PSV, Feyenoord find out their Europa League opponents

PSV Eindhoven will face Greek club Panathinaikos, Portugal’s Estoril Praia and Dinamo Moscow in the group phase of the Europa League.

Commenting on the draw, the Greek side’s coach Giannis Anastasiou described PSV Eindhoven as ‘a very tough team, lethal in attack… Our opponents represent three different schools of football and it will be an interesting test for our young squad.’

The draw was made in Monaco on Friday in the wake of Thursday night’s final play-off round which saw PEC Zwolle and FC Twente leave the competition.

Feyenoord will meet current holders Sevilla FC in Group G together with Belgium’s Standard de Liège and HNK Rijeka of Croatia.

‘It is a nice draw. Every opponent is tough but we play nice clubs and the travelling is not too bad,’ Feyenoord coach Fred Rutten told the Uefa website.

‘Sevilla have a very good team, while Standard are especially strong at home even though they lost some important players in the summer. I know less about Rijeka, but I do know they have a good striker.’

The first matches take place on September 18. The top two teams in each group go forward to the first knock-out round.

Ajax

The draw for the Champions League, featuring Dutch league winners Ajax, took place on Thursday night. Ajax meets four-time winners FC Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and APOEL FC in Group F.

‘When your goal is to reach the next stage, it is tough when you draw FC Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain,’ said Ajax coach Frank de Boer.  ‘It will be very difficult to be first or second in the group.’

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