Archive November 12, 2025

Women’s Champions League: Man Utd v Paris St-Germain

Venue: Old Trafford, Manchester Date: Wednesday, 12 November Kick-off: 20:00 GMT

Manchester United’s Champions League match with Paris St-Germain will be historic.

It is the first time the women’s side has played a European game at Old Trafford.

At a club built on the legend of the Busby Babes, the 1968 European Cup winners and the Champions League triumphs under Sir Alex Ferguson, it is a significant milestone.

And it is a further step for Marc Skinner’s side who, until Saturday’s surprise Women’s Super League defeat by Aston Villa, had enjoyed an excellent season.

“Manchester United has an amazing history in European competition,” said Matt Johnson, the club’s head of women’s football.

“For us it is about the future. We must put a new lens on it.

“This is a really good chance to push forward with the women’s team and hopefully create a future that in 40 to 50 years’ time, means someone else is saying how they broke down barriers, just as Sir Matt [Busby] did in the 1950s and 60s and Sir Alex did after that.”

United have begun their debut Champions League campaign impressively, winning their first two games.

Beating a PSG side that has lost both of theirs would virtually guarantee at least a place in next year’s play-off round before forthcoming encounters with heavyweight duo Wolfsburg and Lyon in the first phase.

It is an impressive effort for a club whose commitment to the women’s game has frequently been questioned.

United were the last of the major Premier League clubs to launch a Women’s Super League team, initially joining the second tier in 2018.

The absence of minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s at recent cup finals has been noted, particularly in 2024, when he elected to watch the men’s side lose to Arsenal in the Premier League at Old Trafford rather than be at Wembley as Skinner’s team hammered Tottenham.

Add in the women’s team being forced to relocate to temporary dressing rooms to allow the men’s side to take over their purpose-built £7m training ground facility during last season’s extensive Carrington overhaul and it is easy to understand why United’s hierarchy is criticised.

Johnson feels the claims of disinterest are unfair.

“Manchester United is totally committed to the women’s team,” he said.

“This is very much one club. We get access to all the same facilities and all the same staffing resources.

“There is a real family feel to the club. Being within the bubble, you feel totally supported and embraced by the club.

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United’s Champions League qualification campaign began with stories emerging of players making their own way back from Stockholm when the club opted against a direct return to Manchester after beating Hammerby in the initial phase in August.

Then there was the curious case of the lost boots before the first leg of their tie with Norway’s SK Brann in September. The boots, it turned out, had been loaded on to the wrong plane by airport staff. United officials, on discovering the issue hours before kick-off, dashed to a local sports store in Bergen to get replacements.

“The Stockholm thing was taken out of proportion,” said Johnson.

“We had been away for five or six days and the manager gave the players two or three days off. Some of our Scandinavian players asked to stay with their families. Some of our English players said they wanted to go to a concert in London.

“What was missed with the boots was that the club found a solution and every player played in brand new boots in their own make. That was no small feat.”

Mary Earps also offered a veiled criticism of United when she joined PSG last year, saying the club’s “transition” was “not aligned” with her career expectations.

United’s decision to switch the PSG game to Old Trafford is symbolic.

It is unlikely to result in a significant attendance, fan turn out may not even be beyond the 12,000 capacity of their regular home at Leigh Sports Village, 15 miles away, where the Lyon match will be played next month.

Johnson says United’s women’s operation has a voice at the table of all discussions around a new stadium but feels rather than talking about moving games away from Leigh, the focus should be on expanding the fanbase so they have to.

“First of all, the players love Leigh,” he said. “It is perfect for women’s football and we can generate a really good atmosphere.

“On the conversation around whether we play more games at Old Trafford and what does the new stadium look like for the women’s side, there is a lot of work to be done within the club and on the marketing side to see if we can grow the fanbase so we are getting more than 12,000.

“That would give us the argument that we need to go to Old Trafford because we can start to fill it and can create the special atmospheres.

“That is the longer-term plan. I would like to think that the ultimate vision would be in 10 or 15 years’ time, Manchester United are playing in a 100,000-seater stadium and it is full for the women’s team.

Josh Hazlewood has been cleared to join Australia’s squad for the first Ashes Test against England after an injury scare, but fellow pace bowler Sean Abbott has been ruled out.

Both suffered hamstring injuries playing for New South Wales against Victoria in the Sheffield Shield on Wednesday.

Scans showed Hazlewood, 34, did not sustain a muscle strain. The uncapped Abbott, 33, has a “moderate grade” injury.

Abbott would have been unlikely to play in Perth, with Hazlewood set to join Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland as the specialist seamers.

Cummins, who is recovering from a back injury, is thought to be on track to return for the second Test in Brisbane starting on 4 December. Batter Steve Smith will lead Australia in Cummins’ absence.

Like many of the Australia players, Hazlewood is involved in the current round of Sheffield Shield matches in preparation for the Ashes.

Before this week, he had not played a first-class match for New South Wales in more than a year.

He felt tightness in his hamstring towards the end of Victoria’s second innings on Wednesday and left the field as a precaution. Neither Hazlewood nor Abbott batted in New South Wales’ second innings as they lost by 300 runs.

“We’re a week away from the Test series – always err on the side of caution,” said Cummins.

“They wanted to find out what was happening before pushing it and potentially making anything worse.

“It’s rare to get him chipper, so it was good to see him smiling.

“He knows his body really well. I think he was a little bit worried (and) wanted to get it checked out. I only saw him briefly, but he was a bit happier afterwards.”

Abbott has won 57 caps for Australia in white-ball cricket.

Fifa World Cup qualifier: Slovakia v Northern Ireland

Venue: Kosice, Slovakia Date: Friday, 14 November Kick-off: 19:45 GMT

Northern Ireland midfielder Isaac Price says the “freedom” that manager Michael O’Neill gives him to get into attacking positions has contributed significantly to his international goalscoring exploits.

The 22-year-old has found the net 10 times in just 26 appearances, including a hat-trick in a 5-0 Nations League victory against Bulgaria at Windsor Park in October 2024.

The West Bromwich Albion player is one of an exciting crop of young players who have Northern Ireland fans dreaming of a potential trip to North America for next year’s World Cup finals.

“If you look at my career before [I played for] Northern Ireland I didn’t score many goals at all,” Price told BBC Sport NI.

“I had 18 months or so where I only scored one goal and I probably played a little bit deeper and probably didn’t believe that I had the goals in me.

“Michael told me he thought I’m an attacking threat, I should get in the box and then I had 12 months where the ball wouldn’t stop going into the net.

Northern Ireland’s final two upcoming World Cup qualifiers see them face Slovakia away on Friday and then host Luxembourg in Belfast on Monday as they aim to secure the second place in their group which would secure progression to the play-offs next March.

O’Neill’s men will likely be able to fall back on their Nations League group success last year to advance should they fail to clinch runner-up spot.

They must face the Slovakians without Ethan Galbraith, while Brodie Spencer, Shea Charles and Ali McCann are all on the injured list.

“Two really important games for us. We’re coming in a few bodies down from previous camps and they’re a big miss for us but it’s a great opportunity for other players to step up,” added the former Everton and Standard Liege player.

“They’ve been key players for us over the past 18 months to a year and they’re all doing really well at club level and when they come here they look even better.

“We know we’ve got a tough test ahead in Slovakia. They have quality and we beat them 2-0 at home so we know they’ll be looking for some revenge.”

The 22-year-old made his international debut as a substitute against San Marino in March 2023 but says the tight-knit nature of the group and the consistency in style of play makes it easy for new arrivals to bed in.

“It’s a little bit nerve-racking when you’re young. You maybe haven’t been around these environments before but it pushes your career on and it’s easy to settle into this team, it’s quite a young team. I think it’s just a great group of lads in general.

“The way we want to play is pretty clear. There’s been a consistency in the way we’ve played since I’ve been here.”

Having made their mark on the international stage with some impressive performances, Price believes the youthful squad can thrive on any pressure and the next step is to qualify for tournaments.

“There’s a confidence and an eagerness and belief that we’re good enough to play in those tournaments and after the past six to 12 months there’s probably a bit of an expectation on us now.

“Some people on the outside looking in probably didn’t think that we had the quality that we have but I think it’s good for us – the higher the expectation gets the better we’ll get.