The loss will trigger more debate on Benitez's future.
The loss will trigger more debate on Benitez's future.

Benitez finds positives in defeat



Huddled around a television in the Ferenc Puskas Stadium, Liverpool's players looked numb as they witnessed their Champions League exit. Fiorentina's 1-0 win against Lyon made their own victory, by the same scoreline, against Debrecen irrelevant. Just pride before their fall. There will be debates about where it all went wrong, arguments about whether Rafa Benitez should remain in charge and whether the club can keep hold of their icons like Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres over financial worries.

But amid the depression, there is defiance. None more so than from Benitez, who is hoping their first-stage failure will galvanise his team. Crucially, he retains the support of the board with his position "under no threat". The Spaniard is also "100 per cent sure" his side will finish in the top four and return for the Champions League next season. A derby win at Everton on Sunday will go a long way to showing his words are not hollow.

"I like to win every game and be as high as possible in all the competitions, but I think more about the players, the staff and the fans and I'm disappointed for everyone," he said. "We must remain positive, and think about the next competition and the next game. We have to win against Everton; that is our priority now." Benitez reflected on the late goals against Lyon as the reason for their Champions League downfall. Four priceless points went amiss with a defeat and a draw. Liverpool were hoping the French side would save them, but in the end, it was Fiorentina who had the Gallic hero.

Juan Vargas may have confide-ntly dispatched the penalty winner, but the French keeper Sebastien Frey's superb late stops from Jean Makoun and then Lisandro Lopez ensured the Italians were in the last 16. Liverpool's own fourth-minute winner from David Ngog became merely a statistic, although welcomed to end a run of five games without victory. Fabio Aurelio swung in a cross from the right, Jamie Carragher headed into the box and Ngog flicked the ball into the net with an outstretched boot.

It was not pretty, but neither was his side's performance against a defensive Debrecen side. When the hosts came out of their shell towards the end, they highlighted Liverpool's continued indecisiveness at the back. Pepe Reina did well to block a close-range effort from the substitute Amado Coulibaly. Aurelio agrees there is room for improvement and the Europa League will offer a consolation prize. "There's frustration," he said. "We know we're out of the Champions League for this season, but we have an opportunity in a competition that is new for us. Now we have to concentrate on that. It is an opportunity to win a trophy and that's how we'll go into this competition thinking. At Liverpool, every competition is important. We want to win trophies. There is still a long way go until May, but we have to improve."

That is obvious. The Premier League has to be their focus though, and a derby win to start their rise back among the leaders. But Benitez has to be bold too. Goodison Park might not seem the right time to risk Alberto Aquilani, but he risks comparisons with his handling of Robbie Keane at Anfield if Aquilani remains a peripheral figure. The Italian midfielder was given just a minute on Tuesday in his third substitute appearance since his £20million (Dh120m) arrival from Fiorentina.

He is fit after an ankle injury and Liverpool still desperately need some creativity, confidence and conviction in their play. Aquilani could be the missing link, but the players can no longer hide as Javier Mascherano admitted: "Liverpool deserve more from us." They certainly do. @Email:akhan@thenational.ae

A MINECRAFT MOVIE

Director: Jared Hess

Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa

Rating: 3/5

Brief scoreline:

Liverpool 2

Mane 51', Salah 53'

Chelsea 0

Man of the Match: Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)

Race card

5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,600m
5.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m
6pm: Arabian Triple Crown Round-1 Listed (PA) Dh230,000 (T) 1,600m
6.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,400m
7pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,200m
7.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 (T) 2,400m

In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
  • Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000 
  • Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000 
  • Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000 
  • Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000 
  • HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000 
  • Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000 
  • Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000 
  • Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000 
  • Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000 
  • Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000 
  • Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000 
  • Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
  • Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
  • Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
The smuggler

Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple. 
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.

Khouli conviction

Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.

For sale

A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.

- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico

- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000

- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950

Indika
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The White Lotus: Season three

Creator: Mike White

Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell

Rating: 4.5/5

Vidaamuyarchi

Director: Magizh Thirumeni

Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra

Rating: 4/5

 

Joker: Folie a Deux

Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson

Director: Todd Phillips 

Rating: 2/5

DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE

Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin

Director: Shawn Levy

Rating: 3/5

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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 Facility’s Versatility

Between the start of the 2020 IPL on September 20, and the end of the Pakistan Super League this coming Thursday, the Zayed Cricket Stadium has had an unprecedented amount of traffic.
Never before has a ground in this country – or perhaps anywhere in the world – had such a volume of major-match cricket.
And yet scoring has remained high, and Abu Dhabi has seen some classic encounters in every format of the game.
 
October 18, IPL, Kolkata Knight Riders tied with Sunrisers Hyderabad
The two playoff-chasing sides put on 163 apiece, before Kolkata went on to win the Super Over
 
January 8, ODI, UAE beat Ireland by six wickets
A century by CP Rizwan underpinned one of UAE’s greatest ever wins, as they chased 270 to win with an over to spare
 
February 6, T10, Northern Warriors beat Delhi Bulls by eight wickets
The final of the T10 was chiefly memorable for a ferocious over of fast bowling from Fidel Edwards to Nicholas Pooran
 
March 14, Test, Afghanistan beat Zimbabwe by six wickets
Eleven wickets for Rashid Khan, 1,305 runs scored in five days, and a last session finish
 
June 17, PSL, Islamabad United beat Peshawar Zalmi by 15 runs
Usman Khawaja scored a hundred as Islamabad posted the highest score ever by a Pakistan team in T20 cricket

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