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As it happenedended

Europa League semi-final draw - as it happened: Manchester United face Celta Vigo, Lyon to take on Ajax

A recap of the Europa League semi-final draw from Nyon

Samuel Lovett
Thursday 20 April 2017 05:46 EDT
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Manchester United will will discover on Friday who they will face in the Europa League semi-final draw.

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Jose Mourinho's side beat Anderlecht 2-1 in Thursday's second leg at Old Trafford, clinching a 3-2 aggregate victory and book their spot in the last four..

Lyon, Ajax and Celta Vigo join them in the semi-finals, having beated their respective opponents - Besiktas, Genk and Schalke 04 - retain hopes of reaching the final next month.

With a place in next season's Champions League the reward for winning the Europa League, United are determined to win Europe's second-tier competition given they are currently in a fight with Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal to finish in the top four.

Follow the draw live below:

Please allow a moment for the blog to load.

When is the draw?

The draw takes place in Nyon on Friday 21 April, following the completion of the quarter final ties on Thursday.

What time is the draw?

Proceedings will begin at 12.00pm BST, with the draw following shortly after.

Where can I watch it?

It will be shown live on BT Sport 2.

If, however, you cannot watch the draw, you can bookmark this article which will turn into The Independent’s live blog.

How does it work?

As per usual at this stage of the competition, the draw is unseeded and there will be no ‘country protection’, meaning teams from the same domestic league can be drawn against each other.

The team drawn first will play the first leg at home, with those drawn second away.

Mourinho's United will go into the semi-final draw as favourites
Mourinho's United will go into the semi-final draw as favourites (Getty)

Who's in the draw?

Manchester United, Lyon, Celta Vigo and Ajax go into the draw and can all face each other.

When will the Europa League semi-finals take place?

This year’s semi-final first legs will be played on 4 May, with the return legs played the following week on 11 May.

Semi final 1:

Ajax vs....

Samuel Lovett21 April 2017 12:15

Semi final 1:

Ajax vs Lyon

Samuel Lovett21 April 2017 12:15

Which means by my skills of deduction...

Semi final 2:

Celta Vigo vs Manchester United

Samuel Lovett21 April 2017 12:16

A tough draw for United against the dark horses of the tournament. They'll need to seriously up their game from Thursday night's display if they're to stand any chance of reaching the final.

Samuel Lovett21 April 2017 12:17

Draw in full:

  • Ajax vs Lyon
  • Celta Vigo vs Manchester United

The first legs will take place on May 4, with the second legs a week later.

The winner of the first semi-final between Ajax and Lyon will be the ‘home’ team for the final in Stockholm.

Gosh, I thought that was never going to end.

Samuel Lovett21 April 2017 12:19

Here's some fancy, shiny tweets from the Europa League account just to confirm it for any skeptics out there...

Samuel Lovett21 April 2017 12:20

Okay, that's all from us. Thanks for joining me. I'll see you on May 4. Until then!

Samuel Lovett21 April 2017 12:21

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