English duo Bournemouth and Sunderland were both handed a glamour tie against AC Milan among their eight matches in the Europa League as the draw for this season's league phase took place on Friday.

The continent’s top five leagues are set to return one after another, with La Liga leading the way on August 15.

Jean-Philippe Mateta scored as Crystal Palace beat Rayo Vallecano 1-0 in the UEFA Conference League final in Leipzig on Wednesday to secure the club's first European trophy in their history.

Bournemouth were in the third tier of English football 13 years ago

Unai Emery not only cemented his status as undisputed king of the Europa League with Wednesday's astonishing fifth win as a manager - but also sealed Aston Villa's resurgence as a major force in football.

Aston Villa captain John McGinn invited Prince William to join his side's Europa League victory party after the royal watched their 3-0 win in Wednesday's final against Freiburg.

Youri Tielemans and Emiliano Buendia scored stunning goals as Aston Villa outclassed Freiburg 3-0 in the Europa League final on Wednesday to end a 30-year wait for silverware and earn their coach Unai Emery a record-extending fifth win in the competition.

Aston Villa manager Unai Emery has insisted he is not the "king" of the Europa League despite bidding to win the competition for a fifth time when his side face Freiburg in Wednesday's final in Istanbul.

It is Emery's sixth Europa League final after winning the competition three times with Sevilla and once with Villarreal, as well as finishing as a runner-up with Arsenal.

Forest's win stretched their unbeaten run to nine games in all competitions as the 1979 and 1980 European champions enjoy some momentum after battling relegation from the Premier League all season.

Aston Villa demolished Bologna and Nottingham Forest beat Porto in the Europa League on Thursday to set up an all-English showdown in the semi-finals.

Nottingham Forest reached the Europa League quarter-finals after Midtjylland missed all three of their penalties in the last-16 second-leg shoot-out, while John McGinn inspired Aston Villa's 2-0 win against Lille on Thursday.

Midtjylland have won 12 of their last 14 matches in European competitions.

Aston Villa will play Lille for the second time in three seasons after the sides were drawn together Friday in the last 16 of the Europa League, while Nottingham Forest have a rematch against Midtjylland of Denmark.

Forest, who are fighting for their top-flight survival under new boss Vitor Pereira, will face Real Betis or Danish side Midtjylland in the last 16.

Nottingham Forest will go into the Europa League play-off round after a 4-0 win over Ferencvaros on Thursday, while Celtic secured their place in the knockout phase with victory over Utrecht.

Villa are second in the standings on 18 points and only trail Lyon on goal difference.

Igor Jesus slotted through a crowd two minutes from time to clinch a first away victory in Europe for Forest since 1995.

The substitution did not have the desired effect as Feyenoord conceded a third just a minute later.

Villa are on a run of 10 wins in 12 matches in all competitions after a five-match winless run to start the Premier League season.