Following midweek humiliation by Liverpool, Real Madrid could have hoped for an easier encounter than a trip to Athletic Bilbao.
The Basque fans of Athletic loath what the standard bearers of Spanish football stand for and dismiss Madrid's glamour as greed, their assurance as arrogance.
On Saturday, as is always the case when the Primera Liga's first and third historically most successful teams meet, invective poured down from the stands in a gloriously cacophonous San Mames.
The Basque players battled and bruised and picked up seven yellow cards to Madrid's four, but the Spanish champions weathered the storm in a manner they have perfected.
Unbeaten in Bilbao since 2004, Madrid triumphed 5-2 over a strong Athletic with two goals from Klaas Jan Huntelaar and further efforts by Gabriel Heinze, Arjen Robben and Gonzalo Higuain.
The victory cut Barcelona's lead at the top of the Primera Liga to three points ahead of the Catalans visit to Almeria late last night.
Dreadful in Europe, Madrid can't be accused of the same incompetence domestically.
Cup finalists Athletic have exceeded expectations this season.
Fifteen-goal striker Fernando Llorente can join club legend José Etxeberria in never needing to buy another drink in Bilbao's old town, which is buzzing with anticipation about May's cup final against Barca.
Cup success, though, has intoxicated Athletic and masked a recent slip in the league which has seen them winless in six.
Against Madrid, the Basques were two behind after 34 minutes and down to 10 men after Fran Yeste was shown red for shoving Iker Casillas to the ground following the visitor's second.
Having made life difficult for themselves, Athletic then surprisingly drew level after a Heinze own goal and a Llorente header before half time. The second half, like much of the first, was Madrid's.
A Huntelaar strike on 47 minutes and a second 14 minutes later from the Dutchman gave the Spanish champions a margin for error before Higuain converted an 85th-minute penalty after Andoni Iraola fouled Marcelo.
"The score reflects what took place on the pitch," said Madrid coach Juande Ramos.
"There's always friction and intensity in Athletic v Real Madrid matches, but we were the superior team. It was especially important for us to respond after the Liverpool defeat but if we had to choose I would have preferred victory in the Champions League."
Ramos can see one advantage from the European elimination, however.
"We now have seven days to prepare for each match and Barcelona do not," he stated. "Fatigue though isn't always a factor. It doesn't mean we will narrow the gap sooner."
In Saturday's other game, a late equaliser saw a desperate Valencia, who have not won since the beginning of February, salvage a 1-1 draw at home to Recreativo Huelva.
amitten@thenational.ae
Lewis Hamilton in 2018
Australia 2nd; Bahrain 3rd; China 4th; Azerbaijan 1st; Spain 1st; Monaco 3rd; Canada 5th; France 1st; Austria DNF; Britain 2nd; Germany 1st; Hungary 1st; Belgium 2nd; Italy 1st; Singapore 1st; Russia 1st; Japan 1st; United States 3rd; Mexico 4th
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
ETFs explained
Exhchange traded funds are bought and sold like shares, but operate as index-tracking funds, passively following their chosen indices, such as the S&P 500, FTSE 100 and the FTSE All World, plus a vast range of smaller exchanges and commodities, such as gold, silver, copper sugar, coffee and oil.
ETFs have zero upfront fees and annual charges as low as 0.07 per cent a year, which means you get to keep more of your returns, as actively managed funds can charge as much as 1.5 per cent a year.
There are thousands to choose from, with the five biggest providers BlackRock’s iShares range, Vanguard, State Street Global Advisors SPDR ETFs, Deutsche Bank AWM X-trackers and Invesco PowerShares.
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The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
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BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5
FIXTURES
Saturday
5.30pm: Shabab Al Ahli v Al Wahda
5.30pm: Khorfakkan v Baniyas
8.15pm: Hatta v Ajman
8.15pm: Sharjah v Al Ain
Sunday
5.30pm: Kalba v Al Jazira
5.30pm: Fujairah v Al Dhafra
8.15pm: Al Nasr v Al Wasl
Profile
Company name: Jaib
Started: January 2018
Co-founders: Fouad Jeryes and Sinan Taifour
Based: Jordan
Sector: FinTech
Total transactions: over $800,000 since January, 2018
Investors in Jaib's mother company Alpha Apps: Aramex and 500 Startups
UAE jiu-jitsu squad
Men: Hamad Nawad and Khalid Al Balushi (56kg), Omar Al Fadhli and Saeed Al Mazroui (62kg), Taleb Al Kirbi and Humaid Al Kaabi (69kg), Mohammed Al Qubaisi and Saud Al Hammadi (70kg), Khalfan Belhol and Mohammad Haitham Radhi (85kg), Faisal Al Ketbi and Zayed Al Kaabi (94kg)
Women: Wadima Al Yafei and Mahra Al Hanaei (49kg), Bashayer Al Matrooshi and Hessa Al Shamsi (62kg)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
