Two of European football's biggest teams will clash in the Europa League play-offs as Barcelona were pitted against Manchester United in Monday's draw.
Spanish side Barca, who dropped down from Champions League for the second season running after finishing third in their group, will take on Erik Ten Hag's side at Camp Nou on February 16 for the first leg of the tie. The return at Old Trafford takes place on February 23.
United finished second in their Europa League group – behind another Spanish side in Real Sociedad – and will now take on the Catalan giants for the first time since 2019, when Barca triumphed 3-0 in Spain, sealing a 4-0 aggregate victory in the Champions League quarter-finals.
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The Red Devils also have some fond memories of Camp Nou, though, having completed the 1999 treble in the stadium with a last-gasp victory over Bayern Munich in that year’s Champions League final.
"We will have to compete, going to Manchester against a really top rival and an historic side which has grown a lot with the arrival of ten Hag," said Barcelona boss Xavi.
"[They have] great individual players and it is the toughest rival once again in the Europa League. It's a massive challenge for us."
Other teams who dropped down from the Champions League included Serie A side Juventus, who were drawn against French side Nantes; La Liga outfit Sevilla, who will face Dutch outfit PSV Eindhoven, and Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen who will tackle Ligue 1 side Monaco.
Jose Mourinho's reigning Europa Conference League champions AS Roma will take on Austria's FC Red Bull Salzburg.
The eight group runners-up from the Europa League face eight third-placed sides from the Champions League group stages, with the winners of the two-legged play-offs progressing to the last 16.
Eight teams have already advanced to the last 16; Arsenal, Fenerbahce, Real Betis, Union Saint-Gilloise, Real Sociedad, Feyenoord, Freiburg and Ferencvaros.
Real Sociedad 0 Manchester United 1: player ratings
RESULT
Arsenal 1 Chelsea 2
Arsenal: Aubameyang (13')
Chelsea: Jorginho (83'), Abraham (87')
ABU DHABI CARD
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5.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup (PA) Handicap; Dh70,000; 1,400m
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The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
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How to play the stock market recovery in 2021?
If you are looking to build your long-term wealth in 2021 and beyond, the stock market is still the best place to do it as equities powered on despite the pandemic.
Investing in individual stocks is not for everyone and most private investors should stick to mutual funds and ETFs, but there are some thrilling opportunities for those who understand the risks.
Peter Garnry, head of equity strategy at Saxo Bank, says the 20 best-performing US and European stocks have delivered an average return year-to-date of 148 per cent, measured in local currency terms.
Online marketplace Etsy was the best performer with a return of 330.6 per cent, followed by communications software company Sinch (315.4 per cent), online supermarket HelloFresh (232.8 per cent) and fuel cells specialist NEL (191.7 per cent).
Mr Garnry says digital companies benefited from the lockdown, while green energy firms flew as efforts to combat climate change were ramped up, helped in part by the European Union’s green deal.
Electric car company Tesla would be on the list if it had been part of the S&P 500 Index, but it only joined on December 21. “Tesla has become one of the most valuable companies in the world this year as demand for electric vehicles has grown dramatically,” Mr Garnry says.
By contrast, the 20 worst-performing European stocks fell 54 per cent on average, with European banks hit by the economic fallout from the pandemic, while cruise liners and airline stocks suffered due to travel restrictions.
As demand for energy fell, the oil and gas industry had a tough year, too.
Mr Garnry says the biggest story this year was the “absolute crunch” in so-called value stocks, companies that trade at low valuations compared to their earnings and growth potential.
He says they are “heavily tilted towards financials, miners, energy, utilities and industrials, which have all been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic”. “The last year saw these cheap stocks become cheaper and expensive stocks have become more expensive.”
This has triggered excited talk about the “great value rotation” but Mr Garnry remains sceptical. “We need to see a breakout of interest rates combined with higher inflation before we join the crowd.”
Always remember that past performance is not a guarantee of future returns. Last year’s winners often turn out to be this year’s losers, and vice-versa.
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The Freedom Artist
By Ben Okri (Head of Zeus)
IPL 2018 FINAL
Sunrisers Hyderabad 178-6 (20 ovs)
Chennai Super Kings 181-2 (18.3 ovs)
Chennai win by eight wickets
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