The last sight Italian football had of Cristiano Ronaldo in one of its stadiums was of an angry man. He had one foot out of the door of Juventus, eyeing a return to English football. But he packed plenty of drama into his last 40 minutes as Serie A’s superstar.
Juventus were away at Udinese, on the late-August opening day of the current league season. Soon after Udinese had pulled a goal back from 2-0 down, Ronaldo, who had started on the bench because informal talks about his moving were already under way, was brought on. He was fuming when Udinese equalised. Being Ronaldo he reacted with defiance, to pump a header just off target, seeking a late winning goal.
Being Ronaldo, he kept at it, and when, in the fourth minute of stoppage, he leapt to power in a Federico Cheisa cross, all of Italy was reminded that, even in his 20th season as a senior professional CR7 is not ready to be displaced as king of the dramatic comeback. He stripped off his shirt, certain he had won the game. He was livid when VAR, after an agonisingly long deliberation, ruled him offside by the length of an elbow joint.
Five days later he was signing, for a second time in his career, for Manchester United, in whose colours he returns to northern Italy this evening, with another comeback in prospect.
Win in Bergamo against Atalanta and United would go within a point of securing progress out of their Champions League group — a group in which they lost their opening match, to Young Boys of Switzerland, and trailed in their next two, at home to Villarreal and Atalanta. Ronaldo, 36, sealed the turnaround from defeat to victory in both those matches.
The Atalanta manager, Gian Piero Gasperini, shared his thoughts on Ronaldo’s first return to Italy since leaving Juventus and he was generous in his appreciation of the player. “I was actually sorry he moved back to England,” said Gasperini, “because I always like to see the best footballers playing in Italy. He added value to our football. He is simply exceptional, but saying that only repeats what everybody recognises.”
But not everybody has witnessed Ronaldo’s late match-winning knack in quite such concentration as the Atalanta coach.
Rewind to Ronaldo’s first season with Juventus, 2018/19, when ambitious, enterprising Atalanta welcomed the reigning Italian champions to Bergamo in late December with impressive gumption. They led Juve 2-1, with 12 minutes to go. Cue Ronaldo, with a header, and the equaliser.
Manchester United 3 Atalanta 2: player ratings
The next season, a similar story. Atalanta took their upstart energy to the Juventus stadium, led 1-0 at half-time and led 2-1 in the 90th minute. Guess who earned Juventus a point? Ronaldo converted both equalisers from the penalty spot.
At Old Trafford 13 nights ago, déjà vu for Gasperini and Atalanta, Ronaldo heading in the 81st-minute goal that turned a 2-0 half-time deficit into a 3-2 United victory. “We have to make sure we give him very little,” resolved Gasperini.
The blessing for Atalanta is that Merih Demiral, the central defender who scored against United but was then taken off with a muscle problem ahead of the second half turnaround, is fit to marshall Ronaldo. They are still, though, without injured defender Berat Djimsiti and the wing-backs Rafael Toloi and Robin Gosens.
Atalanta, described by United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as “attacking, aggressive, a team with a unispecial style” will likely stick to Gasperini’s preferred back-three system. Whether United also play with wing-backs and a front pairing, Ronaldo as one of them, remains to be seen.
It was successful against Tottenham Hotspur at the weekend, and the system used for the 3-0 win in London corrected some of the flaws apparent in the home game against Atalanta and repeatedly exploited during the 5-0 Old Trafford defeat to Liverpool that followed.
“We have players to play many different systems — back three, back five, wide men, wingers,” said Solskjaer. “We looked at Tottenham, played that system and it worked. But I can't say what we will do against Atalanta.”
“We have a squad to play in many different ways. You can put any system out but it is about the players executing. The way we played was more important than the system and the attitude at Spurs was spot on. If we get consistency we will get results. This is the chance to prove we can go again.”
EA Sports FC 26
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3/5
Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
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Company: Idealz
Founded: January 2018
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Size: (employees): 22
Investors: Co-founders and Venture Partners (9 per cent)
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Aldar Properties Abu Dhabi T10
*November 15 to November 24
*Venue: Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
*Tickets: Start at Dh10, from ttensports.com
*TV: Ten Sports
*Streaming: Jio Live
*2017 winners: Kerala Kings
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Company profile
Name: Tratok Portal
Founded: 2017
Based: UAE
Sector: Travel & tourism
Size: 36 employees
Funding: Privately funded
The candidates
Dr Ayham Ammora, scientist and business executive
Ali Azeem, business leader
Tony Booth, professor of education
Lord Browne, former BP chief executive
Dr Mohamed El-Erian, economist
Professor Wyn Evans, astrophysicist
Dr Mark Mann, scientist
Gina MIller, anti-Brexit campaigner
Lord Smith, former Cabinet minister
Sandi Toksvig, broadcaster
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
About Okadoc
Date started: Okadoc, 2018
Founder/CEO: Fodhil Benturquia
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Healthcare
Size: (employees/revenue) 40 staff; undisclosed revenues recording “double-digit” monthly growth
Funding stage: Series B fundraising round to conclude in February
Investors: Undisclosed
The story of Edge
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, established Edge in 2019.
It brought together 25 state-owned and independent companies specialising in weapons systems, cyber protection and electronic warfare.
Edge has an annual revenue of $5 billion and employs more than 12,000 people.
Some of the companies include Nimr, a maker of armoured vehicles, Caracal, which manufactures guns and ammunitions company, Lahab
MATCH INFO
Champions League quarter-final, first leg
Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester City, Tuesday, 11pm (UAE)
Matches can be watched on BeIN Sports
MATCH INFO
Borussia Dortmund 0
Bayern Munich 1 (Kimmich 43')
Man of the match: Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich)
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MATCH INFO
Chelsea 4 (Mount 18',Werner 44', Hudson-Odoi 49', Havertz 85')
Morecambe 0
Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere
Director: Scott Cooper
Starring: Jeremy Allen White, Odessa Young, Jeremy Strong
Rating: 4/5
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Dubai World Cup factbox
Most wins by a trainer: Godolphin’s Saeed bin Suroor(9)
Most wins by a jockey: Jerry Bailey(4)
Most wins by an owner: Godolphin(9)
Most wins by a horse: Godolphin’s Thunder Snow(2)
Key figures in the life of the fort
Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa (ruled 1761-1793) Built Qasr Al Hosn as a watchtower to guard over the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Dhiyab (ruled 1793-1816) Expanded the tower into a small fort and transferred his ruling place of residence from Liwa Oasis to the fort on the island.
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Shakhbut (ruled 1818-1833) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further as Abu Dhabi grew from a small village of palm huts to a town of more than 5,000 inhabitants.
Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut (ruled 1833-1845) Repaired and fortified the fort.
Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon (ruled 1845-1855) Turned Qasr Al Hosn into a strong two-storied structure.
Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (ruled 1855-1909) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further to reflect the emirate's increasing prominence.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan (ruled 1928-1966) Renovated and enlarged Qasr Al Hosn, adding a decorative arch and two new villas.
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan (ruled 1966-2004) Moved the royal residence to Al Manhal palace and kept his diwan at Qasr Al Hosn.
Sources: Jayanti Maitra, www.adach.ae
It
Director: Andres Muschietti
Starring: Bill Skarsgard, Jaeden Lieberher, Sophia Lillis, Chosen Jacobs, Jeremy Ray Taylor
Three stars
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
MATCH INFO
Rugby World Cup (all times UAE)
Final: England v South Africa, Saturday, 1pm
