United face pitch battle

BASLE face a race to get their pitch in shape for the Champions League tie against Manchester united next Wednesday.

Heavy rain made the St JakobPark turf cut up during northern Ireland’s World Cup play- off against Switzerland, making it difficult to play passing football.

Furious northern Ireland midfielder George Saville labelled the pitch ‘disgraceful’, and added: ‘For a game of this magnitude, at this level, to play on a pitch like that, personally I think it’s unacceptable.’

German referee Felix Brych made two inspections before kick- off while ground staff threw sand on affected areas.

Basle also host FC Sion in the Swiss Super League on Saturday.