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Australia or South Africa will return to Pakistan from Dubai for semifinal

DUBAI: Australia and South Africa have been forced to travel to Dubai from Pakistan, the International Cricket Council confirmed Sunday, due to a tangled schedule at the Champions Trophy. India and New Zealand play the final group match on Sunday in Dubai and the result of the game will decide the semifinal line-up. Australia are in Dubai and will train in the afternoon, when South Africa are expected to fly in from Karachi where they hammered England to get top spot in Group B. The winners of the India-New Zealand clash will play Australia, who finished second to South Africa in their group. But irrespective of the placing and opponent, India will play the first semifinal in Dubai on March 4 after they refused to travel to hosts Pakistan for political reasons. That will leave New Zealand and either Australia or South Africa, hours after landing in Dubai, to head back to Pakistan for the second semifinal scheduled on March 5 in Lahore. Pundits and ex-cricketers had called out the one-venue “farce” at the 50-over tournament after India were allowed to play all their matches at the Dubai International Stadium. The rest of the seven teams in the eight-nation competition had to shuttle between three Pakistan venues — Karachi, Rawalpindi and Lahore — and the United Arab Emirates. New Zealand all-rounder Glenn Phillips said his team were not thinking about India staying at one venue for the course of the tournament. “No, for us there’s no focus on anything like that,” he said on Saturday. “We have a ‘no-excuses’ mindset.” The final on March 9 will be in Dubai if India go the distance. Lahore’s Qaddafi Stadium will be the venue if India miss out.

Third-time lucky for Tsitsipas as he overcomes Auger-Aliassime to take Dubai title

DUBAI: Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas made it third time lucky at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Saturday night, defeating Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-3, 6-3 to claim his maiden ATP 500 title in front of a jubilant Centre Court under the lights at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium.

India set up ICC Champions Trophy clash with Australia

DUBAI: Spinner Varun Chakravarthy returned figures of 5-42 as India beat New Zealand by 44 runs on Sunday to set up a semifinal clash with Australia in the Champions Trophy.

Welbeck sinks Newcastle as Brighton reach FA Cup quarters

NEWCASTLE: Danny Welbeck sent Brighton into the FA Cup quarterfinals as his extra-time strike clinched a dramatic 2-1 win against Newcastle in a stormy clash scarred by red cards for both teams.

Barcelona routs 10-man Real Sociedad 4-0 to go top in Spain

MADRID: Barcelona cruised to a 4-0 rout over 10-man Real Sociedad to regain the lead in Spain on Sunday. Gerard Martín, Marc Casadó, Ronald Araujo and Robert Lewandowski scored a goal each to put Barcelona one point ahead of second-placed Atletico Madrid at the top of the Spanish league. Barcelona is three points ahead of third-placed Real Madrid, which lost 2-1 at Real Betis on Saturday, when Atletico beat Athletic Bilbao 1-0 at home. “Very happy with the match we played,” Araujo said. “It was important to win and become leaders again. It was a great effort by the team.” Sociedad played a man down from the 17th minute after Aritz Elustondo was sent off with a straight red card for grabbing Barcelona forward Dani Olmo to stop a breakaway. “It was a clear red card,” Sociedad coach Imanol Alguacil said. “After that there was no game. It’s already hard 11 against 11 against them, you can imagine with a man down.” It was the sixth win in a row for Barcelona in the league, and the second loss in three matches for Sociedad, which stayed in ninth place. Barcelona coach Hansi Flick rested some regular starters ahead of the team’s Champions League match at Benfica on Wednesday in the first leg of the round of 16. Prolific Lewandowski Barcelona was in control from the start at Montjuic stadium, with Martín scoring in the 25th and Casadó in the 29th. Araujo added to the lead in the 56th and Lewandowski closed the scoring in the 60th for his eighth goal in his last nine matches. Lewandowski now has 34 goals this season in all competitions, one more than the 33 he scored in what had been his previous best season with the Catalan club in 2022-23. Sociedad, which along with Barcelona, Madrid and Atletico is playing in the Copa del Rey semifinals, struggled from the start and had no attempts on goal. Barcelona had 33 total attempts. Sociedad defender Hamari Traoré entered the match in the second half to mark his return to action nearly six months after having to undergo knee surgery. Earlier Sunday, striker Diego García scored two minutes into second-half stoppage time to give 16th-placed Leganes a 1-0 win over 14th-placed Getafe in a match between teams from the Madrid area. Valencia later Sunday has a chance to move out of the relegation zone with a win at Osasuna.

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India brace for ‘nervy times’ against Australia in semifinal

DUBAI: Rohit Sharma warned his India team Monday to expect “fightbacks” and “nervy times” against Australia in the Champions Trophy last four in a rematch of the 2023 ODI World Cup final.

Nottingham Forest reach FA Cup quarterfinals after Sels stops Ipswich in shootout

NOTTINGHAM, England: Goalkeeper Matz Sels was the hero for Nottingham Forest as he saved the last penalty in a shootout to take his team past Ipswich Town and into the quarterfinals of the FA Cup on Monday.

In-form Atletico Madrid look to end their Champions League slump against city rivals Real Madrid

MADRID: The Madrid derby takes center stage in the round of 16 of the Champions League, with Atletico Madrid in a commanding position to try to finally get the best of rival Real Madrid in the European competition.

Paris return ‘too soon’ for Liverpool fans traumatized by 2022 Champions League final

LIVERPOOL: Liverpool’s return to Paris for the first time since the 2022 Champions League final comes too soon for many supporters still scarred by the traumatic events that marred European football’s showpiece event. The Premier League leaders take on Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of what should be a mouthwatering last 16 tie on Wednesday. However, only 2,000 Liverpool fans are expected at the Parc des Princes, with many deciding against a return to the French capital after the treatment they suffered at the hands of the Parisian authorities just under three years ago. “It’s too soon for a lot of people,” John Gibbons of Liverpool fan website The Anfield Wrap told AFP. Real Madrid’s 1-0 victory at the Stade de France was overshadowed by a 37-minute delay to kick-off as fans struggled to access the stadium after being funnelled into overcrowded bottlenecks as they approached the stadium. Police fired tear gas toward thousands of supporters locked behind metal fences on the perimeter of the stadium. As if events on the night of May 28 were not painful enough, Liverpool fans had to suffer a series of false claims in the aftermath of the chaos. European football’s governing body UEFA initially tried to pin the blame on supporters arriving late despite thousands having been held for hours outside the stadium before kick-off. The French authorities then claimed an “industrial-scale fraud” of fake tickets was the problem. A French Senate enquiry later concluded that poorly-executed security arrangements were the cause of the mayhem. An independent report found UEFA bore “primary responsibility” for the failures which almost led to the match becoming a “mass fatality catastrophe.” The report added it was “remarkable” that no one was killed on the night of the final. But for many Liverpool fans the scenes brought back memories of a crush at Hillsborough Stadium in 1989 that resulted in the deaths of 97 supporters. As a result, Gibbons said many fans were reluctant to return to the French capital. “There is the psychological thing of not wanting to go back to somewhere where you have a bad experience but also the lack of accountability makes people think there is nothing to stop it happening again,” he said. “It wasn’t left on the day. Lots happened afterwards. Most notably the government not taking much responsibility for what happened.”

Gilgeous-Alexander strikes again for rumbling Thunder

MIAMI: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander put up his fourth 50-point game of the season as Western Conference leaders the Oklahoma City Thunder marched on with a 137-128 win over the Houston Rockets on Monday.

UAE-based youngsters target more caps after making bow at youth international level

ABU DHABI: Two Manchester City Football Schools players in the UAE have set their sights on winning more international caps after playing for their national teams at age-group level.

Bayern coach ‘not in the mood’ for question about Leverkusen star Florian Wirtz

MUNICH: Bayern Munich coach Vincent Kompany gave up trying to answer a question about what makes Bayer Leverkusen star Florian Wirtz special. Ahead of the teams meeting in the Champions League on Wednesday, Kompany was asked what sets Wirtz and Bayern star Jamal Musiala apart and what they could learn from each other. “You’ve obviously noticed I’m not in the mood to answer,” Kompany said Tuesday. “From each other, I don’t know,” Kompany attempted at first before saying each player has to take his own path in his development. He said it was a boon for Germany, before saying his players will need be at their best to counter Leverkusen in Munich. Then he gave up. “I’m talking but it’s easier to say nothing. I’m trying to be respectful, but guys, other questions!” Kompany said in the press conference before the first leg of the teams’ last 16 tie. “It’s a good question,” he continued. “I would perhaps have asked it in your position, but still, perhaps you’d feel the same if you were sitting in my seat.” Wirtz has been consistently linked with a move to Bayern, the speculation fueled by comments from Bayern powerbroker Uli Hoeneß saying he would like to see the 21-year-old attacking midfielder play for the Bavarian powerhouse one day. Kompany said midfielder Aleksandar Pavlović was sick and will miss the game. Bayern haven’t beaten Leverkusen in three attempts so far this season. The teams most recently drew 0-0 in Leverkusen in the Bundesliga — a game the home team dominated from start to finish. Leverkusen previously knocked Bayern out of the German Cup, while they drew their first meeting 1-1 in Munich, where Bayern had been better. Bayern have failed to beat Leverkusen in all six games they’ve played since their former player Xabi Alonso took over as Leverkusen coach in October 2022.

Swiss prosecutors seek suspended sentences for Blatter and Platini

MUTTENZ, Switzerland: The Swiss public prosecutor on Tuesday requested suspended sentences of 20 months for both Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini in an appeal against their 2022 acquittal in a corruption case. An Extraordinary Appeal Court sitting in Muttenz near Basel, will hand down its decision on March 25 in a long-running legal saga which shattered the careers of Blatter, the former president of world football’s governing body FIFA, and Platini, ex-head of European body UEFA. Prosecutor Thomas Hildbrand opted not to call for prison sentences for the 88-year-old Swiss and 69-year-old Frenchman. The case began in 2015 when Blatter quit as head of FIFA in a corruption crisis. It stems from a delayed payment of two million Swiss francs (1.8 million euros) FIFA paid Platini in 2011 for consultancy services. The pair were acquitted by the Swiss Federal Court in June 2022 of charges that included “disloyal management,” “breach of trust” and “forgery of securities.” The court concluded that fraud was “not established with a likelihood bordering on certainty,” and therefore applied the general principle of criminal law according to which “the doubt must benefit the accused.” The Swiss Attorney General’s office appealed. In his three-and-a-half-hour argument on Tuesday, Hildbrand set out to dispel the defendants’ assertion that they had an “oral contract” to pay Platini in 2011 for work as a consultant between 1998 and 2002. In 2011, Platini opted not to run against Blatter, who was then reelected as FIFA president. Blatter and Platini had signed a written agreement in August 1999, before the Frenchman became UEFA president, providing for an annual payment by FIFA of 300,000 Swiss francs for consultancy work. At the beginning of 2011, Platini presented an invoice for 2 million Swiss francs. Blatter approved it and presented it to FIFA as a late salary balance. The defendants say they had agreed a yearly sum of one million Swiss francs but that this was too much for FIFA finances at the time. Hildbrand said the argument was implausible. Even if FIFA had transferred one million Swiss francs to Platini in 1999, it would still have had “more than 21 million francs in cash,” and its reserves had reached 328 million in 2002. To agree such a sum without a written record, without witnesses and without ever making provision for it in the accounts was, he said, “contrary to commercial practice” as well as to FIFA’s norms. The appeal trial, which began on Monday, is due to continue until Thursday at the latest, with closing arguments from the defense. Although FIFA, the civil party, has joined the public prosecutor’s appeal, it is not represented in Muttenz.

PSG coach Enrique warns his players about Liverpool’s ‘fighter jets’ in attack

PARIS: Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique is worried about the speed of Liverpool’s “fighter jets” in attack and warned his team not to give the ball away in their Champions League clash.

Rashford returns to Champions League in Aston Villa’s 3-1 win at Club Brugge

BRUGGE: Marcus Rashford resumed his Champions League career Tuesday, starting in Aston Villa’s 3-1 win at Club Brugge in the first leg of their last-16 tie. Rashford did not score his first goal with his new team but put on a strong first-half display, making himself available and showing his pace and great technique on the wing. After Leon Bailey put Villa ahead, Rashford had an excellent chance to double Villa’s lead on the break in the 10th minute from a tight angle, but his effort was blocked by goalkeeper Simon Mignolet. Rashford was replaced by Marco Asensio in the 64th minute. It was Rashford’s first Champions League match since November 2023, when he was sent off for Manchester United against FC Copenhagen. Rashford joined Villa in February on loan from United, where he had fallen out with manager Ruben Amorim. He had not played for United since Dec. 12 amid Amorim’s concerns about Rashford’s commitment to training. The 27-year-old forward’s loan runs to the end of the season. Rashford has been in great from since his departure from Old Trafford. Although he has yet to score for his new team, he has been influential and set up three goals for Asensio. According to UEFA statistics, Rashford played 33 Champions League games for United, scoring 12 goals. Villa were a league-phase surprise, finishing eighth to set up the round-of-16 matchup against a Club Brugge squad that defeated Villa 1-0 in November and eliminated Atalanta in the playoffs.

Al-Ahli take big step toward AFC Champions League quarter finals but Al-Hilal stumble

Al-Hilal lost 1-0 in Uzbekistan to Pahktakor on Tuesday in the first leg of their AFC Champions League Elite round-of-16 clash. Meanwhile, Saudi Pro League rivals Al-Ahli showed them how it should be done with an impressive victory over Qatari side Al-Rayyan.

Diaz earns Real Madrid lead on Atletico in Champions League derby clash

MADRID: Real Madrid claimed a small edge on city rivals Atletico Madrid with a tight 2-1 Champions League last 16 first-leg win on Tuesday. Julian Alvarez levelled for Atletico after Rodrygo Goes sent the hosts ahead, but Brahim Diaz stroked home the winner for the record 15-time winners to delight the Santiago Bernabeu stadium. Diego Simeone’s Atletico, who lost in the 2014 and 2016 finals against their bitter rivals, kept stars Vinicius Junior and Kylian Mbappe quiet but still came up short. The Rojiblancos played it safe in the final stages, seeming to accept their one-goal disadvantage for the second leg derby clash at home next week. Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti opted for Morocco international Diaz in midfield to replace the suspended Jude Bellingham and selected Fede Valverde at right-back after he was passed fit to play. The Italian had demanded his side show a better attitude and more commitment than during their La Liga defeat by Real Betis on Saturday and his charges delivered. Rodrygo pounced after just four minutes, slipping inside Javi Galan to collect Valverde’s teasing pass before firing home with his left foot across Jan Oblak and inside the far post. It was the Brazilian winger’s fifth strike of the tournament, habitually shining on the European stage for Madrid, where he boasts 25 goals in 61 appearances. Rodrygo wanted a penalty when Galan appeared to hold him back in the area but his appeals were waved away. His compatriot Vinicius came close to netting Madrid’s second as he surged into the box but Jose Gimenez blocked his shot well. Atletico began to create danger of their own and Valverde hacked away Giuliano Simeone’s whipped ball from under his own crossbar under pressure from Samuel Lino. Alvarez levelled with a brilliant individual goal, dancing away from Eduardo Camavinga on the left of the box and curling his shot past Thibaut Courtois into the top corner. The former Manchester City striker has been in sublime form in the past few weeks, notching 10 goals in 14 matches and proving why Atletico made him their second most expensive signing of all-time last summer. Antoine Griezmann and Rodrigo De Paul helped Atletico keep control for long periods, with Madrid finding it hard to take the ball back from their rivals. That made it all the more surprising when Diaz restored Los Blancos’ lead in the 55th minute. The midfielder left Gimenez on the floor with some quick footwork and carved out the space for a tidy low finish, before leaping into the crowd to celebrate. Griezmann fired wide and Gimenez over as Atletico looked for a response and Ancelotti brought on 39-year-old midfielder Luka Modric in search of more control. The Croatian delivered just that and neither side threatened in the final half hour of the match until stoppage time, when Madrid might have secured a third. Mbappe’s cut-back from the right was behind Vinicius who was waiting for a tap-in, and Oblak saved from Modric in the aftermath. Atletico host Real Madrid next week at the Metropolitano stadium, with the winner facing Arsenal or PSV Eindhoven in the quarter-finals.

Alcaraz chases third straight Indian Wells title

INDIAN WELLS, California: Carlos Alcaraz will take a softly-softly approach as he vies to become just the third man to win three straight titles at Indian Wells, where he could find a member of that exclusive club, Novak Djokovic, standing in his way in the quarterfinals.

Times Square boxing event in May promises to be big, with 3 fights and talk of half a million fans

NEW YORK: Big boxing in New York for long meant Madison Square Garden, in recent years Barclays Center as well.

LeBron James first player in NBA history to score 50,000 points

LOS ANGELES, United States: LeBron James became the first player in NBA history to score 50,000 career points on Tuesday, extending his lead as the league’s all-time record scorer by reaching a milestone tally that may never be surpassed. The Los Angeles Lakers superstar went into the game against the New Orleans Pelicans with 49,999 regular and postseason points after a 17-point performance in Sunday’s win over the Los Angeles Clippers. It did not take long for the 40-year-old NBA icon to get the solitary point needed to reach the 50,000-point barrier. James, who is in dazzling form in the 22nd season of a glittering career, gathered a pass from Luka Doncic and unfurled a sublime 25-foot three-pointer to move to 50,002 points with the Crypto.com Arena crowd roaring their acclaim. James had passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s previous all-time regular-season scoring record of 38,387 points in 2023 – itself a record that had stood for 39 years. James is now nearly 6,000 points clear of Abdul-Jabbar’s total career points tally of 44,149, with Karl Malone third (41,689 points) and the late Kobe Bryant fourth with 39,283 points. Michael Jordan is fifth on the all-time scoring list with 38,279. Among active NBA players, only Kevin Durant with just over 35,000 points – roughly 15,000 points behind James – makes the top 10.

Fraud case designed to wreck Platini’s chance of FIFA top job, lawyer says

ZURICH: French footballing great Michel Platini was accused of fraud to torpedo his chances of becoming the head of world soccer’s governing body FIFA, his lawyer told a Swiss court on Wednesday. Platini, a former captain and manager of the French national team who also used to run Europe’s football authority UEFA, is facing corruption charges in an appeal against his acquittal two-and-a-half years ago. The Swiss federal prosecutor says the 69-year-old illegally took payment of 2 million Swiss francs ($2.25 million) from FIFA in 2011, after it was approved by the organization’s former President Sepp Blatter. Blatter is also accused of fraud in the hearing at the Extraordinary Appeals Chamber of the Swiss Criminal Court in the municipality of Muttenz near the city of Basel. Blatter and Platini, once among the most powerful men in global football, both deny the charges and were acquitted by a lower court in July 2022, which prosecutors are contesting. “These criminal proceedings never had the goal of punishing an alleged crime. Rather, it was a means of getting Michel Platini out of the way,” his lawyer Dominic Nellen said. The investigation into the payments wrecked Platini’s hopes of succeeding Blatter. Blatter and Platini were suspended from football in 2015 by FIFA for ethics breaches, originally for eight years, although their exclusions were later reduced. Nellen said the prosecutors had allowed themselves to be used by FIFA to prevent Platini, a three-time European footballer of the year, from taking the reins. When he was questioned by prosecutors in September 2015 about the payment, details were announced to media even though no charges were made, Nellen said.

7 stand trial over cyber death threats against Paris Olympics artistic director

PARIS: The trial of seven people charged in connection with alleged cyberbullying targeting the artistic director of last summer’s Paris Olympics’ opening and closing ceremonies has started in a Paris court. Thomas Jolly filed a complaint for death threats after receiving homophobic and antisemitic abuse on social networks. The online attacks erupted after Jolly’s acclaimed but controversial opening spectacle on the Seine in July — a queer-inclusive, high-energy fusion of tradition and modernity. Local media reported that Jolly did not attend Wednesday’s hearing, with two of the people charged also not attending because they were either sick or could not make themselves available. The abuse last summer quickly escalated, including attacks based on Jolly’s sexual orientation and wrongly assumed Israeli roots, and reportedly aimed to silence the artistic intent of the show. Jolly responded by filing a formal complaint with the Paris prosecutor’s office on July 31, prompting an investigation that led to arrests in the south of France in October 2024. The seven people charged, ranging in age from 22 to 79, face counts of death threats, aggravated insults, and cyberbullying — serious allegations carrying the weight of potential prison time and heavy fines. A verdict in the Jolly’s case is expected at a later date. The arrests were seen as a first step in France’s fight against cyberbullying, which authorities noted has become increasingly sophisticated. In Jolly’s case, prosecutors pointed to the disturbing “pack behavior” of attackers acting independently to escalate the harassment, a pattern seen in other online hate campaigns. Jolly’s complaint came after the opening ceremony prompted a storm of outrage in the wake of a contentious scene featuring drag queens and other performers. Although Jolly has repeatedly said that he wasn’t inspired by “The Last Supper,” vocal criticism of the show from some quarters interpreted it as a mockery of Leonardo Da Vinci’s painting depicting Jesus Christ and his apostles. French President Emmanuel Macron extended full support to Jolly and all performing artists who were part of the Olympics opening show. Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo also expressed “unwavering support” of Jolly in the face of the threats and harassment.

TNT Sports will televise 24 of 63 Club World Cup matches on TNT, TBS and truTV

ATLANTA: TNT Sports will televise 24 of 63 Club World Cup matches on TNT, TBS and truTV under an agreement with the streaming platform DAZN announced Wednesday. DAZN obtained world-wide rights from FIFA in a deal announced in December. TNT Sports is a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. FIFA’s expanded 32-team tournament will be played in the US from June 14 to July 13. FIFA decided the clubs will have priority for players over national teams; the CONCACAF Gold Cup is scheduled for June 14 to July 6. Warner Bros. Discovery is in the third year of an eight-year agreement with the US Soccer Federation for US rights to games of the US men’s, women’s and youth national teams that are controlled by the USSF.

Europa League win can change dire Man United season: Amorim

SAN SEBASTIAN, Spain: Manchester United coach Ruben Amorim said Wednesday winning the Europa League could make a “massive difference” to his team’s disappointing season, but was not vital in the big picture of the club’s future. The Red Devils face Real Sociedad on Thursday in a last 16 clash at the Reale Arena, looking for respite from their poor domestic form. Winning the Europa League would earn them a Champions League qualification spot for next season, which is virtually impossible for them to attain in the Premier League, where they sit 14th. “I think it’s not a crucial thing for the future of the club... (but it would be) a massive difference in our season, especially because we are out of the (other) cups and in a bad position in the league,” Amorim told reporters. “If we win the Europa League that could change a lot of things in the way (people) see the coach,” he joked. Amorim, who arrived at Old Trafford in November after Erik ten Hag was sacked, believes top quality players will still be interested in joining United even if they failed to secure European football next season. “Man United can (aim for) all the best players in the future even without Champions League in the future,” said Amorim. “We have to change a lot of things and we’ll try to do that. “There are more important things than winning cups in this moment, that is my view, but I understand that winning the Europa League can change everything for next season.” Amorim said Sunday after Fulham knocked his team out of the FA Cup that United’s long-term goal should be winning the Premier League title. “We have to think of the club as a project not just solve things in this moment,” continued the Portuguese coach. “(We can’t think) if we win the Europa League we’ll be in amazing position in the next year... I’m trying to show the big picture to our supporters.” The coach said his misfiring forward had been unlucky in recent games, with Rasmus Hojlund not scoring in his last 18 games and Joshua Zirkzee with just one strike in his last 16. “There are things that are hard to explain,” said Amorim. “Before the last match we had some games without opportunities, creating chances, that is impossible for them to score, it’s a team thing. “But I felt in the last games... we had opportunities to score and we didn’t score, sometimes really, that’s it.” United will be without Harry Maguire and Manuel Ugarte for the first leg clash in San Sebastian after they suffered knocks during Sunday’s FA Cup defeat by Fulham. Amad Diallo, Kobbie Mainoo and Luke Shaw are among various other unavailable players amid the club’s injury crisis, along with teenage striker Chido Obi, who is not registered to play in Europe. Meanwhile Real Sociedad coach Imanol Alguacil said he was not sure if midfielder Martin Zubimendi would be fit to face United after he was taken off during the 4-0 league defeat by Barcelona on Sunday. Alguacil considers the Red Devils as the “big favorite” to win the Europa League. “I don’t agree with those who say they are coming here in a bad moment, they have less wins in the league than they deserve for how they’ve played, they have a great squad and some top players,” Alguacil told a news conference. Man United won the Europa League in 2017 and have three Champions League wins in their history, while Real Sociedad have never reached a European final.