Tiago Pinto, Bournemouth's sporting director, confessed he prayed not to draw Benfica in the Europa League draw. The former Benfica executive, a club that will now compete in the competition for the first time, admitted he preferred to avoid a reunion with the eagles. "It wouldn't have been good for me to have my family against me," he said, laughing, referring to the personal reasons for his preference.
Bournemouth will face in the group stage Milan (at home), Real Sociedad (away), Plzen (at home), Sparta Prague (away), Sturm Graz (at home), Celta Vigo (away), Hapoel Beersheva (at home) and Lillestrom (away). Benfica, on the other hand, will have as opponents at home AZ Alkmaar, Celtic, Lech Poznan and OFI Crete, while away they will face Milan, among other clubs partially mentioned in the article.
