
Given how badly United finished the season, they may consider themselves fortunate that they will be able to compete in the Europa League next season. It is regarded as a far more competitive and prestigious event than the Conference League.
Furthermore, if United succeeds in the competition, as they did in 2016/17, they will be guaranteed a place in the Champions League for 2023/24 without having to finish in the top four next season, though that will be expected. Last season, United also reached the final of the competition, but were defeated on penalties by Villarreal.
The Europa League, which is a step above from the Conference League, has undergone significant alterations ahead of its 51st season, following the introduction of the Europa Conference League for the first time at the start of this season. The following were the adjustments that were made:
UEFA stated, "The group stage has been cut from 48 to 32 teams — eight groups of four." ' The top eight finishers in each group advance to the round of 16.
'Prior to the round of 16, there will be further knockout round play-offs between the eight UEFA Europa League group runners-up and the eight third-ranked teams from the UEFA Champions League groups.'
This season's Europa League has a Champions League vibe to it thanks to those adjustments. Rangers, who finished second in the Europa League this season, met Borussia Dortmund in their Europa League quarterfinal encounter after the latter's Champions League exit. If United does not win their Europa League group, they may be drawn against one of the Champions League's top teams next season.
United won Group L the previous time they were in the Europa League at the start of a season, so they'll be aiming for a repeat this time to avoid a knockout encounter. United would also be in with a chance of winning a European title if they finished third in their Europa League group, as they would drop into the Conference League before the competition resumed after Christmas.
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