Bayern Munich 3 Manchester United 1
Bayern Munich Mandzukic 59', Muller 68', Robben 76'
Manchester United Evra 57'
Man of the match Arjen Robben (Bayern Munich)
MUNICH // Manchester United gave Bayern Munich a fright, but the holders are through to the Champions League semi-finals after a 3-1 victory at the Allianz Arena ensured a 4-2 aggregate triumph.
All four goals came in the second half after the English champions defensive game plan had worked as well as hoped, even better when they took a surprise lead.
Pep Guardiola had promised his side would attack relentlessly and they dominated possession with three times as many first half passes as United, with captain Philip Lahm, described by his boss as the most intelligent player he had worked with, seeing more of the ball than any other player.
When they were not bouncing up and down in noisy unison, their 65,000 fans waited for what is usually an inevitable opener, knowing much was in their favour.
Since the introduction of the away-goals rule, the home team had gone through 528 times in 720 ties.
More appropriately, Bayern have never failed to win a European tie after drawing a first leg 1-1 away, and this Bayern is as good as they have ever been – at present the best team in the world.
The Bavarians had scored in all nine Champions League matches this season and, at one end of their beautiful arena, they had formed a vast collage saying “Kings of the Cup” in English.
They were confident of becoming the first team in the Champions League era to retain the European Cup but for all their dominance – after 25 minutes, they had 10 attacking efforts to United’s one – the visitors showed little discomfort, defending in numbers.
At the other end United’s front four, headed by Wayne Rooney and supported by Antonio Valencia, Shinji Kagawa and Daniel Welbeck, looked a threat on the rare occasion they attacked. Valencia had put the ball in the Bayern net in the 16th minute, but he was easily offside.
The sometimes selfish Arjen Robben and selfless Frank Ribery tormented with their trickery, but United held out and were content to go into the break still in the game with the score goalless.
Plan A had been to stop Bayern scoring, now United had to score. Kagawa, who had won all four games against Bayern as a Borussia Dortmund player, felt emboldened to shoot from outside the area on 53 minutes.
Four minutes later, United took an unexpected lead, Patrice Evra’s stunning strike rising into Manuel Neuer’s top left corner to silence the home crowd. But not for long.
The lead had lasted 22 seconds before Bayern were level when Mario Mandzukic headed past David de Gea.
The game was alive with attacking intent and the holders went ahead through Thomas Muller after 67 minutes, when he turned in a low ball across the six yard box from Robben, the Netherlands striker. Bayern added a killer third nine minutes later, when Robben skipped across the box and his shot deflected off Nemanja Vidic past De Gea.
United’s game plan was in tatters, their dream of an improbable victory too. Bayern, finalists in three of the past four years, march on.
After 18 successive seasons in the Champions League, it looks like it will be a while before United – seventh at present in the Premier League – play in the competition again.
sports@thenational.ae
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The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Mountain%20Boy
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Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
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
Tips from the expert
Dobromir Radichkov, chief data officer at dubizzle and Bayut, offers a few tips for UAE residents looking to earn some cash from pre-loved items.
- Sellers should focus on providing high-quality used goods at attractive prices to buyers.
- It’s important to use clear and appealing photos, with catchy titles and detailed descriptions to capture the attention of prospective buyers.
- Try to advertise a realistic price to attract buyers looking for good deals, especially in the current environment where consumers are significantly more price-sensitive.
- Be creative and look around your home for valuable items that you no longer need but might be useful to others.
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
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
Brief scores:
Kashima Antlers 0
River Plate 4
Zuculini 24', Martinez 73', 90 2', Borre 89' (pen)
Huroob Ezterari
Director: Ahmed Moussa
Starring: Ahmed El Sakka, Amir Karara, Ghada Adel and Moustafa Mohammed
Three stars
Brief scores:
England: 290 & 346
Sri Lanka: 336 & 243
THE BIO
Bio Box
Role Model: Sheikh Zayed, God bless his soul
Favorite book: Zayed Biography of the leader
Favorite quote: To be or not to be, that is the question, from William Shakespeare's Hamlet
Favorite food: seafood
Favorite place to travel: Lebanon
Favorite movie: Braveheart
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
What is a calorie?
A food calorie, or kilocalorie, is a measure of nutritional energy generated from what is consumed.
One calorie, is the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of 1 kilogram of water by 1°C.
A kilocalorie represents a 1,000 true calories of energy.
Energy density figures are often quoted as calories per serving, with one gram of fat in food containing nine calories, and a gram of protein or carbohydrate providing about four.
Alcohol contains about seven calories a gram.
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
