Sunderland and Bournemouth were both drawn against AC Milan in the Europa League league-phase, giving two Premier League clubs an immediate high-profile test in Europe.
For Sunderland, the tie adds another major milestone to a comeback story that has moved quickly. The club returned to the Premier League last season and will now play in Europe for the first time since 1973. One of Sunderland's away matches will come at the San Siro, where they will face AC Milan in front of one of the competition's biggest stages.
Bournemouth, meanwhile, will host AC Milan as part of their first European campaign. That alone makes the draw a notable one, even before considering the level of opponent. The seven-time European champions bring history, size and experience to a league-phase format that gives each team eight matches, including four away fixtures.
Other British sides learn their European path
The draw also clarified the next step for several other British clubs. Crystal Palace are in the Europa League after being demoted from the competition last July for breaching multi-club ownership rules, while Celtic dropped into the Europa League earlier this week after surrendering a four-goal lead against LASK in the Champions League play-off tie.
Brighton and Hearts also learned their opponents this week, underlining how busy this stage of the European calendar has become for clubs across the United Kingdom. For teams like Sunderland and Bournemouth, the format brings variety and big nights against established opposition, but it also leaves little room for error over eight league-phase matches.
The wider European schedule now moves toward the final stages. The Europa League final will be held in Frankfurt on 26 May, with the Conference League final taking place in Istanbul seven days later. For Sunderland and Bournemouth, though, the focus is already on the matchups ahead — and on what a meeting with AC Milan can tell them about where they stand on the European stage.
