Manchester United will be back in the Champions League next season after a strong end to the Premier League campaign under Michael Carrick
Michael Carrick talks to the Manchester United players during a water break in the Premier League match between Brighton & Hove Albion and United
Manchester United will be back in the Champions League next season under Michael Carrick
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Manchester United's return to the Champions League looked a long way off during a dismal first half of the campaign under Ruben Amorim. But his dismissal and the appointment of Michael Carrick sparked an upturn in form and results, and the Reds wrapped up a third-place finish in the Premier League with games to spare.
That secured Carrick the Old Trafford job on a permanent basis and attention now turns to ensuring the squad is capable of competing at home and abroad. Carrick and the Reds showed they can worry the best in the Premier League, with wins over Arsenal and Manchester City in January, but to do so while juggling Champions League football and matches against some of the continent's biggest hitters is a different prospect.
United will be in pot two for the Champions League League Phase draw in August when their European schedule will be confirmed. But, with the domestic season now over across the continent the opposition United will face is a little clearer.
The Reds will play eight games in the league phase, four at home and four away, and cannot play another Premier League side. The draw will see United play two opponents from each of the four pots, which are determined by UEFA coefficient - the record of each club in European competition over the last five years.
29 teams have already confirmed their status in next season's Champions League with seven more to come through qualifying.
United are 21st in the UEFA coefficient, which is enough to put them into pot two. They will face two of Spanish trio Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, German side Bayern Munich, holders Paris Saint-Germain and Serie A champions Inter Milan next season, with Arsenal and Manchester City making up the top seeds.
The Reds will also face two teams from their own pot which means dates with two of Borussia Dortmund of Germany, Italian side Roma, Portuguese duo Sporting Lisbon and Porto, Belgium's Club Brugge, Real Betis of Spain and Dutch outfit PSV Eindhoven. Aston Villa will also be in pot two.
Seven sides are confirmed in pot three, including Serie A heavyweights Napoli, Dutch side Feyenoord, French outfit Lille, Germany's RB Leipzig, La Liga's Villarreal, Shakhtar Donetsk from Ukraine and Turkey's Galatasaray.
Como and Lens will be in pot four while Slavia Prague and Stuttgart have also confirmed their participation. The likes of Lyon and Bodo/Glimt are among the bigger names hoping to come through qualifying.
It all adds up to an intriguing and testing set of fixtures for Carrick and Co for United's Champions League return.