Former Chelsea star Didier Drogba kept up his incredible scoring record as Montreal Impact cruised past Toronto FC 3-0 to advance to the conference semi-finals (overall quarter-finals) of the MLS Cup on Thursday.
Drogba bagged his 12th goal in 12 games since signing for Montreal in July after finally calling time on his career with Chelsea in the English Premier League.
The 37-year-old scored Montreal’s third with a straightforward tap-in at the far post on 39 minutes to effectively seal victory in the all-Canada clash.
It capped a superb week for Drogba, who on Wednesday was named the MLS Player of the Month for a second straight month in recognition of his goalscoring form for Impact, whose fortunes have been transformed since his arrival.
Montreal had been battling for a play-off berth when Drogba arrived but made it into the post-season thanks to the Ivorian’s goals.
He had scored twice in for the Impact against Toronto on Sunday, ensuring Montreal finished as third seed in the Eastern Conference.
On Thursday Montreal wasted no time in asserting their superiority over Toronto once more, taking the lead on 18 minutes after a superbly worked counter-attack.
Ignacio Piatti burst clear from deep before releasing Patrice Bernier, who timed his run to perfection to go through on goal.
The veteran Canada international picked his spot before calmly finishing beneath advancing Toronto goalkeeper Chris Konopka.
Piatti doubled the Montreal lead on 33 minutes, gathering the ball on the edge of the area, holding off his marker and firing a low shot into the bottom right-hand corner of the goal.
Victory was all but assured six minutes before half-time when Drogba scored, sweeping home at the back post after Bernier crossed from the right flank.
Steven Gerrard meanwhile called for the Los Angeles Galaxy to toughen up their defence after his debut season in Major League Soccer was brought to an abrupt end with a 3-2 defeat to the Seattle Sounders.
The star-studded defending champions – whose $19.5 million (Dh71.6m) payroll is the second highest in MLS history – were bundled out of the play-offs on Wednesday after an error-strewn performance at CenturyLink Field.
Former Liverpool and England captain Gerrard said the Galaxy's season had come unstuck through a tendency to give away cheap goals to the opposition, placing too high a burden on the team's potent attack.
“For us it just seems like we’ve got to score three or four goals to get over the line to win games, and that’s what we’ve got to analyse over the winter,” said Gerrard, a high-profile signing for the Galaxy in July.
“I know (coach) Bruce (Arena) quite well now having got used to him and I’m sure that’s where he’ll be analysing.
“We’ve got to stop this team conceding goals because we know we’re capable of scoring anywhere in the league.
“I’ve been in this game long enough to know that if you’re going to be successful you can’t keep conceding goals.”
All three of Seattle’s goals on Wednesday came from defensive blunders by the Galaxy, leaving Arena seething with anger after the match.
“Our play in front of our goal defensively was atrocious,” the former United States coach said.
“We just giftwrapped those three goals. Give them credit – they jumped on the mistakes, but we were shockingly poor.
“If you’re going to give away goals like that, you don’t deserve to win, that’s for sure.”
In the other two MLS first round contests, DC United advanced past New England Revolution 2-1 and the Portland Timbers edged Sporting Kansas City 7-6 on penalties after a 2-2 draw.
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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.
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
The%20specs
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Timeline
1947
Ferrari’s road-car company is formed and its first badged car, the 125 S, rolls off the assembly line
1962
250 GTO is unveiled
1969
Fiat becomes a Ferrari shareholder, acquiring 50 per cent of the company
1972
The Fiorano circuit, Ferrari’s racetrack for development and testing, opens
1976
First automatic Ferrari, the 400 Automatic, is made
1987
F40 launched
1988
Enzo Ferrari dies; Fiat expands its stake in the company to 90 per cent
2002
The Enzo model is announced
2010
Ferrari World opens in Abu Dhabi
2011
First four-wheel drive Ferrari, the FF, is unveiled
2013
LaFerrari, the first Ferrari hybrid, arrives
2014
Fiat Chrysler announces the split of Ferrari from the parent company
2015
Ferrari launches on Wall Street
2017
812 Superfast unveiled; Ferrari celebrates its 70th anniversary
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
MATCH INFO
Manchester United 1 (Greenwood 77')
Everton 1 (Lindelof 36' og)
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
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You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
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THE SPECS
Engine: 3.5-litre V6
Transmission: six-speed manual
Power: 325bhp
Torque: 370Nm
Speed: 0-100km/h 3.9 seconds
Price: Dh230,000
On sale: now