It was the first glimpse of the new normal and it transpired that it had certain similarities with the old one. The Bundesliga was stripped of spectators and atmosphere, Germany’s biggest ground deserted and new protocols adding a dystopian surrealness to the occasion, but Borussia Dortmund carried on winning and Erling Braut Haaland still scored.
There was something reassuring about the Norwegian's lovely strike, though not for Schalke, who were routed by local rivals. There was something symbolic, too. The Bundesliga prides itself on youth and goals and as it became the first of Europe's top five leagues to return, Dortmund's striking wunderkind scored the opening goal of the new era and their attack-minded team registered its first thrashing. Football has not changed completely.
Victory took Borussia to within a point of leaders Bayern Munich, who play on Sunday. It may not be remembered for those reasons, though Dortmund’s biggest Bundesliga win over Schalke since 1966 must rank as a famous result in the Ruhr Valley.
This was a Revierderby with a difference and not merely because Dortmund beat neighbours, who have been something of a bogey team for them of late.
This was among the first of German football’s Geisterspielen; or ghost games. Instead of the Westfalenstadion’s famous Yellow Wall there was a mass of empty seats, an edifice of noise replaced by a mausoleum of quiet. The soundtrack came instead from shouts from the dugout and pitch.
Dortmund’s normal average home gate is 81,154; Schalke, who have the third highest average attendance, are accustomed to playing in front of more than 60,000, not a mere 300.
The players walked out to “You’ll Never Walk Alone” with images of supporters, though there were none. Those rather lonely footballers wore masks in the tunnel, Dortmund’s a fetching yellow and black affair; substitutes kept them on while on the bench, an empty seat between each to comply with social-distancing restrictions, and Thomas Delaney donned one seconds after being replaced. Even goal celebrations were socially distanced, just as Dortmund took the acclaim of an empty Yellow Wall at the end.
And yet this amounted to an advertisement for their progressiveness and professionalism and for German football as a whole. It was a successful comeback for both Lucien Favre’s team and the Bundesliga, which is offering a roadmap to its rivals.
Often overshadowed by its English, Spanish and Italian counterparts, it took centre stage in Europe and one of the continent’s biggest derbies brought an emphatic win and excellent strikes as Dortmund’s slow start gave way to a high-calibre performance.
It debunked the theory football can’t be played without fans. German football has become associated with intensity and without match practice, Dortmund in particular eased their way back into proceedings. But any sense it felt like a glorified friendly was dismissed as slickness and quickness returned to their passing, they looked fit and fast and there was an abundance of quality. Their four goals were classy affairs.
Haaland’s was his first for 84 days, though his drought only spanned three games, and a 10th in nine Bundesliga appearances, a record rendered all the more impressive as three were from the bench. It was a beautiful strike. Julian Brandt supplied a backheel flick, Thorgan Hazard a curling cross and Haaland the cushioned first-time finish, guided past Markus Schubert.
The ubiquitous Brandt flourished. He set up the second, too, after a poor clearance from Schalke’s rookie goalkeeper Schubert, sliding a pass into the path of the overlapping wing-back Raphael Guerreiro. The Portugal international rifled in a shot and later completed a brace with an outside-of-the-boot finish after a one-two with Haaland.
Hazard added the third, completing a counter-attack with a crisp finish from Brandt’s pass. The Belgian was not due to start, with Jadon Sancho confined to the bench for the first 78 minutes and the 17-year-old American prodigy Giovanni Reyna slated for a maiden start. But then he was injured in the warm-up. Enter Hazard and, amid talk of the risk to footballers, he proved a menace to Schalke.
Adversity worked in Dortmund’s favour. Talent told. Hazard showed the depth of their resources in the absence of the injured Axel Witsel, Emre Can and Marco Reus while Brandt was the game’s most creative player, Haaland its most threatening striker and Guerreiro its most dangerous runner from deep.
It ended as a damaging day for Schalke, denting their hopes of Champions League qualification as they dropped to eighth; a team with a negative goal difference have only scored once in five matches.
They struggled to mount a response after going behind and while manager David Wagner made a half-time double switch, it did not alter the momentum.
He made five substitutions in total, another indication of how Covid-19 is remodelling football, but the four goals from Dortmund’s starters mattered rather more.
SPECS
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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1.
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United States
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2.
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China
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3.
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UAE
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4.
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Japan
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5
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Norway
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6.
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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9.
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Saudi Arabia
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10.
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South Korea
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Persuasion
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ECarrie%20Cracknell%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDakota%20Johnson%2C%20Cosmo%20Jarvis%2C%20Richard%20E%20Grant%2C%20Henry%20Golding%20and%20Nikki%20Amuka-Bird%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%201.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Naga
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%C2%A0%3C%2Fstrong%3EMeshal%20Al%20Jaser%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%C2%A0%3C%2Fstrong%3EAdwa%20Bader%2C%20Yazeed%20Almajyul%2C%20Khalid%20Bin%20Shaddad%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E4%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The 12
England
Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur
Italy
AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus
Spain
Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Real Madrid
Ipaf in numbers
Established: 2008
Prize money: $50,000 (Dh183,650) for winners and $10,000 for those on the shortlist.
Winning novels: 13
Shortlisted novels: 66
Longlisted novels: 111
Total number of novels submitted: 1,780
Novels translated internationally: 66
MATCH INFO:
Second Test
Pakistan v Australia, Tuesday-Saturday, 10am daily at Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Entrance is free
How Tesla’s price correction has hit fund managers
Investing in disruptive technology can be a bumpy ride, as investors in Tesla were reminded on Friday, when its stock dropped 7.5 per cent in early trading to $575.
It recovered slightly but still ended the week 15 per cent lower and is down a third from its all-time high of $883 on January 26. The electric car maker’s market cap fell from $834 billion to about $567bn in that time, a drop of an astonishing $267bn, and a blow for those who bought Tesla stock late.
The collapse also hit fund managers that have gone big on Tesla, notably the UK-based Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust and Cathie Wood’s ARK Innovation ETF.
Tesla is the top holding in both funds, making up a hefty 10 per cent of total assets under management. Both funds have fallen by a quarter in the past month.
Matt Weller, global head of market research at GAIN Capital, recently warned that Tesla founder Elon Musk had “flown a bit too close to the sun”, after getting carried away by investing $1.5bn of the company’s money in Bitcoin.
He also predicted Tesla’s sales could struggle as traditional auto manufacturers ramp up electric car production, destroying its first mover advantage.
AJ Bell’s Russ Mould warns that many investors buy tech stocks when earnings forecasts are rising, almost regardless of valuation. “When it works, it really works. But when it goes wrong, elevated valuations leave little or no downside protection.”
A Tesla correction was probably baked in after last year’s astonishing share price surge, and many investors will see this as an opportunity to load up at a reduced price.
Dramatic swings are to be expected when investing in disruptive technology, as Ms Wood at ARK makes clear.
Every week, she sends subscribers a commentary listing “stocks in our strategies that have appreciated or dropped more than 15 per cent in a day” during the week.
Her latest commentary, issued on Friday, showed seven stocks displaying extreme volatility, led by ExOne, a leader in binder jetting 3D printing technology. It jumped 24 per cent, boosted by news that fellow 3D printing specialist Stratasys had beaten fourth-quarter revenues and earnings expectations, seen as good news for the sector.
By contrast, computational drug and material discovery company Schrödinger fell 27 per cent after quarterly and full-year results showed its core software sales and drug development pipeline slowing.
Despite that setback, Ms Wood remains positive, arguing that its “medicinal chemistry platform offers a powerful and unique view into chemical space”.
In her weekly video view, she remains bullish, stating that: “We are on the right side of change, and disruptive innovation is going to deliver exponential growth trajectories for many of our companies, in fact, most of them.”
Ms Wood remains committed to Tesla as she expects global electric car sales to compound at an average annual rate of 82 per cent for the next five years.
She said these are so “enormous that some people find them unbelievable”, and argues that this scepticism, especially among institutional investors, “festers” and creates a great opportunity for ARK.
Only you can decide whether you are a believer or a festering sceptic. If it’s the former, then buckle up.
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Abu Dhabi GP Saturday schedule
12.30pm GP3 race (18 laps)
2pm Formula One final practice
5pm Formula One qualifying
6.40pm Formula 2 race (31 laps)
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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City's slump
L - Juventus, 2-0
D - C Palace, 2-2
W - N Forest, 3-0
L - Liverpool, 2-0
D - Feyenoord, 3-3
L - Tottenham, 4-0
L - Brighton, 2-1
L - Sporting, 4-1
L - Bournemouth, 2-1
L - Tottenham, 2-1
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
