Unbridled relief for Everton, gut-wrenching realisation for Leicester City and Leeds United.
The Merseyside club did what they had to on a frayed final day of the 2022/23 season, just about squeezing past Bournemouth at Goodison Park to persist in the Premier League. The 1-0 win, secured by Abdoulaye Doucoure’s emphatic second-half strike, ensured a 70th successive top-flight campaign was theirs.
Leicester and Leeds, meanwhile, slid from the vista view. Needing Everton to slip and themselves to defeat West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur, respectively, neither got what they wanted.
Everton’s win rendered redundant those other results. Nevertheless, Leeds were lanced 4-1 at home to Spurs, but to their credit Leicester did what they had to. They saw off West Ham at the King Power, triumphing 2-1. Yet it proved futile.
Relegation confirmed, Dean Smith’s men became only the second Premier League champions after Blackburn Rovers to drop from the top tier of English football. Seven years on from their crowning glory, the feat that shocked the football world, Leicester were stunned. They were left reeling.
Everton, of course, had been here before. For a third time in three decades, they survived a potential final-day demotion, coming through the 100 minutes and more to emulated Graham Stuart and Co from 1994, and Gareth Farrelly et of four years later.
All afternoon, across the three teams staring into the abyss, the nerves were never far from the surface. Leeds, though, were almost out of it from the off. On two minutes, they afforded Harry Kane too much space inside their penalty area, leaving the Spurs striker to finish with aplomb - his 29th goal of the season.
He would later add another, not long after Pedro Porro had doubled the visitors' advantage three minutes into the second half and immediately after Jack Harrison's consolation for Leeds.
At the death, Moura signed off his Tottenham career with his team's fourth. Turning their ire from players to board, the Leeds fans chorused, with an expletive or two, for the club’s hierarchy to sell up and leave.
At Everton, it would be tense for the entirety. Bournemouth goalkeeper Mark Travers, in for Neto after the Brazilian was granted compassionate leave following the death of his mother, was in inspired form, twice denying Idrissa Gueye as the Everton crowd grew ever more restless.
Not long past the hour, their anxiety swelled. News filtered through that Leicester had scored, Harvey Barnes following his give-and-go with Kelechi Iheanacho to slide his shot past West Ham goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski. As it stood, Leicester were safe, Everton gone.
Perhaps pushing too frantically, Everton were nearly caught out. Marcos Senesi skewed his close-range shot across the home goal, while Dominic Solanke’s effort following James Tarkowski’s loose play was blocked by Yerry Mina.
In first-half stoppage time, Travers tipped over James Garner’s arrowed effort.
With Leeds seemingly down and out, it was left to Everton and Leicester to duke it out, 200 kilometres apart. At the former, Travers got down brilliantly to repel Gray’s point-blank header. In reality, the Everton winger should have done better.
But then, their reprieve. On 57 minutes, Doucoure latched onto a loose ball 20 yards out and thundered a half-volley past a rooted Travers. His fifth goal of the season was by some stretch his storied club’s most important this campaign. Potentially, for some time to come.
Doucoure was swiftly swallowed up by thankful teammates. All around them, Goodison Park erupted.
All Leicester could do was retain hope. They kept their side of the bargain, Wout Faes heading home a James Maddison free-kick from the left to make it 2-0, even if their superiority was short-lived. Pablo Fornals pulled a goal back for West Ham, but it would not be enough.
It wasn’t for Leicester, either. They had gleaned the hollowest of victories, their fate sealed by Everton’s narrow success.
Everton had done it, relying on an almighty endeavour and Jordan Pickford’s superb injury-time save from Matias Vina’s ferocious volley to get over the line.
The great escape was complete.
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Start-up hopes to end Japan's love affair with cash
Across most of Asia, people pay for taxi rides, restaurant meals and merchandise with smartphone-readable barcodes — except in Japan, where cash still rules. Now, as the country’s biggest web companies race to dominate the payments market, one Tokyo-based startup says it has a fighting chance to win with its QR app.
Origami had a head start when it introduced a QR-code payment service in late 2015 and has since signed up fast-food chain KFC, Tokyo’s largest cab company Nihon Kotsu and convenience store operator Lawson. The company raised $66 million in September to expand nationwide and plans to more than double its staff of about 100 employees, says founder Yoshiki Yasui.
Origami is betting that stores, which until now relied on direct mail and email newsletters, will pay for the ability to reach customers on their smartphones. For example, a hair salon using Origami’s payment app would be able to send a message to past customers with a coupon for their next haircut.
Quick Response codes, the dotted squares that can be read by smartphone cameras, were invented in the 1990s by a unit of Toyota Motor to track automotive parts. But when the Japanese pioneered digital payments almost two decades ago with contactless cards for train fares, they chose the so-called near-field communications technology. The high cost of rolling out NFC payments, convenient ATMs and a culture where lost wallets are often returned have all been cited as reasons why cash remains king in the archipelago. In China, however, QR codes dominate.
Cashless payments, which includes credit cards, accounted for just 20 per cent of total consumer spending in Japan during 2016, compared with 60 per cent in China and 89 per cent in South Korea, according to a report by the Bank of Japan.
Tomorrow 2021
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Stats at a glance:
Cost: 1.05 billion pounds (Dh 4.8 billion)
Number in service: 6
Complement 191 (space for up to 285)
Top speed: over 32 knots
Range: Over 7,000 nautical miles
Length 152.4 m
Displacement: 8,700 tonnes
Beam: 21.2 m
Draught: 7.4 m
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Traits of Chinese zodiac animals
Tiger:independent, successful, volatile
Rat:witty, creative, charming
Ox:diligent, perseverent, conservative
Rabbit:gracious, considerate, sensitive
Dragon:prosperous, brave, rash
Snake:calm, thoughtful, stubborn
Horse:faithful, energetic, carefree
Sheep:easy-going, peacemaker, curious
Monkey:family-orientated, clever, playful
Rooster:honest, confident, pompous
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Syria v Australia
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THE DEALS
Hamilton $60m x 2 = $120m
Vettel $45m x 2 = $90m
Ricciardo $35m x 2 = $70m
Verstappen $55m x 3 = $165m
Leclerc $20m x 2 = $40m
TOTAL $485m
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Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
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5.
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Most sought after workplace benefits in the UAE
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GK: Alphonse Areola (youth academy)
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'The worst thing you can eat'
Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.
Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.
Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
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