Solskjaer’s immediate reaction to Zlatan Ibrahimovic reunion with Man Utd

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was handed a showdown with Zlatan Ibrahimovich to celebrate his birthday after Manchester United were drawn against AC Milan in the Europa League.

United have been paired with the Italian giants in the last 16 and will have to stop former favourite Ibrahimovich to keep their European dream alive.

Ibrahimovich joined United on a free transfer in 2016 after leaving Paris Saint Germain.

He spent two seasons at Old Trafford and became a cult figure with fans after scoring 29 goals in 53 appearances and helping United win both the EFL Cup and Europa League in 2017.

He rejoined Milan in December 2019 for his second stint at the San Siro and despite turning 40 later this year, has plundered 27 goals in 40 appearances to prove he is still a major force to be reckoned with.

Solskjaer, who turned 48 yesterday, admits United will face a tough test when it comes to stopping Milan and Ibrahamovich and he said: "“It's a nice birthday gift, isn't it?

"We do have the tradition of making it hard for ourselves in draws. It's one of the those draws again that you feel could be a Champions League game. It's good for us to have these games to look forward to.

“This team needs challenges and we enjoy challenges and we embrace them.

"The tradition and history of AC Milan, it's a great club that we welcome and it's a great stadium that we go to there, and we're looking forward to it.

"Zlatan, of course, I've been so impressed, I've got to say, by how his career has gone. He had a career-threatening injury when he was here but came back from that and went to the MLS, then came back to Milan and has really lifted them. They're on the up and have done really well this season. I've been so impressed by him."

Elsewhere, 2019 finalists Arsenal will face Greek side Olympiakos, who knocked them out of the competition in the last 32 last year.

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    • Tottenham will take on Croatian side Dinamo Zagreb while Rangers have been drawn against Czech side Slavia Prague, who defeated Leicester City this week.

    Spurs boss Jose Mourinho said: "When you are in this competition and you get to this stage you don't get easy clubs. If you want to win it, sooner or later you have to play against the best clubs or the ones who go through the different stages.

    "So the objective now is to win against Dinamo and then if later Arsenal and Manchester United are in the competition, we have always to face them."

    All of the last-16 ties will be played on March 11 and 18 behind closed doors, with some ties expected to take place at neutral venues due to Covid-19 travel restrictions.

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