It was a classic Liverpool goal. For the second consecutive Sunday, a deep cross came in from an overlapping full-back. It was met by the goalscoring winger on the far post, advancing beyond the nominal centre-forward to finish from six yards. The creator of both goals was Andy Robertson. So far, so normal. The different element was that the finisher was Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Playing in Mohamed Salah’s position, he scored goals from Salah-esque areas. A diving effort against Brentford was the first headed league goal of his career. His finish against Crystal Palace was, like the majority of Salah’s goals, left-footed.
A question about Liverpool’s January was how they would cope in the absence of Salah and Sadio Mane as each played in the African Cup of Nations. If one answer was provided by the creativity of Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, who have six assists in their last three games, perhaps the more unexpected element was Oxlade-Chamberlain’s prowess as Salah’s understudy. A player with one league goal since July 2020 got two in successive games.
It appeared another case of Klopp’s can-do mentality prevailing. Whether with Xherdan Shaqiri and Divock Origi deputising for Salah and Roberto Firmino in 2019 or the rookies Nat Phillips and Rhys Williams anchoring the defence in the run-in last season, his reign is littered with examples of stand-ins standing up to be counted.
Quick as he is, Oxlade-Chamberlain had always seemed more comfortable starting his runs from deep, rather than trying to spring offside traps, and he had rarely excelled in the front three for Liverpool. Until, with Salah and Mane away and Origi injured, it was imperative he did.
But with Salah back by the time the Premier League resumes, Oxlade-Chamberlain may retreat to the margins. Indeed, his form as a forward may have felt bittersweet as Curtis Jones has flourished in the attacking midfield role he must covet. With no Salah-shaped obstacle in his way, the young Liverpudlian may likelier to get a run in the team now.
Oxlade-Chamberlain is spending his winter break in Dubai. He has much to contemplate. Like Salah, his contract expires in 2023. If each could feel his career is at a crossroads, the similarities may end there. Liverpool’s need to get Salah to re-sign is no secret.
Oxlade-Chamberlain can feel as though he will be overtaken by younger rivals, in Jones and Harvey Elliott. The sense is still that he is yet to recapture the heights he touched before suffering a cruciate ligament injury in the 2018 Champions League semi-final against Roma.
He had been dynamic and destructive, scoring in two Anfield wins against Manchester City. He was in the side ahead of Gini Wijnaldum, on course to start the Champions League final. And then he was out for a year and it became ever more apparent Klopp’s big-game formula was to field the most solid trio available in midfield.
Factor in Naby Keita and it can feel as though four players would prefer a role that doesn’t really exist. Oxlade-Chamberlain has only made four league starts against big-six opponents since 2018.
He nevertheless scored eight goals in a bright 2019-20 but, impeded by injury, had a wasted season last year. Klopp was delighted with his displays before Christmas, including the 4-0 demolition of Arsenal.
“It’s pretty much the best Oxlade since I am here,” he said then, drawing a distinction between 2018’s spectacular strikes and an overall performance level. Likeable but luckless, he can seem the great lost Klopp player, even as he has remained at Anfield. But his auxiliary, impressive part as Salah’s substitute raises the issue if he can transform himself into a regular starter on the major occasions.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
RESULTS
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Pakistan squad
Sarfraz (c), Zaman, Imam, Masood, Azam, Malik, Asif, Sohail, Shadab, Nawaz, Ashraf, Hasan, Amir, Junaid, Shinwari and Afridi
The%20specs
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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
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
The specs
Engine: Direct injection 4-cylinder 1.4-litre
Power: 150hp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: From Dh139,000
On sale: Now
Top New Zealand cop on policing the virtual world
New Zealand police began closer scrutiny of social media and online communities after the attacks on two mosques in March, the country's top officer said.
The killing of 51 people in Christchurch and wounding of more than 40 others shocked the world. Brenton Tarrant, a suspected white supremacist, was accused of the killings. His trial is ongoing and he denies the charges.
Mike Bush, commissioner of New Zealand Police, said officers looked closely at how they monitored social media in the wake of the tragedy to see if lessons could be learned.
“We decided that it was fit for purpose but we need to deepen it in terms of community relationships, extending them not only with the traditional community but the virtual one as well," he told The National.
"We want to get ahead of attacks like we suffered in New Zealand so we have to challenge ourselves to be better."
The specs
BMW M8 Competition Coupe
Engine 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8
Power 625hp at 6,000rpm
Torque 750Nm from 1,800-5,800rpm
Gearbox Eight-speed paddleshift auto
Acceleration 0-100kph in 3.2 sec
Top speed 305kph
Fuel economy, combined 10.6L / 100km
Price from Dh700,000 (estimate)
On sale Jan/Feb 2020
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
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
RESULT
Bayern Munich 5 Eintrracht Frankfurt 2
Bayern: Goretzka (17'), Müller (41'), Lewandowski (46'), Davies (61'), Hinteregger (74' og)
Frankfurt: Hinteregger (52', 55')
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.
World record transfers
1. Kylian Mbappe - to Real Madrid in 2017/18 - €180 million (Dh770.4m - if a deal goes through)
2. Paul Pogba - to Manchester United in 2016/17 - €105m
3. Gareth Bale - to Real Madrid in 2013/14 - €101m
4. Cristiano Ronaldo - to Real Madrid in 2009/10 - €94m
5. Gonzalo Higuain - to Juventus in 2016/17 - €90m
6. Neymar - to Barcelona in 2013/14 - €88.2m
7. Romelu Lukaku - to Manchester United in 2017/18 - €84.7m
8. Luis Suarez - to Barcelona in 2014/15 - €81.72m
9. Angel di Maria - to Manchester United in 2014/15 - €75m
10. James Rodriguez - to Real Madrid in 2014/15 - €75m
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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THE BIO
Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
Education: UAE University, Al Ain
Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6
Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma
Favourite book: Science and geology
Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC
Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.
A little about CVRL
Founded in 1985 by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory (CVRL) is a government diagnostic centre that provides testing and research facilities to the UAE and neighbouring countries.
One of its main goals is to provide permanent treatment solutions for veterinary related diseases.
The taxidermy centre was established 12 years ago and is headed by Dr Ulrich Wernery.
