THERE was a time Dwight McNeil and Mason Greenwood would fight it out in the cages at Manchester United’s training ground.

Now the old friends have both been unleashed on the Premier League and their teams go head-to-head at Old Trafford tomorrow.

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Burnley winger McNeil, 21, had dreams of making the grade with his boyhood club — but his time with the Red Devils ended in disappointment , aged 14.

The Rochdale-born star is not surprised by the progress of pal Greenwood , 18, at United as he pushes for a spot in England’s Euros squad.

McNeil, a doubt for the clash after picking up a knock, said: “The main thing was training in the cage at night.

“It was all a bit of fun, really, just playing games in this small area. But it improved me as a player in tight areas.

“Mason was younger than me but he played up with us. He was always good with both feet — you could tell with Mason at a young age.

“I know Mason personally and he’s a good man as well as a very good player. Sometimes I see him face-to-face on the odd occasion but on social media I speak to him.

“It’s great that we’ve both achieved our  dream to play in the Premier League and,  obviously, Mason is doing so well at United and I’m really happy for him.

“Every time he’s playing at the moment he’s doing well.

“He’s had some criticism but I know what kind of guy he is. Mason’s a good guy and he’s come back scoring goals so I’m happy for him.”

McNeil was the United-mad kid who grew up wanting to be the next Ryan Giggs.

Old Trafford icon Giggs enjoyed a remarkable, trophy-laden career which ended with him racking up a club-record 963 appearances.

So although the Burnley winger’s dad Matt was a footballer,  it was Giggs who a young Dwight  modelled his game on.

And he still has the shirt to prove it round at his parents’ house.

McNeil admitted: “I think there’s one at  my Mum and Dad’s place. I used to watch everything Giggs did as a youngster. Direct dribbles past people, crosses, goals, leadership,  I just lapped it up.”

McNeil had a dream to become a United winger just like his hero — but he suffered heartache after his folks broke the news he would not be kept on.

He explained: “I was 14 and still at school. As a young kid it’s a hard one to take, especially when it’s your boyhood club and the one you grew up supporting.

“But my parents still believed in me. We had a chat and all decided that the best thing was to come here and give it a go.

“I look back now at being released by United and I wouldn’t have thought back then that I’d have all this experience under my belt by this age.

“It was a hard one to take when I left but then I came here to Burnley and haven’t looked back since.

“It just gave me that desire and determination to become a professional footballer elsewhere.

“It made me focused on becoming a professional footballer. And hopefully, looking back on it, I’ve proved some people wrong.”

If McNeil carries on like this, then surely his chance to shine with one of the big guns will come one day.

Yet he dampened down the  speculation — for now at least — by signing a new long-term contract at Turf Moor in October.

With the Clarets seemingly on course to beat the drop again, he said: “The gaffer calls it ‘outside noise’ and we didn’t hear anything.

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“It was a simple answer for me and the family to sign a new contract with the club.

“I had a talk with my Dad and my family and we came to the conclusion that the best decision, the right decision, was to sign another contract.

“Right now for me  it’s about playing for Burnley. I have loved the club since I’ve been here and I know the manager and the lads so well.”

A COURT has sparked outrage after a man who had a child with his 14-year-old stepdaughter was cleared of sexual abuse.

The Spanish court in Pamplona accepted the man’s claim that his step-daughter engaged in penetrative sex by sitting astride him as he slept on the sofa.

The man claimed to have no memory of the alleged event and said he had been very drunk at the time.

The girl gave birth nine months later in December 2018, The Telegraph reports .

Pamplona’s social services ordered a paternity test, which confirmed the man was the child’s father.

The girl’s mother immediately reported the stepfather to the police for alleged sexual abuse.

The 14-year-old girl at first said she had been raped in the street, but later agreed with her stepfather’s claim that he was asleep when they had sex.

The Pamplona court judges said there wasn’t enough evidence to convict the stepfather, clearing him of the charges.

The trial took place in the same court which sparked fury in 2018 when gang rapists dubbed “the wolf pack” were acquitted of raping an 18-year-old girl – they were later convicted on appeal.

The court’s decision not to convict the stepfather has prompted outrage from campaign groups.

Altamira Gonzalo – part of a female jurists’ group – said the judge’s decision took “us back to the kind of verdicts we used to see in Spain in the 1950s or 60s when there was complete impunity for men in the family environment”.

She added: “This beggars belief.

“The only thing the court valued is the accused’s right to the presumption of innocence.

“It has ignored its duty to protect a minor and the fact that the age of consent in Spain is 16.”

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Cira García, a judge from a Spanish gender violence court, said the girl’s word was accepted without question “even though her account of events is absolutely implausible”.

The news comes as Spain’s parliament passes new child protection laws this week.

In Spain, only a fifth of family abuse cases are reported.

In the battle between captains Eoin Morgan and Virat Kohli, the Bengaluru franchise will hold a slight edge over Kolkata after its two wins from as many outings.

Known for his tactical nous and man-management skills, the World Cup-winning English skipper Morgan will be keen to bring KKR back on track after a familiar middle-order collapse cost them the game against Mumbai Indians.

After two ordinary seasons, the purple brigade started its campaign in an emphatic fashion, ticking all the boxes against Sunrisers Hyderabad. But against their nemesis MI, KKR middle-order collapsed in an inexplicable fashion to suffer their 12th loss from 13 matches.

Morgan’s astute captaincy in using his bowling resources was the highlight as KKR had bowled out MI for a modest 152. In his new role of bowling at the death, Andre Russell has taken six wickets at an impressive average of 7.83, but has failed to deliver with the bat.

With 14 runs from two matches, the big-hitting Jamaican has looked a shadow of his past. Vice-captain Dinesh Karthik, too, will be under pressure to deliver after his painstaking stay in the middle in the last game.

While Nitish Rana has impressed the most in batting, their star opener Shubman Gill has faltered after impressive starts, and KKR would hope the youngster fires in the coming days.

On a slow Chepauk deck where batting at the death has been a concern, KKR’s bowling has been a revelation with Morgan cleverly using his resources. Against the star-studded RCB who are yet to fire in unison this season, KKR’s bowling would once again look to make an impact.

It would not be a bad idea to bring in left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav in place of veteran Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, who has bowled just the opening over in each of the two matches.

Boasting a famed batting line-up in Kohli, AB de Villiers, Glenn Maxwell and the talented youngster Devdutt Padikkal, RCB are yet to perform to their full potential.

But it did not matter much as RCB have won both their matches with new signing Maxwell holding fort in the middle and the likes of Shahbaz Ahmed and Harshal Patel making the difference in bowling. Bought for Rs 14.25 crore in the 2021 auction, Maxwell has bounced back from a poor last season in the UAE.

On a difficult batting wicket, Maxwell’s 59 — his first IPL half-century since 2016 — was the cornerstone before Bengal left-arm spinner Shahbaz turned it around against SRH in the 17th over, taking three wickets for one run.

In their first match, Harshal Patel’s five-for set it up before de Villiers’ 48 sealed a two-wicket win over defending champions MI. Kohli will be keen that his star-studded batting fires in unison against KKR.

Match date: April 18, Sunday.

Match time: 3.30 PM IST

Live telecast: Star Sports Networks

Live streaming: HotStar, JIO TV

WUHAN — China’s Three Gorges reservoir has replenished 10 billion cubic meters of water to meet the demand for water use at the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River.

The water was diverted from mid-December 2020, as the rainfall in downstream areas is relatively low, causing a water supply shortage in some places.

The average water outflow speed of the reservoir reached 7,710 cubic meters per second during the period, 980 cubic meters per second faster than the inflow speed, according to the China Yangtze Power Co., Ltd.

Currently, the water level of the reservoir has dropped to around 162 meters.

The Three Gorges saw cargo transport reach 33.14 million tonnes in the first quarter this year, up 13.9 percent year on year, the company said.