Barcelona 3-2 Villarreal
A harsh winter chill enveloped Barcelona and ensured Camp Nou’s lowest home league crowd of the season, but 60,005 were rewarded with a superb game as Barcelona twice came from behind to defeat Villarreal 3-2.
Victory made it eight straight wins in league and cup matches for the Catalans and brought an end to Villarreal’s 18-game unbeaten run. With Spain’s top four all winning and fifth placed Valencia playing tonight, Luis Enrique’s side stay second. Villarreal remain sixth, but they continue to impress with their attacking mentality which twice and gave Barça a shock as they became the first team to score more than one goal at Camp Nou this term.
“It was a very positive match except for the goals we conceded,” said Enrique. “The 0-1 disorientated us and we wasted 10 minutes getting back into the game, but the result indicates that we’re prepared to overcome any situation.”
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No La Liga team had managed to avoid defeat as many times away from home as Villarreal, who arrived with a solitary away loss. Despite having scored in their previous 25 games, it still surprised when Marcelino’s side went ahead. Barça had created the game’s early chances, but Luis Suarez’s profligacy continued as he lacked the sharpness in front of goal displayed last season.
Daniel Alves set the Uruguayan up with a 12th minute cross but his effort was save. Alves set up him up again eight minutes later only for Suarez to send the ball wide. His boss Enrique turned away in frustration, but two of his three brilliant strikers are in form.
It was left to a Real Madrid player to open the scoring after 29 minutes. On loan Russian striker Denis Cheryshev diverted a shot following a fast counter attack. Joel Campbell, Villarreal’s other on loan signing from Arsenal, will have appreciated the play from his seat in the stands and his new side appeared to barely miss Gabriel Paulista, the defender Villarreal sold to Arsenal as part of his transfer.
With his side ahead, coach Marcelino was true to his pre-match assertion that: “We have to make them feel uncomfortable. We need to be ready to run a lot, but we can’t only defend”, yet they conceded an untimely equaliser a minute before half-time when Messi set up a chance for Rafinha. His shot was saved before Neymar tapped in the rebound.
Villarreal retook the lead in the 51st minute when their counter attack saw Gerard Pique miscontrol the ball and former Barca player Giovanni dos Santos intercept possession. The Mexican ran towards Claudio Bravo’s goal and got the better of Pique again before switching the ball back for Argentine Luciano Vietto to knock in his 15th goal of the season.
Though it drew an ecstatic response from their bench, Villarreal’s lead would last only a minute. A 52nd minute move involving Andres Iniesta, Suarez and Messi had a happy ending when Rafinha, playing his best game in a Barça shirt, swept the ball into Sergio Asenjo’s goal.
Few teams play with two strikers at Camp Nou and the boldness of the Yellow Submarines was vindicated. They thought they’d made it 3-3 after 64 minutes through Victor Ruiz, but the effort was offside. At the other end, Barça counter attacked, nearly scored and appealed for a penalty after Asenjo’s challenge on Neymar, but, somehow, the score stayed at 3-2.
“Messi again absolutely decided game,” sighed Marcelino, who’d hugged Enrique in the tunnel after the game. “He created the 1-1. And later did most damage.”
Marcelino doesn’t have Messi, but his side is stocked with wonderful footballers.
The sides meet twice in the next month in the semi-final of the Copa del Rey.
Given their quality and conviction to both attacking football and exploiting space, those fans who stayed away shouldn’t may want to consider attending.
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'Outclassed in Kuwait'
Taleb Alrefai,
HBKU Press
MO
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
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NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
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Common OCD symptoms and how they manifest
Checking: the obsession or thoughts focus on some harm coming from things not being as they should, which usually centre around the theme of safety. For example, the obsession is “the building will burn down”, therefore the compulsion is checking that the oven is switched off.
Contamination: the obsession is focused on the presence of germs, dirt or harmful bacteria and how this will impact the person and/or their loved ones. For example, the obsession is “the floor is dirty; me and my family will get sick and die”, the compulsion is repetitive cleaning.
Orderliness: the obsession is a fear of sitting with uncomfortable feelings, or to prevent harm coming to oneself or others. Objectively there appears to be no logical link between the obsession and compulsion. For example,” I won’t feel right if the jars aren’t lined up” or “harm will come to my family if I don’t line up all the jars”, so the compulsion is therefore lining up the jars.
Intrusive thoughts: the intrusive thought is usually highly distressing and repetitive. Common examples may include thoughts of perpetrating violence towards others, harming others, or questions over one’s character or deeds, usually in conflict with the person’s true values. An example would be: “I think I might hurt my family”, which in turn leads to the compulsion of avoiding social gatherings.
Hoarding: the intrusive thought is the overvaluing of objects or possessions, while the compulsion is stashing or hoarding these items and refusing to let them go. For example, “this newspaper may come in useful one day”, therefore, the compulsion is hoarding newspapers instead of discarding them the next day.
Source: Dr Robert Chandler, clinical psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia
if you go
The flights
Emirates have direct flights from Dubai to Glasgow from Dh3,115. Alternatively, if you want to see a bit of Edinburgh first, then you can fly there direct with Etihad from Abu Dhabi.
The hotel
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Located in the heart of Mackintosh's Glasgow, the Dakota Deluxe is perhaps the most refined hotel anywhere in the city. Doubles from Dh850
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Events and tours
There are various Mackintosh specific events throughout 2018 – for more details and to see a map of his surviving designs see glasgowmackintosh.com
For walking tours focussing on the Glasgow Style, see the website of the Glasgow School of Art.
More information
For ideas on planning a trip to Scotland, visit www.visitscotland.com
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre, twin-turbo V8
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 582bhp
Torque: 730Nm
Price: Dh649,000
On sale: now
The%20specs
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Scream%20VI
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
THE BIO
Age: 30
Favourite book: The Power of Habit
Favourite quote: "The world is full of good people, if you cannot find one, be one"
Favourite exercise: The snatch
Favourite colour: Blue
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Biog
Mr Kandhari is legally authorised to conduct marriages in the gurdwara
He has officiated weddings of Sikhs and people of different faiths from Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Russia, the US and Canada
Father of two sons, grandfather of six
Plays golf once a week
Enjoys trying new holiday destinations with his wife and family
Walks for an hour every morning
Completed a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Loyola College, Chennai, India
2019 is a milestone because he completes 50 years in business
UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
