For over a year, Manchester United have been trying to push ahead with the new ‘Wembley of the North’, and there appears to be some movement in plans

Manchester United hope to file the planning application for their new £2billion stadium within the next 12 to 18 months. The Red Devils revealed proposals for a new ground last March.

It would be constructed on the same location as their existing Old Trafford home, with the surrounding area also set to undergo regeneration as part of the proposals. However, the new 100,000-seater Old Trafford has already encountered several setbacks.

United have been engaged in negotiations with Freightliner regarding a nearby freight terminal, which lies in the way of the new proposals. Discussions are also ongoing between the club and construction companies prepared to undertake such a substantial project.

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Club officials have now provided a fresh update on the new stadium, with a specific timeframe for the commencement of work being disclosed. Chief Executive Officer of the new stadium development, Collette Roche, shared her perspective at a property trade show in Cannes.

She said: “The plan would be that within the next couple of months we should be there or thereabouts on the land assembly which will be an important milestone.”

Roche confirmed that it would require seven months to finalise the detailed design of the stadium. She added: “We’re spending a lot of time with local council to say what’s your ambition, how many houses, where’s the best place to put them.

“Hopefully by the time we get to the planning application in 12-18 months time we won’t be starting from fresh.

“We are going through a process to make sure we get the best team in place one that works in the same way we work and is up for the challenge and the ambition. And then we will lock that in. Then we start to build the plans. It starts now.”

Minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has pushed hard for the redevelopment of Old Trafford, having previously advocated for a ‘Wembley of the North’ before the plans were revealed.

He said: “There’s a very good case, in my view, for having a stadium of the North, which would serve the northern part of the country in that arena of football. If you look at the number of Champions Leagues the North West has won, it’s 10. London has won two.

“And yet everybody from the North has to get down to London to watch a big football match. And there should be one [a large stadium] in the North, in my view.

“But it’s also important for the southern side of Manchester, you know, to regenerate. It’s the sort of second capital of the country where the Industrial Revolution began.

“But if you have a regeneration project, you need a nucleus or a regeneration project and having that world-class stadium there, I think would provide the impetus to regenerate that region.”

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Sky has slashed the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle for the 2025/26 season, saving £336 and offering more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more.

Sky shows at least 215 live Premier League games each season, an increase of up to 100, plus Formula 1, darts, golf and more.

Camp Nou will host an exciting second-leg clash between Barcelona and Newcastle United in the Champions League Round of 16 on Wednesday evening. Last week’s first leg at St James’ Park ended 1-1, with Newcastle’s Harvey Barnes scoring in the 86th minute before Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal equalized with a dramatic 96th-minute penalty.

Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick admitted that his team “didn’t make a good game” in the first leg and has called on his players to perform “much better” if they hope to reach the quarter-finals for a third consecutive season. The Catalan giants are confident in their attacking abilities, having scored in 28 of their last 29 Champions League matches, though they have struggled defensively, failing to keep a clean sheet in their last 12 UCL games.  Historically, Barcelona have excelled in knockout ties after drawing the first leg away, winning 23 of 29 such encounters, including 11 of 14 after a 1-1 first-leg draw, and remain unbeaten in 14 home games against English sides in UEFA competition.

Newcastle, meanwhile, bounced back from their late concession against Barcelona by beating Chelsea 1-0 in the Premier League, with Anthony Gordon scoring the decisive goal. Manager Eddie Howe praised his team’s defensive organization and hopes they can replicate their first-leg performance at Camp Nou.  The Magpies have lost only two of 11 Champions League games this season, though they have yet to progress beyond the Round of 16 in the competition’s history.

Barcelona Team news

Barcelona will be without Jules Kounde, Frenkie de Jong, Alejandro Balde (all hamstring) and Andreas Christensen (knee) as they continue their recovery. Lamine Yamal, who recently overcame illness, was fit enough to feature as a substitute against Sevilla and is expected to start on the right wing on Wednesday. At 18 years and 249 days, Yamal is just one goal shy of matching Kylian Mbappe’s record for most Champions League goals scored before turning 19 (10).

Coach Hansi Flick may consider recalling England international Marcus Rashford, who scored twice in Barca’s 2-1 League Phase win over Newcastle this season, but replacing Raphinha on the left, who netted a hat-trick against Sevilla, will be a tougher challenge.

Newcastle Team news

Newcastle will be missing Bruno Guimaraes (hamstring), Lewis Miley (thigh), Fabian Schar (ankle), and Emil Krafth (knee), while Sandro Tonali’s availability is being assessed after missing the Chelsea game due to illness. Anthony Gordon, who missed the first leg through illness, is expected to lead the attack on Wednesday; only Kylian Mbappe (13) has more UCL goals than Gordon (10) this season.

Manager Eddie Howe must also decide whether to recall Kieran Trippier or keep Tino Livramento at right-back, with Anthony Elanga, Joelinton, and Dan Burn all pushing to return to the starting XI. Jacob Murphy, Nick Woltemade, and Sven Botman may make way as a result.

Barcelona vs Newcastle Probable starting 11

Barcelona starting 11: J. Garcia; Cancelo, Araujo, Cubarsi, Martin; Bernal, Pedri; Yamal, Fermin, Raphinha; Lewandowski

Newcastle starting 11: Ramsdale; Trippier, Thiaw, Burn, Hall; Ramsey, Tonali, Joelinton; Elanga, Gordon, Barnes

Player battles to look out for

Lewandowski vs Burn: A classic striker versus defender duel can be seen at the Camp Nou as the Polish striker will be looking to outwit the old fashioned hard and sturdy kind of player who doesn’t let the player stay still and keeps them on his toes. However, Lewa’s world class experience will prove a different challenge altogether for Burn too.

Pedri vs Joelinton: This battle can be termed as David vs Goliath if size comes into play but luckily football is one of the contact sports that has rpoven that size doesn’t really matter if you have skill on the ball. Joelinton has perfected the art of disrupting the play with tactical fouls and getting away with it and will try to stop the Pedri magic from coming into play on the night.

Yamal vs Hall: While Hall has proven to be one of the standout performers for the English club recently, he will be up against one of the best dribblers in the world and will have to put a major shift away from home on the night. Yamal has already scored a goal in the first leg and will be looking to get another one and get Barca through to the next round. 

UEFA Champions League: Barcelona vs Newcastle live telecast and streaming details

When will the UEFA Champions League match between Barcelona and Newcastle be played?

The UEFA Champions League match between Barcelona and Newcastle will be played on March 18.

What time will the UEFA Champions League match between Barcelona and Newcastle begin on March 18?

The UEFA Champions League match between Barcelona and Newcastle will start at 11;15 PM IST.

What will be the venue for the UEFA Champions League match between Barcelona and Newcastle?

The Spotify Camp Nou will host the UEFA Champions League match between Barcelona and Newcastle.

Where will the live telecast of the UEFA Champions League match between Barcelona and Newcastle be available in India?

The live telecast of the UEFA Champions League match between Barcelona and Newcastle will be available on the Sony Sports network in India.

Where will the live streaming of the UEFA Champions League match between Barcelona and Newcastle be available in India?

The live streaming of the UEFA Champions League match between Barcelona and Newcastle will be available on the Sony LIV app and website in India.

Ryan Garcia has suffered professional defeats to both Gervonta Davis and Rolando Romero, but the Californian maintains that neither of those men have hit him the hardest thus far during his professional career.

Garcia has hit the deck on four occasions during his professional career, with two of those coming against Davis back in 2023, where he was dropped in rounds two and seven in what remains as the solitary stoppage defeat of his career.

Last year, Garcia was floored in round two again during an underwhelming and unsuccessful bid for Romero’s WBA welterweight world title – outboxed for the majority of the contest in an out-of-sorts display.

However, when discussing who hit him the hardest, following that defeat to Romero, Garcia recalled his 2021 triumph over Hull’s Luke Campbell, in a resurfaced press congerence clip captured by FightHype.

“I feel like the most that I have ever been dazed was with Luke Campbell. I was actually dizzy with Luke Campbell when I was getting up, but with Rolly’s [knockdown] I wasn’t dizzy. I was just like ‘oh well, there it goes again’.

“I don’t really get too out of it. Like, I am just always there. It is always a flash knockdown for some reason and I get right back up.”

Like Davis and Romero, Campbell is another man to have knocked Garcia down in the second round, with the London 2012 gold medallist coming close to a famous upset win when he collided with Garcia in Dallas.

Yet, on this occasion, Garcia showed the guts and guile to rally his way back into the contest, halting ‘Cool Hand’ in round seven to claim the WBC Interim lightweight title in a coming of age performance.

Liverpool shrugged off their Premier League malaise to storm into the Champions League quarter-finals by thrashing Galatasaray 4-0 at Anfield on Wednesday.

Goals from Dominik Szoboszlai, Hugo Ekitike, Ryan Gravenberch and Mohamed Salah overturned a 1-0 first-leg deficit for Arne Slot’s men to set up a reunion with defending champions Paris Saint-Germain in the last eight.

Slot needed a reaction from the English champions after they were booed off at Anfield on Sunday for the latest in a series of lacklustre displays in a 1-1 draw against struggling Tottenham.

Languishing fifth in the Premier League, the Champions League could save Liverpool’s season and Slot’s job.

The Dutchman had given a rest to some of his stars at the weekend and was rewarded with a dominant display that could have resulted in a far more comprehensive scoreline.

“We could (have) won 10-0, but we did a good job. We can be proud,” said Ekitike.

The French international added on facing his former club in the last eight: “I can’t wait to be there.”

Galatasaray’s hopes of causing an upset was dealt a massive blow inside the first few minutes when star striker Victor Osimhen injured his forearm in a clash with Ibrahima Konate.

The Nigerian international was clearly hobbled as he continued on until half-time before being replaced by Leroy Sane.

By that point the Turkish champions’ advantage had already been erased.

Szoboszlai has been Liverpool’s outstanding performer in a troubled season and levelled the tie with a cushioned finish from a well-worked corner on 25 minutes.

Galatasaray somehow escaped further punishment before the break.

Salah missed a glorious chance to immediately double the Reds’ lead when he failed to chip Ugurcan Cakir.

Florian Wirtz’s deflected effort flew just over and Cakir repelled another sweet Szoboszlai strike.

The Turkey goalkeeper then saved Salah’s poor penalty after Szoboszlai was upended inside the box.

But the floodgates opened on the visitors in the second half.

Salah atoned for the penalty miss with a inch-perfect pass for Ekitike to slot home.

Two minutes later Gravenberch fired in the rebound after Salah’s initial shot was saved.

Salah has been a shadow of his former self this season, either side of a public bust-up with Slot after being dropped in December.

He could and should have had many more on the night, but did register his 50th Champions League goal in some style with a spectacular strike from Wirtz’s backheel.

Salah also hit the bar before asking to be replaced with an injury concern as Galatasaray offered little resistence to the waves of Liverpool attack.

The Reds face a very different challenge against PSG, who crushed Chelsea 8-2 on aggregate to reach the last eight.

Slot has repeatedly spoken in glowing terms of the French champions.

Liverpool came as close as anyone to stopping PSG last season as Luis Enrique’s men emerged victorious on penalties in the last 16 after a titanic tussle.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot praised the mentality of Mohamed Salah after the forward responded to missing a penalty with an inspired second-half performance in the 4-0 Champions League win over Galatasaray.

The Egypt international, who has had well-publicised issues with the Reds boss, is having his worst season at the club and it seemed his luck was not going to change when he saw Ugurcan Cakir saved his unconvincing spot-kick just before the break after Dominik Szoboszlai had given them the lead.

But the 33-year-old moved up a gear after the break, providing the assist for Hugo Ekitike’s important second goal with the rebound from his half-volley dispatched by Ryan Gravenberch.

He then produced a trademark goal, cutting in from the right to curl home left-footed to become the first African player to score 50 Champions League goals as Liverpool comfortably over-turned a 1-0 first-leg deficit.

Salah finished with a personal xG (expected goals) of 2.42. The team’s as a whole was 5.02.

“It says a lot about him that after you miss a penalty just before half-time as that can sometimes be hard for an individual or for a team,” said Slot.

“We have had a lot of setbacks this season, a lot of first halves or second halves where we have created chance after chance after chance without doing justice to how we have performed – so not scoring.

“And then Mo and the team came out in the second half the way they did; he assisted Hugo, a great assist, and then scored a trademark goal that he has scored so many times in this stadium and for this club, cutting inside, finding the corner.

“So that tells you a lot about his mental strength but definitely also of the team, because adversity is something we can definitely talk about in this season.

“Injury-wise he came off not because he had scored enough but because he felt something so let’s see where he is for the weekend and afterwards.”

Having overturned a 1-0 first-leg deficit with an energetic, exciting performance, the victory set up a quarter-final against holders Paris St Germain, who knocked out Liverpool on penalties a year ago.

“When you get to the latter stages you know one thing for sure is that you will play PSG,” added Slot.

“They are an incredible team. We experienced that last season when we faced them away from home, very difficult, here at Anfield we played a fantastic game.

“The best game I have managed in my career in terms of how it was played, both teams wanting to entertain the fans.”

Slot admitted the key was now to maintain their standards until the end of the season.

“We have to try to find consistency – although I can already spoil or disappoint people as this performance is impossible to copy one more time because (it was) 5.02 xG on a Champions League night, conceding 0.18 xG.”

Galatasaray never looked like competing and suffered a sickening blow when Noa Lang was carried off on a stretcher after an horrific finger injury after colliding with the advertising boards, having already lost striker Victor Osimhen to an arm injury.

“He is going to the hospital because of the important issue he has with his finger,” said Okan Buruk.

“If there is an operation, they will do it here. Victor Osimhen, his arm is hurting and he wanted to get out of the game at half-time and he is at the hospital.”

BENGALURU: Nine months after a homecoming that ended in tragedy, Royal Challengers Bengaluru returned to the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Wednesday, beginning preparations for the Indian Premier League, which begins here on March 28.A small but vocal group of fans gathered outside the stadium to welcome the players as the RCB contingent arrived around 4.30 pm. The session lasted two hours before rain forced an early wrap at 6.30 pm.

The spotlight, unsurprisingly, was on Virat Kohli. The former captain looked in rhythm right away as the session opened with a team huddle, where Kohli and head coach Andy Flower addressed a partially assembled squad.Skipper Rajat Patidar was the most notable absentee and is expected to join on Thursday. Batting coach Dinesh Karthik was also missing, while left-arm pacer Yash Dayal, retained for Rs 5 crore and facing criminal charges, was also absent. Among overseas recruits, only England wicketkeeper-batter Jordan Cox has arrived so far.However, TOI has learnt that the director of cricket Mo Bobat and the logistics team have mapped out travel plans for the overseas players well in advance, ensuring minimal disruption despite the ongoing unrest in West Asia.Amid the noise of construction work inside the stadium, Kohli’s bat provided the loudest sound. His trademark lofted strokes repeatedly cleared the midwicket boundary, landing deep into the stands.Kohli trained alongside Karnataka skipper and southpaw Devdutt Padikkal, with the duo taking turns against a mix of pace and spin. In an interesting move, RCB did away with net bowlers for the session, relying instead on their own bowling unit and sidearm specialists.The 37-year-old appeared particularly assured against spin, stepping out confidently against the Krunal Pandya-led spin attack. He showed similar intent against Bhuvneshwar Kumar and new recruit Venkatesh Iyer, maintaining intensity throughout.RCB, who returned to the Bengaluru venue after much dilly-dally, will open their campaign against fellow southerners Sunrisers Hyderabad on March 28. They will play four more home games at the venue and play two fixtures in Raipur.

Unbox event scrapped

The franchise’s popular ‘Unbox’ event — a fan engagement initiative that has drawn large crowds in recent seasons — will not be held this year.While there hasn’t been an official announcement, it appears the tight schedule and the planned mock drills at the stadium on Mar 23 and 26 led to the decision.

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