Why are Manchester United playing in Turin? Real Sociedad Europa League venue explained
The Red Devils are in Turin, rather than Spain, to meet the La Liga side in the last 32 of the competition
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Your support makes all the difference.Manchester United face Real Sociedad in the Europa League tonight.
The Red Devils travel to Turin, rather than Spain, to meet the La Liga side in the last 32 of the competition.
Manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has taken a 22-man squad to Italy, which includes 17-year-old Shola Shoretire having recently signed professional terms and been promoted to the first-team bubble.
The homegrown talent is joined by 18-year-old Amad Diallo, who made the first-team bench for the first time last week having completed his hotly-anticipated switch from Atalanta in January.
The Ivorian joined in a deal worth an initial 21million euros (£18.7m), potentially rising to 41million euros (£36.5million), and this week 19-year-old Mason Greenwood signed a new deal until at least 2025.
“We give them a chance to come to Man United and have a successful career,” Solskjaer said when asked about convincing young talent that they can flourish at United. “I think us as a club have proven over the years that’s something we take seriously and that’s something we are good at and we are a club that like to give chances to players to develop and find their talent.
“Our fans, our history has always been about skilful players, attacking players that you play with no fear and these are players we have identified to carry that tradition. My role is to speak to them and put a clear pathway for them to see.
“I think we’ve shown over the years of course with the previous managers. Sir Alex (Ferguson) was the best - we’ve produced some of the best players in the world, bringing them here Wayne Rooney young, Cristiano Ronaldo young.
“Of course we developed (Ryan) Giggs, (David) Beckham and that group ourselves. We’ve still got Marcus Rashford, Mason’s coming through.
“All these experiences help of course for me as a manager when I want to convince players that here is the future for you. And I like to give them a chance, of course.”
Why is Real Sociedad vs Manchester United?
The tie has had to be switched to a neutral venue after the Spanish government placed restrictions on arrivals from countries affected by new coronavirus variants.
A statement said: “Uefa can confirm that the Uefa Europa League Round of 32 first leg match between Real Sociedad de Fútbol and Manchester United FC will now take place at the Juventus Stadium in Turin.
“The date of the match (18 February 2021) and kick-off time (18:55CET) will remain the same.
“Uefa would like to thank Real Sociedad de Fútbol and Manchester United FC for their close cooperation and assistance in finding a solution to the issue at hand, as well as the Italian Football Federation and Juventus for their support and agreeing to host the match in question.”
Where is the second leg?
The second leg is slated to take place at Old Trafford on 25 February.
However, given the changeable nature of government policy both in the UK and in Spain that could be changed between now and the fixture.
Have any other games been moved?
Yes. Liverpool played RB Leipzig in Budapest in the Champions League with the first-leg of Manchester City’s tie with Borussia Monchengladbach also taking place in Hungary while Chelsea’s trip to Atletico Madrid next week has been switched from Spain to Bucharest in Romania.
Both legs of Arsenal’s Europa League tie with Benfica have also been moved and will now be staged in Rome and Athens respectively.
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