Secret Premier League Meeting

GM football fans. It’s Tuesday, Mar. 11 - a secret New Deal meeting, Maradona’s doctor trial begins, and everything else you need to know. Forwarded this email? Sign up here.

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KEY FIXTURES

UEFA Champions League, Last 16, 2nd Leg: Barcelona vs. Benfica, Agg 1-0, 17:45 / 12:45. Barcelona are unbeaten in their last 16 matches and have never lost at home to Benfica, keeping clean sheets in each of the last three meetings. Benfica, meanwhile, have won just two of their 13 away games against Spanish opposition. Bayer Leverkusen vs. Bayern Munich, Agg 0-3, 20:00 / 15:00. Bayern have scored three or more goals in six of their last 10 matches and netted 26 times in 11 UCL games this season, while Leverkusen have lost back-to-back matches for the first time since May 2023. Liverpool vs. Paris Saint-Germain, Agg 1-0, 20:00 / 15:00. Despite heading into this fixture with a one-goal advantage, Liverpool had just two shots, collectively worth 0.27 expected goals (xG) in the first leg. It was their fewest goal attempts on record in a knockout game in this competition. See all the UCL fixtures here.

Results…

Premier League: West Ham 0-1 Newcastle (Table)
Scottish Cup, QF: Livingstone 0-1 St. Johnstone (Match Report)
La Liga: Espanyol 1-1 Girona (Table)
Serie A: Lazio 1-1 Udinese (Table)

TOP TALKING POINTS

Secret New Deal Meeting

The Premier League and English Football League (EFL) have held secret talks to discuss a landmark financial deal. The meeting is a fresh attempt to show UK ministers that English football can self-regulate rather than require an Independent Football Regulator (IFR).

The discussions most likely focused on the so-called ‘New Deal,’ which has stalled in the last 12 months. One proposal of the New Deal was for the Premier League to distribute £925m of additional funding to the EFL over a six-year period and loan £88m immediately over a few months. English football's top flight already hands £1.6bn to the rest of English professional football every three years under an 'evergreen' deal.

The IFR–which is not supported by the Premier League–picked up momentum last year when the English top flight walked away from the New Deal. Whether a deal is made between the Premier League and EFL, the Football Governance Bill could become law by the summer.

Maradona Doctor Trial

Seven doctors and nurses have gone on trial accused of playing a role in the death of Diego Maradona. Maradona, who captained Argentina to World Cup glory in 1986, died aged 60 on 25 November 2020 after suffering a cardiac arrest while sleeping in his home in Dique Lujan, Buenos Aires Province.

Maradona died less than two weeks after being discharged from hospital, where he had undergone brain surgery. A medical report after Maradona’s passing found that he had not received adequate treatment for a patient in his condition. The panel concluded that the action taken by Maradona's health team was "inadequate, deficient, and reckless". The medical professionals face trial on negligence charges and could face up to 25 years in prison.

Speaking to local media, Maradona’s daughter, Dalma, has claimed that compromising audios show the possibility of a cover-up and professional negligence. She even implied she faces the threat of “mafia” after publicly speaking out about her father’s case.

Dive deeper into why Maradona is widely considered one of the greatest players of all time here or watch his goal awarded Goal of the Century here.

Champions League Last 16

The UEFA Champions League last-16 second-leg matches kick off on Tuesday (Mar. 11). Each tie will produce a winner—if the aggregate score is level after normal time, extra time and, if needed, penalties will follow.

For Tuesday’s matchups, Opta predicts that three of the four home teams–Liverpool, Barcelona, and Inter Milan–will advance to the quarter-finals. Liverpool (vs PSG) and Barcelona (vs Benfica) both have a 1-0 lead over their opponents. The slim advantage gives them a 74.9% and 88.8% chance of reaching the next round, respectively. Inter have the most comfortable odds, with a 96.8% chance of advancing as they lead Feyenoord 2-0 on aggregate.

Bayer Leverkusen, who host Bayern Munich, are given just a 4.3% chance of turning the tie around following their 3-0 loss to the Bundesliga leaders last week.

Wednesday’s fixtures are a mixed bag. Premier League sides–Arsenal (7-1 vs PSV) and Aston Villa (3-1 vs Club Brugge)–are given a 100% and 94.6% chance of advancing to the quarter-finals, respectively. Despite only a 2-1 win in the first leg, travelling Real Madrid are given a 72.4% chance of trumping Atletico Madrid.

The tightest fixture over both days is Lille versus Borussia Dortmund after their 1-1 draw in the first leg. Opta projects Dortmund (50.8%) will narrowly edge Lille (49.2%).

POLL

Do you think football should have an all-star match like other sports?

Leave your initials if you'd like to be featured in tomorrow's edition.

ON THE BALL

Europe

> Sir Jim Ratcliffe says some Machester United players are “not good enough” and “probably overpaid” (More) | Liverpool announce a multi-year kit deal with Adidas worth £60m a season that will begin next season, replacing existing manufacturer Nike (More); see Liverpool’s expected home kit (More) | Chelsea's squad at the end of the 2024 financial year was the costliest ever assembled, according to a new UEFA report (More)

> Manchester City Women sack head coach Gareth Taylor just five days before the club’s appearance in the League Cup final; former manager Nick Cushing will return on an interim basis (More)

> Andre Ter Stegen releases a statement after Catalunya Radio falsely reported that his divorce was a result of his wife cheating (More)

> Bayer Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz will be out of action for weeks after picking up a ligament injury on Saturday (More)

> Thomas Tuchel will announce his first England squad on Friday (Mar. 14) ahead of the Three Lions’ double-header against Albania and Latvia (More)

Americas

> The United States men’s national team will play friendlies against Turkey (Jun. 07) and Switzerland (Jun. 10) ahead of the CONCACAF Gold Cup (More)

> Inter Miami beat Charlotte FC 1-0 in their third straight match without Lionel Messi (Highlights); why Messi has sat out for Miami (More)

> A new study restricting headers in youth football in the United States has shown promising results on concussion rates (More)

> The National Women’s Soccer League has signed a season-long sponsorship deal with influencer Alex Cooper’s beverage brand Unwell Hydration in an effort to reach young women (More)

Rest of the World

> Al-Nassr's Jhon Duran scored twice and Cristiano Ronaldo netted a penalty in a 3-0 win over Esteghlal as the Saudi Pro League side booked a place in the Asian Champions League Elite quarter-finals (More)

> South Korea coach Hong Myung-bo has called up 28 players for home World Cup qualifiers against Oman and Jordan later this month (More)

> Auckland FC saw their A-League lead reduced to six points as Steve Corica's side were held to a 1-1 draw by Newcastle Jets (League Table)

ROUTERS’ VOICE

Yesterday’s Poll: Is a clean sheet more about a solid defence or a standout goalkeeper?

🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 ⬜️ 🛡️ Defence... (67%)

🟨 🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ 🧤 Goalkeeper... (21%)

🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other... (11%)

Your punditry takes:

🛡️ M.H: “The defence throttles and impacts any play action that reaches the keeper. Also, if the defenders are successful, they can use body position and blocks to only allow shots on target that are lower xG / lower percentile to score.”
🧤 A.V: “At first, I thought both, but then Allison changed my mind that one night in Paris.”
✍️ T.A: “It's clearly a combination of the two. Nottingham Forest this season is an obvious example. When teams have managed to get through Murillo and Miloenkovic, Mat Sels has performed miracles to keep the ball from hitting the back of the net! A solid defensive line doesn't always stop a 30-yard worldy.”
✍️ J.C: “If you concede the majority of possession, a solid defence is more important in keeping a clean sheet, and if you allow fewer xG by preventing dangerous shooting opportunities, your goalkeeper has less to do. A clean sheet can be achieved by dominating possession and maintaining pressure high up the pitch. The top teams keep so many clean sheets against bottom-half teams not just because their defenders are world-class but because they control the ball for 60-80% of the match.”