Manchester United have to negotiate an extra hurdle in their bid for Europa League glory following the end of the group stage matches. The Reds travelled to Real Sociedad last Thursday knowing that a two-goal victory margin over their La Liga opposition would see them finish top of the group.
Anything less would see them having to go through a two-legged playoff round in order to qualify for the knockout stage proper - and unfortunately for United they were only able to gain a 1-0 win, thanks to Alejandro Garnacho's first-half strike.
Ahead of the Europa League draw on Monday, MEN Sport has taken a look at how the playoffs work and who the Reds could be playing next.
ALSO READ: Europa League playoff draw - full details
Having finished second in the group, United now enter the Europa League play-off round. This sees the eight runners-up in the Europa League group stages take on the third-placed sides in the Champions League groups.
United will play the second leg in the play-off stage at home. The play-off first legs will be played on February 16 before the return leg on February 23.
Who could Manchester United play in the play-offs?
United will face one of the teams that were eliminated from the Champions League by finishing in third place in their groups. Potential play-off opponents are:
- Ajax
- Barcelona
Bayer Leverkusen
- Juventus
- Red Bull Salzburg
- Sevilla
- Shakhtar Donetsk
- Sporting Lisbon
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