Ajax knows which teams it will meet in the group stage of the Europa League. The team from Amsterdam are in Group B and will compete against Olympique Marseille, Brighton & Hove Albion and AEK Athens. The group stage of the Europa League starts on Thursday, September 21 and ends on Thursday, December 14. The final will be played in Dublin on May 22.
Ajax qualified for the group stage of the Europa League in an ugly way on Thursday. The team of trainer Maurice Steijn had already won the first leg against Ludogorets 1-4, but put a disgrace on the mat in the return in the Netherlands. The Bulgarians clearly came to Amsterdam without faith, yet they managed to win the return 0-1. Typical for the evening: Ajax never shot on goal.
Ajax built up a high club coefficient over the past five seasons and was therefore assured of a place in Pot 1, avoiding title favorites such as Liverpool, AS Roma and Bayer Leverkusen. West Ham United, which managed to seize the Conference League last season, also belonged to Pot 1. After Liverpool and Roma, Ajax is the club with the highest club coefficient in the Europa League.
With Olympique Marseille, Brighton & Hove Albion and AEK Athens, Ajax is facing a tough group stage of the Europa League. Marseille finished third in Ligue 1 last season and failed in the preliminary round of the Champions League. Brighton is the number six of the last Premier League season. Like Marseille, AEK Athens played in the preliminary round of the Champions League, but was eliminated by Royal Antwerp.
Group A
West Ham United
Olympiacos
SC Freiburg
Backa Topola
Group B
Ajax
Olympic Marseille
Brighton & Hove Albion
AEK Athens
Group C
Rangers FC
RealBetis
Sparta Prague
Aris Limassol
Group D
Atlanta
Sports Portugal
Storm Graz
Rakow
Group E
Liverpool
LASK
Union Saint-Gilles
Toulouse
Group F
Villarreal
Stade Renais
Maccabi Haifa
Panathinaikos
Group G
AS Roma
Slavia Prague
Sheriff Tiraspol
Napkin FC
Group H
Bayer Leverkusen
F. K. Qarabag
Molde FC
BK Hacken