The story of the match
Two teams harbouring outside aspirations of a sustained title challenge provided little evidence of their prospects last night, as Al Nasr and Al Wahda played out an abject goalless draw at Al Maktoum Stadium.
The hosts, top of the table before this week’s round of matches, remain unbeaten. But they will feel this was two points dropped, rather than one gained.
Admittedly, Wahda represent one of the division’s better clubs, yet they were reduced to 10 men 11 minutes before half time.
Mohammed Al Menhali was the culprit, receiving a second booking for a second infringement on Jires Kembo Ekoko. A man to the good, Nasr could not make the numerical advantage count.
That had as much to do with their ineffective attack as it did Wahda’s decision to withdraw. Nilmar, the summer signing from Brazil’s Internacional, again had an off night, stretching his barren spell in the league to five matches.
The Kickabout podcast: Saudi sides stand between UAE, Al Ahli and glory
He is yet to break his duck in this competition, and he did not offer much hope of ending that streak anytime soon. The Brazilian’s only opportunity arrived in the 73rd minute, but he failed to connect with his header.
Nilmar was not the only one to struggle, though. As if to be expected, Wahda place much of their creative responsibility on Jorge Valdivia, but the Chilean spent most of the match getting kicked, or actively seeking to be.
Subsequently, he did little to spark Wahda’s attack. Luis Jimenez could have nicked it for Nasr right at the end, but both sides eventually cancelled each other out, an early indicator that talk of a title challenge for either could be premature.
Man of the match - Denilson (Al Wahda)
The former Arsenal midfielder has slowly begun to find his feet following his summer transfer from Brazil’s Santos, and he was again quietly impressive here.
Always tidy and tenacious in the centre of the pitch, the Brazilian did well to break up play and offered a sturdy protection to his back line.
What they said
Ivan Jovanovic, the Nasr coach: "The result is not good for us. Playing at home, you have to win the game. We had the advantage of an extra player, but we could not make the most of it. My team did not create many chances – when you cannot create chances, it is very difficult to score a goal."
Javier Aguirre, the Wahda manager: "Al Nasr were the leaders coming into this weekend, so it was a very important game. It is not easy as a new coach, so we will see in the future.
“It has been a really hard beginning, but in the last two games I’ve had good feelings. Like the Tour de France, we are in the middle of the climb.”
The National’s verdict
The match marked the beginning of a run that pits Nasr against five of the country’s most talented teams in their next seven fixtures, but they will need to display a sharper cutting edge if they are to mount a genuine run at the title.
Wahda did well considering they played two thirds of the game with one less man.
They are still clearly trying to adapt to Aguirre’s philosophy.
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The five stages of early child’s play
From Dubai-based clinical psychologist Daniella Salazar:
1. Solitary Play: This is where Infants and toddlers start to play on their own without seeming to notice the people around them. This is the beginning of play.
2. Onlooker play: This occurs where the toddler enjoys watching other people play. There doesn’t necessarily need to be any effort to begin play. They are learning how to imitate behaviours from others. This type of play may also appear in children who are more shy and introverted.
3. Parallel Play: This generally starts when children begin playing side-by-side without any interaction. Even though they aren’t physically interacting they are paying attention to each other. This is the beginning of the desire to be with other children.
4. Associative Play: At around age four or five, children become more interested in each other than in toys and begin to interact more. In this stage children start asking questions and talking about the different activities they are engaging in. They realise they have similar goals in play such as building a tower or playing with cars.
5. Social Play: In this stage children are starting to socialise more. They begin to share ideas and follow certain rules in a game. They slowly learn the definition of teamwork. They get to engage in basic social skills and interests begin to lead social interactions.
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
The specs: 2017 Dodge Viper SRT
Price, base / as tested Dh460,000
Engine 8.4L V10
Transmission Six-speed manual
Power 645hp @ 6,200rpm
Torque 813Nm @ 5,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined 16.8L / 100km
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
MATCH DETAILS
Juventus 2 (Bonucci 36, Ronaldo 90 6)
Genoa 1 (Kouame 40)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Playing records of the top 10 in 2017
How many games the top 10 have undertaken in the 2017 ATP season
1. Rafael Nadal 58 (49-9)
2. Andy Murray 35 (25-10)
3. Roger Federer 38 (35-3)
4. Stan Wawrinka 37 (26-11)
5. Novak Djokovic 40 (32-8)
6. Alexander Zverev 60 (46-14)
7. Marin Cilic 43 (29-14)
8. Dominic Thiem 60 (41-19)
9. Grigor Dimitrov 48 (34-14)
10. Kei Nishikori 43 (30-13)
The years Ramadan fell in May
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Honeymoonish
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A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Gender pay parity on track in the UAE
The UAE has a good record on gender pay parity, according to Mercer's Total Remuneration Study.
"In some of the lower levels of jobs women tend to be paid more than men, primarily because men are employed in blue collar jobs and women tend to be employed in white collar jobs which pay better," said Ted Raffoul, career products leader, Mena at Mercer. "I am yet to see a company in the UAE – particularly when you are looking at a blue chip multinationals or some of the bigger local companies – that actively discriminates when it comes to gender on pay."
Mr Raffoul said most gender issues are actually due to the cultural class, as the population is dominated by Asian and Arab cultures where men are generally expected to work and earn whereas women are meant to start a family.
"For that reason, we see a different gender gap. There are less women in senior roles because women tend to focus less on this but that’s not due to any companies having a policy penalising women for any reasons – it’s a cultural thing," he said.
As a result, Mr Raffoul said many companies in the UAE are coming up with benefit package programmes to help working mothers and the career development of women in general.
