Winners and Losers from Europa League Round-of-16 Draw
The draw for the last 16 of the Europa League was made in Nyon on Friday, as the teams left in the competition—exhausted by Thursday evening's efforts to even get through to this stage—discovered who their next opponents on the long road to May's final will be.
With plenty of big names left in the competition, there was great scope for some intriguing ties to be made—and special guest Jerzy Dudek did not disappoint, as he pulled out some brilliant matchups.
Full Europa League Last-16 Draw
Everton vs. Dynamo Kyiv
Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk vs. Ajax
Zenit Saint Petersburg vs. Torino
Wolfsburg vs. Inter Milan
Villarreal vs. Sevilla
Napoli vs. Dinamo Moscow
Club Brugge vs. Besiktas
Fiorentina vs. Roma
(Teams named first play first leg at home. Ties to be played on March 12 and 19.)
Click on for some winners and losers from the draw.
Winners: Everton
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Everton boss Roberto Martinez might suggest that Everton's last-32 tie against Young Boys redressed the balance somewhat after a difficult group-stage draw, but either way, the Toffees' luck in the knockout draw continued, as they were picked out to face Dynamo Kyiv.
The draw is not without its difficulties—the Premier League side have to travel to Ukraine for the second leg, a draining challenge both physically and mentally—but it is also nothing they will not be prepared for, having had to travel to face Kuban Krasnodar earlier in the competition.
Like the previous round, Everton have been drawn against one of the weaker sides in the Europa League and, while they will acknowledge Kyiv's threats, will expect to progress. As the last British side left in the competition, they are flying the flag somewhat.
As an added bonus, many of the strong favourites for the competition have been drawn against each other, meaning the field will have been weakened by the time of the quarter-finals. With that Champions League carrot still dangling, Everton are in a great position to pursue it determinedly.
"All in all, to be at this stage of the competition after [scoring] seven goals over the two games is a phenomenal balance for us," Martinez said after the win over Young Boys, per Sky Sports. “Being the last British team in the Europa League is a very satisfying achievement, and we are very pleased with the manner in which we played both games against a really admirable football team.”
Loser: Inter Milan
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The only winner from the Wolfsburg-Inter Milan tie will be the fans, who should be treated to two spectacular games of football between two very fine teams. But the sides themselves will be cursing their luck: Both will have started to fancy their chances of going a long way in this competition but now face a real battle just to reach the quarter-finals.
Wolfsburg will perhaps start the favourites, although the fact the second leg will take place in Italy perhaps tips the balance back in favour of Roberto Mancini's men somewhat. It depends on how they fare in the first leg. Considering the way Celtic took the game to Inter in the previous round, Wolfsburg will perhaps be trying to kill this game off in the first meeting.
Regardless, the basic fact is that neither team will have wanted to be drawn against each other. For the fans, it is arguably the best tie of the round, but for the two teams, it is a meeting they will have wanted to avoid until much later in the competition.
"It will be a tough match," Mancini said, per UEFA. "The round-of-16 games are always tricky and attractive. We will work to be at our best. They are the second-best team in the Bundesliga, and they also recently won 4-1 against Bayern."
Winner: Besiktas
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After outlasting Liverpool via the drama of a penalty shootout on Thursday night, Besiktas were rewarded with a tie against Club Brugge.
While it is dangerous to make any generalisations about the strength of different teams, it would certainly seem that the Belgian side are one of the lesser teams left in the competition—even if they did demolish Aalborg 6-1 on aggregate in their last-32 tie.
Nevertheless, Brugge go into the game as heavy underdogs, and it remains to be seen how they cope with what is sure to be a fiery atmosphere at the Ataturk Stadium. The suspicion, considering their group in this competition was relatively tame (Torino being the main threat), is that they will struggle to cope with both Besiktas's quality and the intimidating atmosphere.
After beating Liverpool, Besiktas will fancy their chances against anyone—but they will be even more confident heading to face Brugge.
Loser: Roma (and Fiorentina)
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For only the second time in the competition's history, five clubs from one nation were in the last 16 of the Europa League. The hope for all those Italian teams would perhaps have been to avoid another side from their country—as it turned out, Roma and Fiorentina were to be denied.
It is perhaps a worse draw for Roma than Fiorentina, if only because the Viola knocked them out of the Coppa Italia earlier in the season. On the other hand, it offers a great opportunity for revenge after that disappointment, depending on your perspective.
Either way, it promises to be a difficult tie—and perhaps not a classic for the neutral observer, either.
Winners: Napoli
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If Roma and Fiorentina have been left cursing their luck, then Napoli are sitting pretty. Torino face a difficult game against Zenit Saint Petersburg, and as mentioned, Inter drew the Wolfsburg juggernaut, whereas Rafa Benitez's side will face Dinamo Moscow.
The Russian side should not be disrespected, and the travel involved always complicates things for sides from western and southern Europe, but Benitez is a cup expert and will fancy his side's chances of making it through to the quarter-finals.
If they do, they are likely to be joined by few other (perhaps just one?) Serie A sides and teams they will see no reason to fear. Even now, the tournament is starting to open up for Napoli.
Losers: Villarreal and Sevilla
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There was disappointment for Spanish football on Friday, as both the country's remaining participants in the Europa League were drawn against one another. Only one La Liga side will make it into the last 16, reducing the chances of another Spanish winner of the competition.
Sevilla are the defending champions, of course, and they would have been confident of their chances of going all the way once again—especially after beating Borussia Monchengladbach in the previous round.
They have had the upper hand over Villarreal in recent times, winning two of the last three meetings, including their only league encounter this season, but they would perhaps have preferred to face a foreign side rather than one that knows them so intimately.
As Sevilla midfielder Aleix Vidal said, per UEFA:
"We would have liked to have played Ajax or perhaps one of the Italian sides, but it is what it is—you can't do anything about luck. They know us very well and we know them very well, so it will be a very exciting tie.
What's more, I always prefer to play the first game away from home and so we have had a little bit of luck in that sense. They are having a great season, but these ties are always decided on the smallest of details. All the teams left in the competition deserve to be here, because they have played well. All the teams are very equal.
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Villarreal, too, might have preferred a different opponent—especially as they are due to face Sevilla in the league just three days after the Europa League tie is concluded. With both pushing for a top-five finish in La Liga, it could get very heated between the two sides in March.
