Pride of place in the television schedule for Sunday has been given to Tottenham Hotspur against Liverpool. The astute viewer will know not to miss the opening minutes, when the away team are notoriously vulnerable. But the close student of Spurs will wonder if the hosts have the instinct to exploit Liverpool’s jittery starts.
On Tuesday, Tottenham joined Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea in the last 16 of the Champions League, the full quartet of English clubs progressing from the group stage but did so without correcting an impression they are under strict instructions to spend most of the first hour of matches in a cautious wait-and-see posture, saving their proactive football for later.
Their victory at Olympique Marseille would be seized in stoppage time thanks to a Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg goal after Clement Lenglet had cancelled out Marseille’s half-time lead.
“We need to try and play all the 90 minutes at the same level,” admitted Cristian Stellini, the assistant coach who was the night’s acting manager, with Antonio Conte serving a touchline ban.
Over at Anfield, Conte and Stellini’s compatriot, the Napoli manager Luciano Spalletti made a telling observation about the late-game stamina of another English club.
Liverpool had inflicted a first defeat of the season on Spalletti’s dazzlers thanks to Mohamed Salah and Darwin Nunez’s 85th and 98th-minute strikes, making some amends for the 4-1 defeat at Napoli on match day one.
Although the victory was not enough to knock Napoli off top place, it is a feather in Liverpool’s cap. “If you look at the last 10 minutes, it was almost as if my players felt we had reached the objective [Liverpool needed to win by a four-goal margin to leapfrog Napoli in the table],” reckoned Spalletti. “Our level dropped a bit. Maybe that’s an aspect of this team’s character. Liverpool always play flat-out – that’s part of their character.”
It was meant as praise for Jurgen Klopp, his counterpart, and for a Liverpool who chased four trophies right up to the finish line in their remarkable, 63-match 2021/22 campaign. But they now sit ninth in the Premier League partly because they have been so sluggish in reaching the upper gears.
Liverpool 2 Napoli 0: player ratings
In more than half their matches in 2022/23, Liverpool have conceded the first goal. Against Napoli in Italy, Brighton, Arsenal and Leeds United, they fell behind within the first five minutes.
When a weakness like that becomes so signposted, opponents devote themselves to plotting an early ambush. Will Tottenham? The negative view of Spurs as they mark the first anniversary of Conte as manager is that they are like a diffident teenager who needs to be coaxed down to the breakfast table in the hope he might start expressing himself by lunchtime.
Tuesday in Marseille presented a familiar opening 45 minutes, especially in European contests: a Tottenham concerned chiefly with maintaining their defensive shape, conceding possession, a back five with three retreated midfield players deep in their own half.
Granted, the mathematics of Group D meant an impeccable defensive performance at Marseille would be enough, with Spurs needing a point to progress. When Marseille scored from a set-piece, the plan misfired.
Tottenham allowed their hosts, a team occupying fifth place in France’s Ligue 1, enough sights of goal that the Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris was named man of the match.
And for the third time in six days, Lloris, the Spurs captain found himself in a half-time team-talk where a rousing readjustment was required. They have had to recover from losing first halves against Sporting Lisbon, when they came back to draw; against Bournemouth, when they won from 2-0 down; and against Marseille.
Marseille 1 Spurs 2: player ratings
Conte would like to see fewer first-half errors, but will not apologise for a formula of containment and counter-attack. It has served him well through a stellar career as a club manager, at least in domestic leagues.
“Sometimes it is normal to give the possibility to the opponent to play,” explained Stellini, his deputy, “and to use the energy you have in the second half. It can be a strategy.”
With the fixture schedule so condensed, some pragmatic time-management within games is inevitable. Energy needs to be preserved. Both Klopp and Conte have had to balance stamina levels with diminished options of smooth squad rotation.
Tottenham’s indifferent October, after they had dropped only four points in an unbeaten seven-match start to the Premier League campaign, coincided with the absence through injury of Dejan Kulusevski and, later, Richarlison. Son Heung-min, taken off in the first half in Marseille with a head injury, underwent surgery Wednesday to stabilise a fracture around his left eye and is unlikely to feature.
Liverpool likewise have seen their attacking options reduced, with Diogo Jota joining Luis Diaz in treatment. When that pair return to action in December, there is no certainty Liverpool, the side capable of winning against high-flying Napoli and Manchester City and yet losing to Nottingham Forest and Leeds United, will be in the top half of the Premier League.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Final round
25 under - Antoine Rozner (FRA)
23 - Francesco Laporta (ITA), Mike Lorenzo-Vera (FRA), Andy Sullivan (ENG), Matt Wallace (ENG)
21 - Grant Forrest (SCO)
20 - Ross Fisher (ENG)
19 - Steven Brown (ENG), Joakim Lagergren (SWE), Niklas Lemke (SWE), Marc Warren (SCO), Bernd Wiesberger (AUT)
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
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The specs: 2018 Mercedes-AMG C63 S Cabriolet
Price, base: Dh429,090
Engine 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission Seven-speed automatic
Power 510hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque 700Nm @ 1,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 9.2L / 100km
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Quick pearls of wisdom
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
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
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
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The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
Company Profile:
Name: The Protein Bakeshop
Date of start: 2013
Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani
Based: Dubai
Size, number of employees: 12
Funding/investors: $400,000 (2018)
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Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club race card
5pm: Abu Dhabi Fillies Classic (PA) Prestige; Dh110,000; 1,400m
5.30pm: Abu Dhabi Colts Classic (PA) Prestige; Dh110,000; 1,400m
6pm: Maiden (PA); Dh80,000; 1,600m
6.30pm: Abu Dhabi Championship (PA) Listed; Dh180,000; 1,600m
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup (PA) Handicap; Dh70,000; 2,200m
7.30pm: Handicap (PA); Dh100,000; 2,400m
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
LEAGUE CUP QUARTER-FINAL DRAW
Stoke City v Tottenham
Brentford v Newcastle United
Arsenal v Manchester City
Everton v Manchester United
All ties are to be played the week commencing December 21.
