There may come a point in time when Sadio Mane does not score against Crystal Palace but not yet and not now. The Senegalese’s habitual goal brought up two landmarks in one swish of his right boot and allowed Liverpool’s supporters to chorus about being top of the league.
Mane represents Jurgen Klopp’s first great signing and, if there has been plenty of proof of that over the last five years, more arrived when the winger brought up a century.
“Exceptional,” Klopp said. “It is a massive achievement that in the glorious history of this club only 18 players could score 100 goals.”
Mane is now one and Mohamed Salah, already a member of that elite group and another who belongs in the category of Klopp’s finest bits of business, joined him among the goals. “That Mo scored should not be a massive surprise.” Klopp said.
Mane now finds himself alongside Anfield legends such as Ian Rush, Roger Hunt, Kenny Dalglish and Steven Gerrard in the hundred club while, in a different respect, he is twinned with Robin van Persie. The former Arsenal and Manchester United forward was alone in scoring in nine successive Premier League games against the same opponent. Stoke were his luckless victims, but Mane has preyed on Palace to the same extent.
“Right place, right time, I am lucky,” said a modest Mane, but it is little wonder Liverpool have won all nine games. “I love to play against Crystal Palace,” the Senegalese added.
That ninth victory was garnished by a glorious goal by Naby Keita, volleying in from the edge of the area after Vicente Guaita had punched Salah’s corner away. The others followed set-pieces, too.
“You expect here to concede goal in open play,” said Patrick Vieira. “But when you concede from three set-pieces, you can't expect to take anything.”
The luckless Guaita made a string of fine saves and excelled to parry a Salah header from Kostas Tsimikas’ corner but Mane had the speed of thought and foot to react fastest, get to the loose ball, swivel, shoot and bring up a ton. Salah was on hand to volley in when Virgil van Dijk headed on; now on 99 league goals for Liverpool, he is on the brink of another milestone.
And yet this was not one-way traffic. “It is one of the most hard-fought 3-0s ever,” said Klopp. “We had to give everything.” Palace contributed much. “Losing 3-0 is quite severe with the chances we created,” Vieira added.
His side struck the woodwork twice in the opening two minutes, which made for an eventful start to Ibrahima Konate’s Liverpool debut.
Klopp altered his entire back four, with Trent Alexander-Arnold a late withdrawal after reporting ill over breakfast and Conor Gallagher, maintaining his bright start to his Palace career, fed a ball over the new-look Liverpool defence, Wilfried Zaha eluded the makeshift right-back James Milner and tried to lob Alisson. The goalkeeper did terrifically to touch the ball on to the post. Defiant then, he was then beaten when Christian Benteke headed against the upright, but the former Liverpool forward was offside.
Palace could rue twin chances Odsonne Edouard squandered in his substitute appearance; one with a poor touch, one with a shot, each answered by the excellent Alisson. That a match with 38 shots only contained three goals was an illustration of fine goalkeeping at both ends, with Guaita denying Jordan Henderson, Keita and Salah.
It showed, too, the wastefulness of Diogo Jota, who blazed over when the goal gaped after Guaita had made a superb save from Thiago. “Today we were not brilliant, but we were good,” Klopp said. But over five years at Anfield, Mane has been brilliant.
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
THE SPECS
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What are the main cyber security threats?
Cyber crime - This includes fraud, impersonation, scams and deepfake technology, tactics that are increasingly targeting infrastructure and exploiting human vulnerabilities.
Cyber terrorism - Social media platforms are used to spread radical ideologies, misinformation and disinformation, often with the aim of disrupting critical infrastructure such as power grids.
Cyber warfare - Shaped by geopolitical tension, hostile actors seek to infiltrate and compromise national infrastructure, using one country’s systems as a springboard to launch attacks on others.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
TO A LAND UNKNOWN
Director: Mahdi Fleifel
Starring: Mahmoud Bakri, Aram Sabbah, Mohammad Alsurafa
Rating: 4.5/5
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
10 tips for entry-level job seekers
- Have an up-to-date, professional LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, set one up today. Avoid poor-quality profile pictures with distracting backgrounds. Include a professional summary and begin to grow your network.
- Keep track of the job trends in your sector through the news. Apply for job alerts at your dream organisations and the types of jobs you want – LinkedIn uses AI to share similar relevant jobs based on your selections.
- Double check that you’ve highlighted relevant skills on your resume and LinkedIn profile.
- For most entry-level jobs, your resume will first be filtered by an applicant tracking system for keywords. Look closely at the description of the job you are applying for and mirror the language as much as possible (while being honest and accurate about your skills and experience).
- Keep your CV professional and in a simple format – make sure you tailor your cover letter and application to the company and role.
- Go online and look for details on job specifications for your target position. Make a list of skills required and set yourself some learning goals to tick off all the necessary skills one by one.
- Don’t be afraid to reach outside your immediate friends and family to other acquaintances and let them know you are looking for new opportunities.
- Make sure you’ve set your LinkedIn profile to signal that you are “open to opportunities”. Also be sure to use LinkedIn to search for people who are still actively hiring by searching for those that have the headline “I’m hiring” or “We’re hiring” in their profile.
- Prepare for online interviews using mock interview tools. Even before landing interviews, it can be useful to start practising.
- Be professional and patient. Always be professional with whoever you are interacting with throughout your search process, this will be remembered. You need to be patient, dedicated and not give up on your search. Candidates need to make sure they are following up appropriately for roles they have applied.
Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz
COMPANY PROFILE
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
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Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
- Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
- Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
- Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
- Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
- Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
- Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.
More from Neighbourhood Watch
More on animal trafficking
Three tips from La Perle's performers
1 The kind of water athletes drink is important. Gwilym Hooson, a 28-year-old British performer who is currently recovering from knee surgery, found that out when the company was still in Studio City, training for 12 hours a day. “The physio team was like: ‘Why is everyone getting cramps?’ And then they realised we had to add salt and sugar to the water,” he says.
2 A little chocolate is a good thing. “It’s emergency energy,” says Craig Paul Smith, La Perle’s head coach and former Cirque du Soleil performer, gesturing to an almost-empty open box of mini chocolate bars on his desk backstage.
3 Take chances, says Young, who has worked all over the world, including most recently at Dragone’s show in China. “Every time we go out of our comfort zone, we learn a lot about ourselves,” she says.
Picture of Joumblatt and Hariri breaking bread sets Twitter alight
Mr Joumblatt’s pessimism regarding the Lebanese political situation didn’t stop him from enjoying a cheerful dinner on Tuesday with several politicians including Mr Hariri.
Caretaker Culture Minister Ghattas Khoury tweeted a picture of the group sitting around a table at a discrete fish restaurant in Beirut’s upscale Sodeco area.
Mr Joumblatt told The National that the fish served at Kelly’s Fish lounge had been very good.
“They really enjoyed their time”, remembers the restaurant owner. “Mr Hariri was taking selfies with everybody”.
Mr Hariri and Mr Joumblatt often have dinner together to discuss recent political developments.
Mr Joumblatt was a close ally of Mr Hariri’s assassinated father, former prime minister Rafik Hariri. The pair were leading figures in the political grouping against the 15-year Syrian occupation of Lebanon that ended after mass protests in 2005 in the wake of Rafik Hariri’s murder. After the younger Hariri took over his father’s mantle in 2004, the relationship with Mr Joumblatt endured.
However, the pair have not always been so close. In the run-up to the election last year, Messrs Hariri and Joumblatt went months without speaking over an argument regarding the new proportional electoral law to be used for the first time. Mr Joumblatt worried that a proportional system, which Mr Hariri backed, would see the influence of his small sect diminished.
With so much of Lebanese politics agreed in late-night meetings behind closed doors, the media and pundits put significant weight on how regularly, where and with who senior politicians meet.
In the picture, alongside Messrs Khoury and Hariri were Mr Joumbatt and his wife Nora, PSP politician Wael Abou Faour and Egyptian ambassador to Lebanon Nazih el Nagari.
The picture of the dinner led to a flurry of excitement on Twitter that it signified an imminent government formation. “God willing, white smoke will rise soon and Walid Beik [a nickname for Walid Joumblatt] will accept to give up the minister of industry”, one user replied to the tweet. “Blessings to you…We would like you to form a cabinet”, wrote another.
The next few days will be crucial in determining whether these wishes come true.
Infiniti QX80 specs
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ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
