DUBAI // The Al Jazira manager Abel Braga has criticised the seven-week break to the Pro League, which he fears will hurt his side's title charge. Jazira cruised to their sixth consecutive win on Thursday night, a 3-1 triumph at Al Shabab, to stay top of the table, with the Brazilian duo Fernando Baiano and Rafael Sobis both in terrific form. Braga would have preferred the dynamic duo to continue their exploits for another week at least, but the 11th round of the season, scheduled for Dec 23-24, was postponed to accommodate the needs of the national team as they prepare to defend their Gulf Cup crown in Oman next month.
"I am not happy about the 11th week being postponed," said the Jazira coach. "This break might be good for some teams, but not for others. It is certainly not good for us because we are at the top of the league, playing well and have a good momentum going." Meanwhile, the Al Nasr manager Luka Bonacic was left upset after a stoppage time penalty held his side to a 1-1 draw with Al Wahda on Thursday night.
Nasr had led through a Mohammed Omar goal until Pinga struck from the spot. "In nine games we have had 10 penalties against us," raged Bonacic. "In my opinion, my team is like a Trabant car and we were playing against a Ferrari. That is normal for us, but we are always affected by the referee." In last night's action Al Dhafra drew 1-1 with Al Ahli. Dhafra skipper Mohammed Salem opened the scoring. But Ahli levelled in the 23rd minute as Cezar scored a penalty.
Srecko Juraci became the fourth manager to be fired this season after he was sacked by Al Wasl last night. He was dismissed following following Thursday's 2-0 loss to Al Ain. arizvi@thenational.ae pradley@thenational.ae
Scores
Bournemouth 0-4 Liverpool
Arsenal 1-0 Huddersfield Town
Burnley 1-0 Brighton
Manchester United 4-1 Fulham
West Ham 3-2 Crystal Palace
Saturday fixtures:
Chelsea v Manchester City, 9.30pm (UAE)
Leicester City v Tottenham Hotspur, 11.45pm (UAE)
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
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GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
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At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
