James Milner’s early penalty sends Liverpool through to Europa League last 16

LIVERPOOL // Jurgen Klopp’s ability to defeat German sides earned him the chance to manage Liverpool. That capacity to overcome his compatriots remains as he illustrated while Augsburg were duly defeated.

This may prove a momentous week for Klopp but it was scarcely the most memorable of European nights at Anfield. He could become the first German manager to win a major English trophy on Sunday when they face Manchester City in the Capital One Cup final.

Europa League preview: Jurgen Klopp says Augsburg match won’t interfere with Liverpool’s League Cup aspirations

This formed the warm-up. Liverpool go to Wembley having booked their place in the last 16 of the Europa League, kept a third consecutive clean sheet and buoyed by a win. The job was done, not as easily or emphatically as they may have hoped, but progress was deserved.

James Milner’s early penalty proved decisive. It was only Liverpool’s seventh goal in eight European games this season, a statistic that shows a struggle to score has been a constant. They fashioned chances aplenty but only converted the first.

Klopp’s side were nevertheless dominant. They played with verve. Philippe Coutinho showed that his return to fitness has lent Liverpool much-needed creativity. Alberto Moreno formed an energetic outlet on the left. Daniel Sturridge brought menace. It helped, though, that Augsburg were such limited opponents. They languish in 13th place in the Bundesliga and their most potent striker, Raul Bobadilla, was only fit enough for a cameo.

They trailed long before he was summoned. Dominic Kohr handled Jordan Henderson’s cross and Milner slotted in the resulting penalty. The award irritated Augsburg. The offence was all the more needless because Kohr was only challenged by his teammate Caiuby as both leapt.

Thereafter, Liverpool were frustrated by Augsburg’s obstinate goalkeeper. Marwin Hitz blocked Coutinho’s prodded shot, Roberto Firmino’s rising, rasping effort and Sturridge’s fizzing attempt to beat him at his near post. The striker shot wide during an offensive at the start of the second half while Henderson also found Hitz in defiant mood after bright work by Firmino.

As long as Liverpool’s lead was by a solitary goal, they were imperilled, as much by their carelessness as by their opponents. Lucas Leiva, deployed as a makeshift centre-back, applied too little weight to a backpass. Cauiby read it and rounded Simon Mignolet but found the angle too acute to equalise. Mignolet also had to rush from his line to deny Tobias Werner while Kostas Stafylidis was inches from sending Augsburg through with a 90th-minute free kick.

And without the cushion of a second goal, it was harder for Klopp to rest players with Wembley in mind. As it was, he removed Sturridge with 25 minutes remaining. Coutinho, too, came off. Liverpool’s classiest players have greater goals to pursue in London at the weekend.

sports@thenational.ae

Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/TheNationalSport

Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE

Join parent networks
Look beyond school fees
Keep an open mind

COMPANY PROFILE

Name: HyperSpace

Started: 2020

Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez

Based: Dubai, UAE

Sector: Entertainment

Number of staff: 210

Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners

On Women's Day

Dr Nawal Al-Hosany: Why more women should be on the frontlines of climate action

Shelina Janmohamed: Why shouldn't a spouse be compensated fairly for housework?

Justin Thomas: Challenge the notion that 'men are from Mars, women are from Venus'

The National Editorial: Is there much to celebrate on International Women's Day 2021?

The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.

Part three: an affection for classic cars lives on

Read part two: how climate change drove the race for an alternative

Read part one: how cars came to the UAE

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”