Schalke draw Gladbach in Europa League round of 16
February 24, 2017
Friday's draw of the last 16 in the Europa League, held in Nyon, Switzerland, produced both an all-German and an all-Belgian matchup, as Schalke and Glabach and Gent and Genk were paired up.
The draw means that the two western German sides will face each other three times in the space of 13 days next month, first in the Bundesliga on March 4, then in the first leg of the Europa Cup round of 16 in Gelsenkirchen on March 9, followed by the return match in Mönchengladbach one week later.
Premier League side Manchester United meanwhile are up against Rostov, with the first leg to be played in Russia. Among the other pairings, Olympiakos play Besiktas in a Greek-Turkish duel.
Just hours earlier, few Mönchengladbach fans would have predicted that their team would advance, after the Foals conceded two goals in the first half hour in their round-of-32 match away to Fiorentina, putting them 3-0 behind on aggregate. However, the captain, Lars Stindl, was the hero on Thursday night, scoring a natural hat trick within the space of 12 minutes to lead Gladbach to the aggregate victory.
Schalke had played PAOK to a 1-1 draw in Thessaloniki on Wednesday to advance 4-1 on aggregate.
Europa League last 16:
Celta Vigo vs. Krasnodar
Apoel Nicosia vs. Anderlecht
Schalke vs. Borussia Mönchengladbach
Olympique Lyon vs. Roma
Rostov vs. Manchester United
Olympiakos vs. Besiktas
Gent vs. Genk