Al Ain manager Hernan Crespo declared himself satisfied with a point as the reigning Asian Champions League holders opened their title defence with a 1-1 draw against Al Sadd.
Matias Palacios' late strike earned the UAE side a point in their opening match of the revamped competition, cancelling out Akram Afif's effort in first-half injury-time.
"We went into half time a goal down and to share a point from this situation showed the character of the team," Crespo said. "We went for a win as a home game but that didn’t happen. We can take some satisfaction after the late equaliser. I thought we deserved more than that but this is football. We will improve."
Al Sadd were content to soak up pressure at a packed Hazza bin Zayed Stadium although arguably had the better chances to take all three points.
"I think to return with a point is a satisfactory result for us. By sharing a point, we can take a lot of positives from this game as Al Ain are a strong side on their home turf." said Al Sadd coach Sanchez Bas. "Our players play league games once every 72 hours and the physical pressure seemed apparent in the second half."
Both sides wasted early chances with Qatar international Afif pulling his shot wide in the third minute, while Al Ain’s Soufiane Rahimi miscued a volley two minutes later.
Al Ain threatened again in the 11th minute when Rahimi beat the offside trap, only for his shot to bounce off the left post before he was denied again by Al Sadd keeper Meshaal Barsham in the 21st minute.
Barsham kept Al Sadd in the game with a string of fine saves, including parrying away a dangerous effort from Matias Palacios in the 29th minute.
The breakthrough finally came a minute into added time, when Afif weaved his way through the Al Ain defence. His initial effort was blocked by Fabio Cardoso, but the rebound fell kindly for the Al Sadd captain, who calmly slotted the ball into an empty net.
"It was an individual mistake that we concede the goal, but after that we had three chances and we were unlucky," Crespo added.
The Qatar champions came close to doubling their advantage in the 64th minute after Paulo Otavio opened up play on the left before teeing up Rafael Mujica, whose effort bounced off the bar.
With 10 minutes remaining, Al Ain equalised through Palacios, whose initial effort was blocked before the Argentine midfielder struck a long-range shot which took a deflection before settling into the back of the net.
"I'm very happy because all the players give everything. Sometimes it's enough, sometimes no, but the way that the team play, I'm very proud for that," said Crespo.
"Maybe we can make one mistake but we could have scored two or three goals. This it's football. We understand that. I am happy with what the players have done. They have done what they can and I am proud of the way they played."
The Argentine guided Al Ain to a second Asian title last season when they beat Japanese club Yokohama F Marinos 6-3 on aggregate over two legs.
Palacios, 22, was part of that winning side, and said he was happy to get on the scoresheet to repay the faith Al Ain supporters had shown in him since his move from Basel in 2022.
"I want to say thank you to Al Ain fans for supporting me. They give me a lot of confidence to play like this," the midfielder said. "I'm so happy to play every game and help the team and the confidence that we have. I want to play and help the team to achieve the best."
Saudi Arabia's Al Nassr, missing the prolific Cristiano Ronaldo due to illness, were held to a 1-1 draw in Baghdad by Al Shorta in one of three other games played in the opening round of the new league phase.
The Riyadh-based club took the lead in the 14th minute when Sultan Al Ghannam thumped his shot in off the inside of Ahmed Basil's right post. Mohammed Dawood leveled 10 minutes later.
There was another blow for Al Nassr as Croatia international Marcelo Brozovic left the field injured early in the second half.
Al Ahli, another of Saudi Arabia’s three star-studded teams in the tournament, beat Persepolis of Iran 1-0 in Jeddah.
Former Barcelona and AC Milan midfielder Franck Kessie scored in the first minute. Ivan Toney, signed from English Premier League club Brentford in August, made his Asian debut for Al Ahli but the England striker was unable to get on the scoresheet.
Former Manchester City star Riyad Mahrez missed a second-half penalty but Al Ahli held on.
The 24 teams have been divided into two groups of 12, divided into east and west geographic zones, and each plays eight games. The top eight from each group progresses to the round of 16.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher: Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
INFO
Everton 0
Arsenal 0
Man of the Match: Djibril Sidibe (Everton)
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Points classification after Stage 4
1. Arnaud Demare (France / FDJ) 124
2. Marcel Kittel (Germany / Quick-Step) 81
3. Michael Matthews (Australia / Sunweb) 66
4. Andre Greipel (Germany / Lotto) 63
5. Alexander Kristoff (Norway / Katusha) 43
Sustainable Development Goals
1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere
2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation
10. Reduce inequality within and among countries
11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its effects
14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development
India Test squad
Kohli (c), Dhawan, Rahul, Vijay, Pujara, Rahane (vc), Karun, Karthik (wk), Rishabh Pant (wk), Ashwin, Jadeja, Kuldeep, Pandya, Ishant, Shami, Umesh, Bumrah, Thakur
TOUCH RULES
Touch is derived from rugby league. Teams consist of up to 14 players with a maximum of six on the field at any time.
Teams can make as many substitutions as they want during the 40 minute matches.
Similar to rugby league, the attacking team has six attempts - or touches - before possession changes over.
A touch is any contact between the player with the ball and a defender, and must be with minimum force.
After a touch the player performs a “roll-ball” - similar to the play-the-ball in league - stepping over or rolling the ball between the feet.
At the roll-ball, the defenders have to retreat a minimum of five metres.
A touchdown is scored when an attacking player places the ball on or over the score-line.
Walls
Louis Tomlinson
3 out of 5 stars
(Syco Music/Arista Records)
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What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
The chef's advice
Troy Payne, head chef at Abu Dhabi’s newest healthy eatery Sanderson’s in Al Seef Resort & Spa, says singles need to change their mindset about how they approach the supermarket.
“They feel like they can’t buy one cucumber,” he says. “But I can walk into a shop – I feed two people at home – and I’ll walk into a shop and I buy one cucumber, I’ll buy one onion.”
Mr Payne asks for the sticker to be placed directly on each item, rather than face the temptation of filling one of the two-kilogram capacity plastic bags on offer.
The chef also advises singletons not get too hung up on “organic”, particularly high-priced varieties that have been flown in from far-flung locales. Local produce is often grown sustainably, and far cheaper, he says.
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
