'It's incredible what he's done' - Solskjaer looking forward to facing Ibrahimovic and Milan in Europa League

BetOdds Manchester United Milan Zlatan Ibrahimović Manchester United v Milan UEFA Europa League

The 39-year-old will return to Old Trafford, where he played for Man Utd between 2016 and 2018

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is looking forward to facing AC Milan and former Red Devils striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the Europa League round of 16.

The two sides were drawn together on Friday after advancing past the last 32 in their respective ties on Thursday.

In addition to Ibrahimovic, Milan also feature on-loan Man Utd defender Diogo Dalot.

"We just continue our tradition of picking difficult teams," the manager told Sky Sports of the draw. "[It's] a tie that feels like a Champions League game as well, which is good.

"I think it's important for our team to always have that demand and not feel that it's a given. And of course this is not a gimme – Milan, they're on the up, they've done really well this season.

"They've got some former friends of ours. The history of the club is fantastic so we're looking forward to [facing] them."

On Ibrahimovic, Solskjaer added: "It's incredible what he's done.

"When we think back when he was here, when he had a career-threatening injury and the way he's come back, the way he's played, the way he's moved AC Milan towards the top of the league again.

"And of course Diogo is there. So we know that we're in for a good fight but before then we have a few other games that we have to look after."

At 39 years old, Ibrahimovic has put together an extremely impressive season thus far, netting 16 goals in all competitions for Milan – including 14 in Serie A.

The Swede has helped Milan become a title challenger in Italy once again, with the Rossoneri currently second place in the table, four points behind city rivals Inter.

Manchester United will host Milan in the first leg on March 11, with the second leg set for Milan one week later on March 18.

Aside from the showpiece tie between Milan and United, below are the other last-16 Europa League ties:

Ajax vs Young Boys

Dynamo Kyiv vs Villarreal

Roma vs Shakhtar Donetsk

Olympiacos vs Arsenal

Dinamo Zagreb vs Tottenham

Slavia Prague vs Rangers

Granada vs Molde

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2021-02-26 23:00:07

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