When Leeds paid Valencia £27 million ($37.2m) for Rodrigo, he was Spain’s No 9 and they were presumably expecting rather more goals from their record signing. If he spent his debut campaign in the shadow of Patrick Bamford, they had to wait until the 94th minute of his 11th appearance of the season for a first strike since May. When it came, however, it assumed an importance.
Rodrigo’s nerveless penalty spared Leeds defeat when it seemed that, having already lost the injured Raphinha, they would lose 1-0 for the second successive Saturday. Their troubled start to the season, their worst since 1988, was on the verge of getting worse. As two clubs seemed headed in opposite directions, Wolves were closing in on a fourth consecutive victory, something they had not mustered in the top flight since 1972, and a berth in the top six.
And then Rodrigo’s fellow rescuer intervened. Joe Gelhardt joined alongside the Spaniard in 2020, but to rather less fanfare. He was signed from Wigan, cheaper because they were in administration and suffering from relegation. This was just his second cameo in the Premier League. He was a ball of energy, drawing one fine save from Jose Sa, lifting another shot over the bar, before tumbling under Nelson Semedo’s challenge.
“Very soft,” said Bruno Lage, objecting to the award of the penalty but it was hard to halt Gelhardt. “In the last 15 minutes he was causing danger constantly,” said Marcelo Bielsa. “Not only the penalty but a few occasions he could have scored.”
The 19-year-old’s dramatic impact represented a reward for him: a theme of Bielsa’s long managerial career has been a willingness to trust young players and, in Gelhardt and Crysencio Summerville, he turned to two teenagers while leaving England’s Euro 2020 finalist Kalvin Phillips on the bench.
It was a very Bielsa comeback in another respect. Wolves, who had been comfortable, were worn down by relentless running. “Our insistence started to fatigue or waste their defence,” Bielsa said. A flurry of chances came late on; Leeds showed a spirit that boded well, given they had spent much of the first half in the relegation zone.
Rodrigo had glanced a header wide before Leeds trailed. They have a solitary clean sheet this season and, within 10 minutes, it was apparent they would not secure a second. Semedo picked out Raul Jimenez. His deflected shot fell obligingly for Hwang Hee-Chan to prod in the fourth goal of a productive loan spell.
They lost all three league games before he was able to debut, failing to score in each, but this was another indication he has added the finishing touch they lacked. He has proved a fine fit in other respects; nicknamed “Bull” in South Korea, that moniker that makes him a still more fitting recruit for Molineux. He is still some way behind Wolves’ record scorer Steve Bull but he has relieved the burden on Jimenez. “For Hwang and his numbers and the opportunities he creates we are very happy with his work,” said Lage.
Winners
Ballon d’Or (Men’s)
Ousmane Dembélé (Paris Saint-Germain / France)
Ballon d’Or Féminin (Women’s)
Aitana Bonmatí (Barcelona / Spain)
Kopa Trophy (Best player under 21 – Men’s)
Lamine Yamal (Barcelona / Spain)
Best Young Women’s Player
Vicky López (Barcelona / Spain)
Yashin Trophy (Best Goalkeeper – Men’s)
Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City / Italy)
Best Women’s Goalkeeper
Hannah Hampton (England / Aston Villa and Chelsea)
Men’s Coach of the Year
Luis Enrique (Paris Saint-Germain)
Women’s Coach of the Year
Sarina Wiegman (England)
Russia's Muslim Heartlands
Dominic Rubin, Oxford
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
Results
6.30pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-2 Group 1 (PA) US$75,000 (Dirt) 1,900m
Winner: Ziyadd, Richard Mullen (jockey), Jean de Roualle (trainer).
7.05pm: Al Rashidiya Group 2 (TB) $250,000 (Turf) 1,800m
Winner: Barney Roy, William Buick, Charlie Appleby.
7.40pm: Meydan Cup Listed Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 2,810m
Winner: Secret Advisor, Tadhg O’Shea, Charlie Appleby.
8.15pm: Handicap (TB) $175,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Plata O Plomo, Carlos Lopez, Susanne Berneklint.
8.50pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner: Salute The Soldier, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass.
9.25pm: Al Shindagha Sprint Group 3 (TB) $200,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Gladiator King, Mickael Barzalona, Satish Seemar.
What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
Should late investors consider cryptocurrencies?
Wealth managers recommend late investors to have a balanced portfolio that typically includes traditional assets such as cash, government and corporate bonds, equities, commodities and commercial property.
They do not usually recommend investing in Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies due to the risk and volatility associated with them.
“It has produced eye-watering returns for some, whereas others have lost substantially as this has all depended purely on timing and when the buy-in was. If someone still has about 20 to 25 years until retirement, there isn’t any need to take such risks,” Rupert Connor of Abacus Financial Consultant says.
He adds that if a person is interested in owning a business or growing a property portfolio to increase their retirement income, this can be encouraged provided they keep in mind the overall risk profile of these assets.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Lamsa
Founder: Badr Ward
Launched: 2014
Employees: 60
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: EdTech
Funding to date: $15 million
Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
