Sunderland Draw AC Milan at San Siro in First European Campaign Since 1973

Sunderland are going to the San Siro. The Black Cats pulled AC Milan among their eight opponents this season in Friday's Europa League league-phase draw in Monte Carlo, according to the BBC.

It's Sunderland's first European campaign since 1973, when Richard Nixon was still in the White House. The last continental run came in the 1973-74 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, according to Crypto Briefing. Fifty-three years is a long time to wait for a trip to Italy.

The Black Cats earned this by finishing seventh in the Premier League last season, sealed with a 2-1 win over Chelsea on the final day, according to vavel. Manager Régis Le Bris gets credit for the whole run, including wins over Chelsea that vavel says proved decisive down the stretch.

Sunderland's full slate: AZ Alkmaar and GNK Dinamo Zagreb at home, AC Milan away, Anderlecht away, Jagiellonia Białystok at home, Lech Poznań away, Levski Sofia at home, and Torreense away, per the BBC.

That last one is the strange fixture of the draw. Torreense are a second-tier Portuguese side who won the Taça de Portugal in May, according to the BBC. Their home ground in Torres Vedras holds just 2,500 people and doesn't meet UEFA's requirements, so Torreense will host their "home" European matches 193 miles away at the Estádio Algarve in Faro. Sunderland fans making that trip are effectively flying to the wrong end of the country to watch their team play a team playing in the wrong end of its own country.

Bournemouth also draw Milan, but at home

Bournemouth are in Europe for the first time in the club's history after finishing sixth in the Premier League, according to Al Jazeera. Unlike Sunderland, they get AC Milan at the Vitality Stadium rather than away.

Bournemouth's side will also host Viktoria Plzen, Sturm Graz and Israeli champions Hapoel Be'er Sheva, with away trips to Real Sociedad, Sparta Praha, Celta Vigo and Lillestrøm, according to the BBC.

Palace get the toughest draw of the English trio

Crystal Palace are making their Europa League debut this season. Pierre Sage's side will face Lyon, Real Sociedad and Besiktas among their eight games, according to the BBC, plus Sparta Praha, Salzburg, Lech Poznań, Jagiellonia and Hoffenheim.

Palace's route here deserves noting. They won last season's Conference League but got demoted from this season's Europa League last July after UEFA found they'd breached multi-club ownership rules, according to the BBC. So this is their first actual appearance in the competition despite winning the tier below it.

Celtic's Champions League collapse lands them here

Celtic didn't plan on being in the Europa League at all. The Scottish champions blew a four-goal lead against Austrian side LASK in this week's Champions League play-off round, dropping them into this competition instead, according to the BBC and Al Jazeera. They'll host Marseille and Benfica, and also face Ferencváros, Union SG, Celta Vigo, Omonia, Besiktas and Torreense.

Milan's own view of the draw

AC Milan's official site framed things from the other direction. Rúben Amorim's side will host Benfica, Ferencváros, Sunderland and Ararat-Armenia at San Siro, and travel to Olympiacos, Salzburg, Bournemouth and Levski Sofia, according to AC Milan's club website. Milan finished fifth in Serie A last season and qualified automatically, per vavel.

Conference League: Brighton and Hearts get Monaco

Down a tier, Brighton's Conference League draw includes AS Monaco and Spanish side Getafe, plus Panathinaikos, Craiova, Kauno Žalgiris and Jablonec, according to the BBC. Hearts also drew Monaco, along with a trip to face Trabzonspor, plus Pafos, Borac, Nordsjælland and Thun.

Format and what's next

Under the Europa League's Swiss-style single-table system, all 36 clubs play eight matches each, four home and four away, against different opponents drawn from separate pots, according to vavel. The top eight in the combined table advance directly to the round of 16. Teams finishing ninth through 24th enter a two-legged knockout playoff for the remaining spots. Everyone below 24th is out.

Matchday 1 is scheduled for September 16-17, 2026, according to Crypto Briefing. UEFA is set to confirm the full fixture calendar and kickoff times over the weekend. The Europa League final will be played at Frankfurt's Waldstadion on May 26, 2027, per AC Milan's website, with the Conference League final following six days later in Istanbul.

For Sunderland, the immediate question is logistical as much as tactical: balancing a Premier League campaign with European away trips to Italy, Belgium, Poland, Bulgaria and the Algarve, all while trying to stay in England's top flight in just their second season back.