It had been a while. Some 721 days, to be precise. Or, to be even more precise, 721 days and eight minutes of action, between Gareth Bale’s 80th league goal for Real Madrid and his 81st. In between, there have been many ups and downs and attempts at an exit.
But in some ways, Bale would be forgiven for thinking very little has changed in the period through his dispiriting fall in the hierarchy at Madrid through the 2019-20 season, then his patchy loan year at Tottenham Hotspur, and the sweet moment on Sunday where he received a pass from Karim Benzema and calmly put Madrid ahead at Levante.
His previous La Liga goal for Madrid had been scored just up the Mediterranean coast, at Villarreal, on a see-saw night when Bale scored twice, his second goal in the 86th minute, and contrived to collect two yellow cards and be sent off in injury time.
That match, on the first day of September 2019, finished 2-2, and having served his suspension, Bale then spent most of the rest of that season estranged from the starting XI, his relationship with the then Madrid coach, Zinedine Zidane becoming ever more glacial, Bale’s enthusiasm for the club waning.
Fast forward to the City of Valencia stadium at the weekend, and he has a happier outlook. It was Bale’s second successive start, in the second Liga match of Carlo Ancelotti’s second spell as Madrid manager.
Bale gave Madrid the lead after four minutes. He soon gathered he was still part of a Madrid as unpredictable as they were two years earlier, part of a league where hierarchy counts for only so much.
A goal ahead at half-time, Madrid were trailing Levante by the 57th minute. Only after Bale, 32, Eden Hazard, 30, and Isco, 29, had been substituted, in favour of Marco Asensio, Vinicius and Rodrygo — all of them under 25 — did Madrid remount the rollercoaster. Vinicius scored two excellent equalisers on the way to a 3-3 draw, reminding Bale and Hazard that competition for places in the wide areas of Madrid’s attack is strong.
An hour or so earlier, in north-east Italy, Bale’s former accomplice Cristiano Ronaldo was aboard a rollercoaster of his own. And for a brief minute or so, Ronaldo believed he had, once again, steered the ride better than anybody.
Ronaldo’s Juventus drew their opening fixture of the Serie A season 2-2 at Udinese. They had led 2-0 after 23 minutes. Ronaldo started on the bench, a choice bound to sustain the summer-long speculation over whether or not he will be fulfilling the last year of his current Juventus contract or moving elsewhere. “It was a mutual decision,” said the club’s senior director, Pavel Nedved, of Ronaldo being left out of manager Max Allegri’s starting XI, “based on fitness.”
Nedved knew that would not smother the speculation. Ronaldo’s restlessness, his curiosity about whether there may be one more big move available to him in club football as he approaches the age of 37, has been barely disguised over the last 12 months. When Juventus, who signed him from Madrid in 2018, failed to win the Serie A title last May his frustration was plain.
But for Ronaldo to move, vast hurdles would need to be overcome. He, like Bale, has a year left on his contract. Like Bale, he earns a salary very few other clubs have the resources to match. Juventus have as yet received no viable offers for CR7 with a week left of the transfer window.
He is also their most reliable match-winner. Ronaldo scored more Serie A goals than anybody last season.
In injury time against Udinese, he and Juve believed that the Portuguese’s knack of stealing a show had been demonstrated once again.
Allegri summoned Ronaldo on the hour, in between the pair of goalkeeping errors from Wojciech Szczesny that invited Udinese back into the game. Like Ancelotti at Levante, Allegri also added a dash of youth to a late salvage operation, bringing Dejan Kulusevski, 21, and Federico Chiesa, 23, off the bench.
In injury time, Chiesa crossed, Ronaldo headed home in and in between his believing he had won the game for Juve and the ‘goal’ being ruled out for offside by VAR, CR7 picked up a booking for stripping off his shirt in celebration.
Hopes raised and dashed, Juventus jersey prematurely discarded: That might have been a symbol of Ronaldo’s summer, a tale of a player hinting he’d like to try on another club’s colours, but finding no prestigious new shirt quite fits.
Like Bale, Ronaldo may not be exactly where he wants to be. But neither are ready to fade into the background as they prepare their farewells to Spain and Italy.
Sri Lanka World Cup squad
Dimuth Karunaratne (c), Lasith Malinga, Angelo Mathews, Thisara Perera, Kusal Perera, Dhananjaya de Silva, Kusal Mendis, Isuru Udana, Milinda Siriwardana, Avishka Fernando, Jeevan Mendis, Lahiru Thirimanne, Jeffrey Vandersay, Nuwan Pradeep, Suranga Lakmal.
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)
Results
Male 51kg Round 1
Dias Karmanov (KAZ) beat Mabrook Rasea (YEM) by points 2-1.
Male 54kg Round 1
Yelaman Sayassatov (KAZ) beat Chen Huang (TPE) TKO Round 1; Huynh Hoang Phi (VIE) beat Fahad Anakkayi (IND) RSC Round 2; Qais Al Jamal (JOR) beat Man Long Ng (MAC) by points 3-0; Ayad Albadr (IRQ) beat Yashar Yazdani (IRI) by points 2-1.
Male 57kg Round 1
Natthawat Suzikong (THA) beat Abdallah Ondash (LBN) by points 3-0; Almaz Sarsembekov (KAZ) beat Ahmed Al Jubainawi (IRQ) by points 2-1; Hamed Almatari (YEM) beat Nasser Al Rugheeb (KUW) by points 3-0; Zakaria El Jamari (UAE) beat Yu Xi Chen (TPE) by points 3-0.
Men 86kg Round 1
Ahmad Bahman (UAE) beat Mohammad Al Khatib (PAL) by points 2-1
Men 63.5kg Round 1
Noureddin Samir (UAE) beat Polash Chakma (BAN) RSC Round 1.
Female 45kg quarter finals
Narges Mohammadpour (IRI) beat Yuen Wai Chan (HKG) by points.
Female 48kg quarter finals
Szi Ki Wong (HKG) beat Dimple Vaishnav (IND) RSC round 2; Thanawan Thongduang (THA) beat Nastaran Soori (IRI) by points; Shabnam Hussain Zada (AFG) beat Tzu Ching Lin (TPE) by points.
Female 57kg quarter finals
Nguyen Thi Nguyet (VIE) beat Anisha Shetty (IND) by points 2-1; Areeya Sahot (THA) beat Dana Al Mayyal (KUW) RSC Round 1; Sara Idriss (LBN) beat Ching Yee Tsang (HKG) by points 3-0.
MATCH INFO
Northern Warriors 92-1 (10 ovs)
Russell 37 no, Billings 35 no
Team Abu Dhabi 93-4 (8.3 ovs)
Wright 48, Moeen 30, Green 2-22
Team Abu Dhabi win by six wickets
The specs: 2018 Audi RS5
Price, base: Dh359,200
Engine: 2.9L twin-turbo V6
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 450hp at 5,700rpm
Torque: 600Nm at 1,900rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 8.7L / 100km
HIJRA
Starring: Lamar Faden, Khairiah Nathmy, Nawaf Al-Dhufairy
Director: Shahad Ameen
Rating: 3/5
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
The bio
His favourite book - 1984 by George Orwell
His favourite quote - 'If you think education is expensive, try ignorance' by Derek Bok, Former President of Harvard
Favourite place to travel to - Peloponnese, Southern Greece
Favourite movie - The Last Emperor
Favourite personality from history - Alexander the Great
Role Model - My father, Yiannis Davos
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
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDate%20started%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202020%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Khaldoon%20Bushnaq%20and%20Tariq%20Seksek%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Abu%20Dhabi%20Global%20Market%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20HealthTech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20100%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%20to%20date%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2415%20million%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
BLACK%20ADAM
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Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
