Brighton's "incredible" journey from homeless exiles facing oblivion to their current status as Premier League trendsetters will reach a memorable climax when they host AEK Athens in their first-ever European match on Thursday.

Liverpool were handed a kind draw on Friday for this season's Europa League group stage while their Premier League rivals Brighton and Hove Albion can look forward to meeting European giants Ajax and Marseille in their first ever foray into continental competition.

“I thank you for the invitation to join the UEFA Football Board, but I regret to inform you that I will be relinquishing my involvement with immediate effect,” Mourinho wrote in a letter to UEFA director and former AC Milan chairman Zvonimir Boban.

His message was one of pride, which is what he has  restored at Roma, a team which has one of Italy's largest, most passionate fan bases but has won little of note since being founded in 1927.

Jose Mourinho threw his future as Roma manager into further doubt on Wednesday, saying he was "too tired" after the bitter pain of losing his first major European final to Sevilla.

Sevilla beat AS Roma 4-1 on penalties on Wednesday to win the Europa League for a record-extending seventh time, handing Jose Mourinho his first defeat in six European finals.

"The present is more important. The past is the past. We don't know the future," Mourinho said.

AS Roma grabbed a 1-0 home victory over Bayer Leverkusen in their Europa League semi-final first leg on Thursday thanks to 20-year-old Edoardo Bove's second-half goal.

Federico Gatti scored with a header seven minutes into added time to earn Juventus a 1-1 home draw against Sevilla in their Europa League semi-final first leg on Thursday.

 Liverpool will take the chance to qualify for the Europa League as they look to squeeze everything out of a disappointing season, manager Juergen Klopp said ahead of Sunday's home Premier League game against Tottenham Hotspur.

Manchester United have been hit by a double defensive injury blow after Lisandro Martinez was ruled out for the rest of the season and Raphael Varane sidelined for the next few weeks.

Marcus Rashford will miss Manchester United's Europa League quarter-final first-leg clash with Sevilla after suffering a muscle injury that is likely to keep him out for "a few games", the club announced on Wednesday.

"It was very important. This match was for you, Ukraine, it was for our country, for Ukraine," said Croatian national Jovicevic who has worked in Ukraine for more than 20 years

"I am happy with the performance, it was not an easy game after the first-leg result, as the crowd here is very passionate," Juve manager Massimiliano Allegri told Sky Sport Italia

Fernandes told BT Sport. "The belief of the fans, they push us through difficult moments. We have made great comebacks, the club is made also by that. In the past we have done a lot like this result"

"Above all, we need the bring the mentality to compete in Europe. We can say that Manchester United have returned and they are playing their best football in many years. It is a good opportunity to show that Barca can also compete," said Xavi

The former Ajax coach took over at Old Trafford last summer after the team finished sixth in the Premier League, and this season they are third, with one defeat in the last 17 games across all competitions

Barcelona and Manchester United will meet in the Europa League play-offs for a place in the competition's last 16.

Kieran Tierney’s first-half goal secured a 1-0 home victory for Arsenal over FC Zurich and top spot in Europa League Group A on Thursday, but Manchester United could only finish runners-up in their pool and will go into February’s playoffs.

Granit Xhaka's second-half winner secured Arsenal a 1-0 victory over PSV Eindhoven at the Emirates Stadium and a place in the Europa League knockout phase on Thursday.