The crowd at the Estadio Da Luz chanted the name of Lionel Messi. Benfica’s supporters were enjoying themselves at post-Messi Barcelona’s expense. They were on the way to their first victory over these opponents since 1961, and by a handsome margin.
Or, rather, by the margin that has become more or less standard whenever a club with any status takes on damaged, bruised Barca in the Champions League.
Benfica won 3-0, just as Bayern Munich had won 3-0 at Camp Nou two weeks earlier; the same scoreline by which Juventus won on their visit last season. Paris Saint-Germain beat Barcelona by a three-goal margin in February, which heralded Barca’s exit from the Champions League at the last 16 stage. A season earlier, Bayern had knocked them out 8-2, and in the previous seasons their eliminations had come via a 4-0 loss to Liverpool and a 3-0 defeat to Roma.
Three different managers, the latest Ronald Koeman, have overseen this chronic decline at a club that in the last 15 years have been European champions four times. A decade ago, Barca were considered perhaps the finest club side this century. To chant Messi’s name, as the Benfica loyalists did, is to recall that era and painfully remind Barcelona of all they have lost.
Is this their rock bottom? It could still get worse. Wednesday evening produced a humiliation, but events earlier in the day had shown there are few escape routes.
In the morning, Spain’s La Liga had published their annual salary caps, which govern each club’s allowed spending on wages and transfer fees, based on independent audits of those clubs.
Barcelona, balancing huge debts and the fallout from having their vast stadium closed to spectators throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, were expecting a harsh new limit and in August cited that as the reason they had to let Messi leave. Their cap has lowered from a year ago by €234 million, to €97m.
On Wednesday, it was also announced by La Liga that most Spanish stadiums could return, with the pandemic easing, to full capacity. But health services in Catalonia, the region whose capital in Barcelona, are pausing before permitting 100 per cent occupation of stadiums. That is a setback. To build the gradual economic recovery Barca need, the turnstiles at Camp Nou, which can seat close to 100,000, to be fully active.
Within a severely curtailed transfer budget, they also need talent to emerge from within, fast and direct from an academy, La Masia, that was once the envy of the world. “La Masia is the way to go, and with our distinct style, we can put ourselves on another level,” proclaimed the Barcelona president, Joan Laporta before kick-off in Lisbon.
He had barely taken his seat and analysed the starting XI chosen by Koeman when Benfica went 1-0 up, with the young La Masia-reared defender Eric Garcia thoroughly bamboozled by the goalscorer, Darwin Nunez. By the end of the night, Garcia, who rejoined Barcelona from Manchester City in the summer, had been sent off, his second red card already this season.
The senior La Masia graduates, players who were part of great Barca sides in the past, like Gerard Pique and Sergio Busquets had nights to forget, too. Pique was taken off in the first half because Koeman felt he was already dangerously close to a second yellow card.
Koeman has repeatedly advised that this Barcelona side should not be stood up for comparison with those that Pique and Busquets helped to European Cup triumphs in 2009, 2011 and 2015. “We have lost players who could make the difference season after season,” he said after a defeat that leaves Barcelona without a point and bottom of Group E.
Those past match-winners would include chiefly Messi, but also Luis Suarez and even Antoine Griezmann. That trio all departed Barca in order to ease the salary burden. A very bad week for Barcelona was made no better by seeing Messi score his first goal, on Tuesday, for Paris Saint Germain; on the same night, Griezmann and Suarez orchestrated a comeback from 1-0 down at AC Milan for Atletico Madrid. Griezmann is on loan from Camp Nou at Atletico; Suarez moved there 14 months ago.
Atletico, who were guided to last season’s La Liga title in large part by Suarez’s goals, are where scarred Barcelona must go on Saturday. On Thursday, Koeman started his preparations for that foreboding fixture with little certainty he would still be in charge at the weekend.
Laporta is scanning around for a replacement, and realising any wise manager will look at the state of this fallen giant of a club and think twice. And they will see the budget restraints and know Barca’s decline has no instant solutions.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
MATCH INFO
Asian Champions League, last 16, first leg:
Al Ain 2 Al Duhail 4
Second leg:
Tuesday, Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium, Doha. Kick off 7.30pm
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
BACK%20TO%20ALEXANDRIA
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Zayed Sustainability Prize
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
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.
Profile
Company: Justmop.com
Date started: December 2015
Founders: Kerem Kuyucu and Cagatay Ozcan
Sector: Technology and home services
Based: Jumeirah Lake Towers, Dubai
Size: 55 employees and 100,000 cleaning requests a month
Funding: The company’s investors include Collective Spark, Faith Capital Holding, Oak Capital, VentureFriends, and 500 Startups.
MATCH INFO
Chelsea 0
Liverpool 2 (Mane 50', 54')
Red card: Andreas Christensen (Chelsea)
Man of the match: Sadio Mane (Liverpool)
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.
The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
More on Quran memorisation:
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
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
more from Janine di Giovanni
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
RESULTS
Manchester United 2
Anthony Martial 30'
Scott McTominay 90 6'
Manchester City 0
Where to donate in the UAE
The Emirates Charity Portal
You can donate to several registered charities through a “donation catalogue”. The use of the donation is quite specific, such as buying a fan for a poor family in Niger for Dh130.
The General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments
The site has an e-donation service accepting debit card, credit card or e-Dirham, an electronic payment tool developed by the Ministry of Finance and First Abu Dhabi Bank.
Al Noor Special Needs Centre
You can donate online or order Smiles n’ Stuff products handcrafted by Al Noor students. The centre publishes a wish list of extras needed, starting at Dh500.
Beit Al Khair Society
Beit Al Khair Society has the motto “From – and to – the UAE,” with donations going towards the neediest in the country. Its website has a list of physical donation sites, but people can also contribute money by SMS, bank transfer and through the hotline 800-22554.
Dar Al Ber Society
Dar Al Ber Society, which has charity projects in 39 countries, accept cash payments, money transfers or SMS donations. Its donation hotline is 800-79.
Dubai Cares
Dubai Cares provides several options for individuals and companies to donate, including online, through banks, at retail outlets, via phone and by purchasing Dubai Cares branded merchandise. It is currently running a campaign called Bookings 2030, which allows people to help change the future of six underprivileged children and young people.
Emirates Airline Foundation
Those who travel on Emirates have undoubtedly seen the little donation envelopes in the seat pockets. But the foundation also accepts donations online and in the form of Skywards Miles. Donated miles are used to sponsor travel for doctors, surgeons, engineers and other professionals volunteering on humanitarian missions around the world.
Emirates Red Crescent
On the Emirates Red Crescent website you can choose between 35 different purposes for your donation, such as providing food for fasters, supporting debtors and contributing to a refugee women fund. It also has a list of bank accounts for each donation type.
Gulf for Good
Gulf for Good raises funds for partner charity projects through challenges, like climbing Kilimanjaro and cycling through Thailand. This year’s projects are in partnership with Street Child Nepal, Larchfield Kids, the Foundation for African Empowerment and SOS Children's Villages. Since 2001, the organisation has raised more than $3.5 million (Dh12.8m) in support of over 50 children’s charities.
Noor Dubai Foundation
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Noor Dubai Foundation a decade ago with the aim of eliminating all forms of preventable blindness globally. You can donate Dh50 to support mobile eye camps by texting the word “Noor” to 4565 (Etisalat) or 4849 (du).
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
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
What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor
You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECreator%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESteven%20Knight%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%C2%A0%3C%2Fstrong%3EMark%20Ruffalo%2C%20Hugh%20Laurie%2C%20Aria%20Mia%20Loberti%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E1%2F5%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The biog
Name: Timothy Husband
Nationality: New Zealand
Education: Degree in zoology at The University of Sydney
Favourite book: Lemurs of Madagascar by Russell A Mittermeier
Favourite music: Billy Joel
Weekends and holidays: Talking about animals or visiting his farm in Australia
General%20Classification
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The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Lamsa
Founder: Badr Ward
Launched: 2014
Employees: 60
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: EdTech
Funding to date: $15 million
DUBAI WORLD CUP RACE CARD
6.30pm Meydan Classic Trial US$100,000 (Turf) 1,400m
7.05pm Handicap $135,000 (T) 1,400m
7.40pm UAE 2000 Guineas Group Three $250,000 (Dirt) 1,600m
8.15pm Dubai Sprint Listed Handicap $175,000 (T) 1,200m
8.50pm Al Maktoum Challenge Round-2 Group Two $450,000 (D) 1,900m
9.25pm Handicap $135,000 (T) 1,800m
10pm Handicap $135,000 (T) 1,400m
The National selections
6.30pm Well Of Wisdom
7.05pm Summrghand
7.40pm Laser Show
8.15pm Angel Alexander
8.50pm Benbatl
9.25pm Art Du Val
10pm: Beyond Reason
'Panga'
Directed by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari
Starring Kangana Ranaut, Richa Chadha, Jassie Gill, Yagya Bhasin, Neena Gupta
Rating: 3.5/5
