Odion Ighalo made a triumphant start in the blue of Al Hilal by helping send his new team through to face Chelsea in the Club World Cup in Abu Dhabi.
The Nigeria striker, who was on loan with Manchester United a little over a year ago, was on the scoresheet on debut as Hilal beat Al Jazira 6-1 at the Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium.
The side from Riyadh will now face the champions of Europe in the tournament’s second semifinal at the same venue on Wednesday night.
Hilal may be reigning champions of Asia – and, indeed, four-time winners of that title – but Jazira showed little respect for that status as they flew out of the blocks. The home team had far the brighter of the early exchanges.
They might have gone ahead in the second minute but Victor Sa, their Brazilian striker, was bravely blocked at close range by Abdullah Al Mayouf, the Hilal captain and goalkeeper.
Al Mayouf was Sa’s nemesis a number of times in the opening phase. He denied him again midway through the half, a double save after Sa had been through one-on-one. From the ensuing corner, Moroccan full back Mohammed Rabii headed inches past the post.
By that point, Jazira were already ahead and pushing to double their advantage. Abdoulay Diaby, the livewire attacker from Mali, scored the opener when he turned in an inch-perfect right-wing cross by Rabii.
Despite the joy Jazira were having going forward in attack, Hilal were beginning the bring their class to bear going the other way.
Ali Khaseif, Jazira’s goalkeeper whose career had one of its great highlights when he went up against Real Madrid’s galacticos in this competition in 2017, saved well from Salem Al Dawsari and Moussa Marega.
But unlike when he was up against Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Co four years ago, Khaseif was unable to repel the opposition for long this time around.
It took Ighalo 36 minutes to open his account for his new club, whom he joined from city rivals Al Shabab last month. The former Watford striker headed in from close range after Mohammed Kanno’s cross had looped up off Khaseif.
Matheus Pereira, who had been instrumental in the build up to the equaliser, then put the Saudi side into the lead when he curved a shot past a despairing Khaseif.
Although at 2-1 down Jazira were hardly out of the game, by the interval it felt as though the momentum was entirely with Hilal.
Ten minutes after the restart, Ahmed Al Hashmi, the Jazira striker, had what was realistically the UAE’s last chance to turn the tide. But he turned his shot wide when it seemed easier to score from a left-wing cross by Abdullah Idrees.
Predictably, the home team were made to pay almost immediately after, when Kanno headed Hilal to a two-goal cushion from a corner.
Ighalo was replaced with 16 minutes left, and received a rousing ovation for his contribution. Even though his evening’s work amounted to not much more than that one header for his goal, it was appreciated by the Hilal faithful, who made up the majority of the 12,538 crowd.
The fact they were able to withdraw their big new signing spoke of how easy the Saudi side were finding thing by that stage, and shortly after they notched a fourth when Al Dawsari waltzed through to score.
Marega, the barrel-chested Mali forward who was able to assume his preferred central position once Ighalo was taken off, struck a fifth with two minutes of normal time remaining.
Andre Carillo, the Peruvian striker, who was on as a substitute, added the final indignity when he rolled in a penalty in injury time.
Stuck in a job without a pay rise? Here's what to do
Chris Greaves, the managing director of Hays Gulf Region, says those without a pay rise for an extended period must start asking questions – both of themselves and their employer.
“First, are they happy with that or do they want more?” he says. “Job-seeking is a time-consuming, frustrating and long-winded affair so are they prepared to put themselves through that rigmarole? Before they consider that, they must ask their employer what is happening.”
Most employees bring up pay rise queries at their annual performance appraisal and find out what the company has in store for them from a career perspective.
Those with no formal appraisal system, Mr Greaves says, should ask HR or their line manager for an assessment.
“You want to find out how they value your contribution and where your job could go,” he says. “You’ve got to be brave enough to ask some questions and if you don’t like the answers then you have to develop a strategy or change jobs if you are prepared to go through the job-seeking process.”
For those that do reach the salary negotiation with their current employer, Mr Greaves says there is no point in asking for less than 5 per cent.
“However, this can only really have any chance of success if you can identify where you add value to the business (preferably you can put a monetary value on it), or you can point to a sustained contribution above the call of duty or to other achievements you think your employer will value.”
Babumoshai Bandookbaaz
Director: Kushan Nandy
Starring: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Bidita Bag, Jatin Goswami
Three stars
Manchester City transfers:
OUTS
Pablo Zabaleta, Bacary Sagna, Gael Clichy, Willy Caballero and Jesus Navas (all released)
INS
Ederson (Benfica) £34.7m, Bernardo Silva (Monaco) £43m
ON THEIR WAY OUT?
Joe Hart, Eliaquim Mangala, Samir Nasri, Wilfried Bony, Fabian Delph, Nolito and Kelechi Iheanacho
ON THEIR WAY IN?
Dani Alves (Juventus), Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal)
Rock in a Hard Place: Music and Mayhem in the Middle East
Orlando Crowcroft
Zed Books
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
Things Heard & Seen
Directed by: Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini
Starring: Amanda Seyfried, James Norton
2/5
FROM%20THE%20ASHES
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The bio
Date of Birth: April 25, 1993
Place of Birth: Dubai, UAE
Marital Status: Single
School: Al Sufouh in Jumeirah, Dubai
University: Emirates Airline National Cadet Programme and Hamdan University
Job Title: Pilot, First Officer
Number of hours flying in a Boeing 777: 1,200
Number of flights: Approximately 300
Hobbies: Exercising
Nicest destination: Milan, New Zealand, Seattle for shopping
Least nice destination: Kabul, but someone has to do it. It’s not scary but at least you can tick the box that you’ve been
Favourite place to visit: Dubai, there’s no place like home
VERSTAPPEN'S FIRSTS
Youngest F1 driver (17 years 3 days Japan 2014)
Youngest driver to start an F1 race (17 years 166 days – Australia 2015)
Youngest F1 driver to score points (17 years 180 days - Malaysia 2015)
Youngest driver to lead an F1 race (18 years 228 days – Spain 2016)
Youngest driver to set an F1 fastest lap (19 years 44 days – Brazil 2016)
Youngest on F1 podium finish (18 years 228 days – Spain 2016)
Youngest F1 winner (18 years 228 days – Spain 2016)
Youngest multiple F1 race winner (Mexico 2017/18)
Youngest F1 driver to win the same race (Mexico 2017/18)
MATCH INFO
What: 2006 World Cup quarter-final
When: July 1
Where: Gelsenkirchen Stadium, Gelsenkirchen, Germany
Result:
England 0 Portugal 0
(Portugal win 3-1 on penalties)
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