Muhammad Ali v Richard Dunn, Australia v American Samoa, Steffi Graf v Natasha Zvereva – some of the biggest mismatches in sports history.
Dunn was the British, Commonwealth and European heavyweight champion when he fought Ali for the world heavyweight title in 1976. Game and brave, Dunn was never in Ali's class and hit the canvas five times before the referee called a halt to proceedings in Round 5.
Archie Thompson scored 13 times as Australia's Socceroos registered a world-record win in men's international football – 31-0 – in a 2002 World Cup qualifier against the high-school kids and part-timers of American Samoa.
And angry spectators demanded their money back after the 1988 French Open final lasted a mere 34 minutes as German tennis legend Graf dismantled a 17-year-old Zvereva at Roland Garros.
We can now add to that list Dan Burn v Alexis Mac Allister, such was the one-sided domination of the former over the latter in Sunday's League Cup final.
To be fair, Mac Allister was the victim of circumstance. At 1.76 metres, Mac Allister was the smallest player in the Liverpool team at Wembley. The Argentine was given the unenviable task of man-marking 2.01m-tall Dan Burn when defending Newcastle corners. Akin to an ant trying to thwart a giraffe.
It was clear to all – most of all Mac Allister and Newcastle's set-piece taker Kieran Trippier – that Liverpool's tactic was flawed, not least by the fact that Mac Allister would need a trampoline to even get close to Burn in a running jump.
Time and again Newcastle targeted their giant captain. Time and again Burn won the aerial duels uncontested.
Burn's towering header to give Newcastle the lead had been coming all game. The only surprise was that it took until the 45th minute for it to result in a goal.
Liverpool's strategy of zonal marking, leaving their three tallest defenders Virgil van Dijk (1.95m), Ibrahima Konate (1.94m) and Jarell Quansah (1.90m) manning the centre of their goal is by no means a bad strategy and has by and large served Liverpool boss Arne Slot well. But there is sticking to a game plan come what may and then there is having the sense to course correct if you're heading off the edge of a cliff.
Mac Allister was hapless to stop his marker and, despite how effective it proved for Eddie Howe’s side, Liverpool did not change their approach in defending set-pieces afterwards. Mac Allister was replaced on 67 minutes, but by then Newcastle were 2-0 up and Liverpool in disarray.
Slot attempted to explain his thinking after the match, telling reporters: “We play zonal, so we have five players, zonally, close to our goal. So if the ball falls there, there is always one of the five stronger players that is going to attack that ball.
“And we have three players that man-mark and Macca is one of them.
“Normally a player like Dan Burn or another one runs to the zone – and I think he’s an exception to that as I’ve never seen in my life a player from that far away heading the ball with so much force into the far corner.
“That is part of logic that they either have to go far away from our zone – which 99 out of a 100 times that will never lead to a goal – or they have to arrive in our zone and that’s an equal battle if you want to say it like this.
“So credit to him, I think he is one of the few players who can score a goal from that distance with his head.”
While Slot must shoulder much of the blame, some must also be weighted heavily on Van Dijk. Liverpool's leader on the pitch is the only player with the authority to question his manager's tactics, and more importantly change them in real time if he sees them not working.
Van Dijk's aerial prowess is legendary. Though the Dutchman stands 6cm shorter than Burn, his physicality and ability to bully and intimidate would at least have given Newcastle pause for thought when targeting their man at set-pieces.
And maybe Mac Allister isn't completely blameless either. The Argentine is a former teammate of Burn's from their time together at Brighton & Hove Albion. He would have known intimately that a duel against the Englishman was a no-contest from the off. Did he question his manager's wisdom? Who knows?
Another Slot head scratcher was the decision to withdraw Konate – Liverpool's best player – on 57 minutes for Curtis Jones, leaving the ineffectual Quansah on the pitch to do little more than make up the numbers and disrupt what little attacking momentum Liverpool could muster.
A week that promised so much as Liverpool beat Southampton to open up a 15-point lead at the Premier League summit ended with them out of the Uefa Champions League and beaten finalists to a team that had not won a major trophy since 1959.
Arsenal's 1-0 win over Chelsea cut the Reds' lead down to 12 points, though Arsenal have now played their game in hand. The two-week international break is followed by FA Cup action, a competition Liverpool are unburdened by having fallen to Championship side Plymouth Argyle in the third round, giving Slot and his charges plenty of time to recalibrate.
It leaves only the league to focus on. For all his failings tactically on Sunday, Slot has overseen a tremendous domestic campaign and is very much on course to join Joe Fagan and Kenny Dalglish as the only Liverpool managers to win the league in their debut campaign and only the fifth coach to do so in the Premier League era.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor
You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
What is blockchain?
Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.
The main difference between blockchain and other forms of DLT is the way data is stored as ‘blocks’ – new transactions are added to the existing ‘chain’ of past transactions, hence the name ‘blockchain’. It is impossible to delete or modify information on the chain due to the replication of blocks across various locations.
Blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Due to the inability to tamper with transactions, advocates say this makes the currency more secure and safer than traditional systems. It is maintained by a network of people referred to as ‘miners’, who receive rewards for solving complex mathematical equations that enable transactions to go through.
However, one of the major problems that has come to light has been the presence of illicit material buried in the Bitcoin blockchain, linking it to the dark web.
Other blockchain platforms can offer things like smart contracts, which are automatically implemented when specific conditions from all interested parties are reached, cutting the time involved and the risk of mistakes. Another use could be storing medical records, as patients can be confident their information cannot be changed. The technology can also be used in supply chains, voting and has the potential to used for storing property records.
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How the bonus system works
The two riders are among several riders in the UAE to receive the top payment of £10,000 under the Thank You Fund of £16 million (Dh80m), which was announced in conjunction with Deliveroo's £8 billion (Dh40bn) stock market listing earlier this year.
The £10,000 (Dh50,000) payment is made to those riders who have completed the highest number of orders in each market.
There are also riders who will receive payments of £1,000 (Dh5,000) and £500 (Dh2,500).
All riders who have worked with Deliveroo for at least one year and completed 2,000 orders will receive £200 (Dh1,000), the company said when it announced the scheme.
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
Story of 2017-18 so far and schedule to come
Roll of Honour
Who has won what so far in the West Asia rugby season?
Western Clubs Champions League
Winners: Abu Dhabi Harlequins
Runners up: Bahrain
Dubai Rugby Sevens
Winners: Dubai Exiles
Runners up: Jebel Ali Dragons
West Asia Premiership
Winners: Jebel Ali Dragons
Runners up: Abu Dhabi Harlequins
UAE Premiership Cup
Winners: Abu Dhabi Harlequins
Runners up: Dubai Exiles
Fixtures
Friday
West Asia Cup final
5pm, Bahrain (6pm UAE time), Bahrain v Dubai Exiles
West Asia Trophy final
3pm, The Sevens, Dubai Hurricanes v Dubai Sports City Eagles
Friday, April 13
UAE Premiership final
5pm, Al Ain, Dubai Exiles v Abu Dhabi Harlequins
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
More coverage from the Future Forum
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Difference between fractional ownership and timeshare
Although similar in its appearance, the concept of a fractional title deed is unlike that of a timeshare, which usually involves multiple investors buying “time” in a property whereby the owner has the right to occupation for a specified period of time in any year, as opposed to the actual real estate, said John Peacock, Head of Indirect Tax and Conveyancing, BSA Ahmad Bin Hezeem & Associates, a law firm.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Analysis
Members of Syria's Alawite minority community face threat in their heartland after one of the deadliest days in country’s recent history. Read more
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Read more about the coronavirus
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
TALE OF THE TAPE
Manny Pacquiao
Record: 59-6-2 (38 KOs)
Age: 38
Weight: 146lbs
Height: 166cm
Reach: 170cm
Jeff Horn
Record: 16-0-1 (11 KOs)
Age: 29
Weight: 146.2lbs
Height: 175cm
Reach: 173cm
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
