Erik ten Hag’s first taste of European football at Manchester United includes a trip to Moldova and matches against Real Sociedad and Neil Lennon’s Omonoia.
The Europa League group stage draw also brought Arsenal a meeting with Ruud van Nistelrooy’s PSV Eindhoven, who were knocked out of the Champions League qualifiers by Rangers. Bodø/Glimt of Norway and Zurich complete the lineup in Group A for Mikel Arteta’s team.
United’s game in Moldova is against Sheriff Tiraspol, who pulled off a remarkable 2-1 win at Real Madrid in the Champions League last season. Tiraspol is the capital of the unrecognised Russia-backed state of Transnistria.
The Cypriot club Omonoia have had Lennon, a former Celtic manager, in charge since March.
West Ham will meet Anderlecht in the group stage of the Europa Conference League. The two clubs played in the 1975-76 European Cup Winners’ Cup final when the Belgian side won 4-2 in Brussels. David Moyes’s side also face Romania’s Bucharest-based FCSB and the Danish team Silkeborg in Group B. FCSB were previously known as Steaua Bucharest, European champions in 1986.
Hearts have a tough-looking section in Group A, playing Istanbul Basaksehir, Fiorentina and the Latvian champions RFS. Basaksehir’s squad includes the former Arsenal midfielder Mesut Özil and the Aston Villa loanee Bertrand Traoré.
