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In the world of football, Manchester United set up an expert task force to regenerate Old Trafford and build one of the best stadiums in the world. Police have arrested 205 fans of Borussia Monchengladbach and FC Koln for violence outside Borussia Park before the Rhine derby. Andy Murray suffered a second-round exit from Indian Wells after losing to Andrey Rublev in straight sets. Anthony Joshua knocked out Francis Ngannou in their crossover boxing fight.
Read below to learn details about these top stories and other happenings in the sporting world in the last 24 hours.
Football
Manchester United set up expert task force for regenerating Old Trafford
Manchester United have set up an expert task force to explore options to regenerate Old Trafford and build one of the best stadiums in the world, which would be called the Wembley of the North. The expert task force will be headed by Lord Sebastian Coe, the former organising committee head for the London Olympics 2012, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, the Chief Executive of Trafford Council, Sara Todd, and the former Manchester United captain, Gary Neville.
Police arrest 205 fans for violence before Borussia Monchengladbach and FC Koln clash
The police have arrested 205 fans for violence outside the Borussia Park a day before Borussia Monchengladbach faced FC Koln in their Bundesliga clash, which is famously known as the Rhine derby. There were 131 FC Koln fans and 74 Borussia Monchengladbach fans, who were taken into custody by the police, to ensure that there wouldn’t be any more confrontation between the two groups.
Newcastle discussed possibility of signing Pedro Neto from Wolves: Reports
Newcastle have reportedly discussed the possibility of signing the Portuguese winger Pedro Neto from Wolves in the summer transfer window. As per the report from the Daily Mail, the fee of around £60m will possibly be enough for Newcastle to get the deal through, but they might have to contend with Liverpool, who are also interested in signing the Portuguese.
Saudi Pro League clubs prepared to offer more than £100m to sign Kevin de Bruyne: Reports
The clubs in the Saudi Pro League are reportedly prepared to offer more than £100m to sign Kevin de Bruyne from Manchester City in the summer transfer window. As per the report from Football Insider, the Belgium midfielder will be out of contract at the English champions in the summer of 2025, which is why he has become one of the top targets for Saudi clubs to sign soon.
Some major results in football:
La Liga 2023-24
- Barcelona 1-0 Mallorca
- Bundesliga 2023-24
- VfB Stuttgart 2-0 Union Berlin
Serie A 2023-24
- Napoli 0-0 Torino
Ligue 1 2023-24
- Nice 1-2 Montpellier
Eredivisie 2023-24
- Go Ahead Eagles 0-1 PSV Eindhoven
Saudi Pro League 2023-24
- Al-Riyadh 1-3 Al-Hilal
- Al-Ittihad 2-1 Al-Akhdoud
Tennis
Andy Murray loses to Andrey Rublev in second round of Indian Wells
The British tennis star, Andy Murray, lost his second-round clash at Indian Wells to Andrey Rublev, the fifth seed from Russia in straight sets with the scoreline reading 7-6(7-3), 6-1. The 36-year-old had four set points while leading the first set 5-4, but he couldn’t convert any of them, following which the Russian player displayed some impressive tennis to eventually get the better of him.
World No. 1 Iga Swiatek and Angelique Kerber reach third round of Indian Wells
Iga Swiatek, the World No. 1 women’s singles player from Poland, got the better of her American opponent Danielle Collins 6-3, 6-0, to reach the third round of the Indian Wells. Meanwhile, the German Angelique Kerber defeated the 10th seed Jelena Ostapenko from Latvia in a brilliant comeback after losing the first set, with the eventual victory scoreline reading 5-7, 6-3, 6-3.
Formula One
Max Verstappen takes pole position at Saudi Arabian GP
Max Verstappen, the multi-time F1 champion from Red Bull, secured pole position at the Saudi Arabian GP with a lap time of 1:27:472 at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, beating Charles Leclerc of Ferrari by 0.319 seconds. Oliver Bearman, the replacement of Carlos Sainz at Ferrari, who was ruled out of the F1 race weekend due to appendicitis, finished in 11th place in the Qualifying session in a very impressive performance.
Combat Sports
Anthony Joshua knocks out Francis Ngannou in two rounds in crossover boxing fight
Anthony, who is one of the most accomplished boxers in the world, knocked out the former UFC fighter Francis Ngannou in two rounds in their crossover boxing fight in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Joshua dropped Ngannou three times on the night, with his monstrous overhead right in the second round proving enough to win the match comprehensively.
