RESULT
Manchester City 5 Swansea City 0
Man City: D Silva (12'), Sterling (16'), De Bruyne (54' ), B Silva (64' minutes), Jesus (88')
It was an exhibition and a microcosm, Manchester City summing up their season with style, substance and statistics. A rout was both a masterclass and a celebration.
It began with the guard of honour formed by the Swansea City players and continued with City demonstrating why they are the new champions.
The figures showed they posted 90 Premier League points for the first time and completed a divisional record of 942 passes. In the first half, five of their players found a team-mate more often than the entire Swansea team. “The performance is the most important thing but the numbers are the numbers,” City manager Pep Guardiola said.
Yet if anything encapsulated their domination of the division this season, it was the chant that came when Federico Fernandez chopped down Raheem Sterling to concede a penalty.
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Read more:
Kyle Walker wants Manchester City to target place in pantheon of great teams
PFA Team of the Year: Premier League champions Manchester City dominate
Kevin De Bruyne revels in 'senior player' role for Man City's title-winning season
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“Give it to Ederson,” chorused the City faithful. At a point in a campaign when previous title races have been on a knife-edge, supporters wanted their goalkeeper to take a spot kick.
Which, actually, might not have been the worst suggestion, and not merely because of Ederson’s excellence with the ball at his feet. His fellow Brazilian Gabriel Jesus stepped up instead and was denied by a combination of Lukasz Fabianski and the post. Bernardo Silva nevertheless swept in the rebound. Jesus got his goal anyway, with a flying header from Yaya Toure’s chipped pass.
It took City to 98 league goals. In all competitions, Bernardo Silva has eight, suggesting he could become their seventh man to hit double figures. It was a sign of City’s potency when David Silva was the sixth to reach 10.
“When a team just depends on one or two players to score goals you cannot achieve what we achieve,” Guardiola said. This illustrates his ethos. City do not have specialist scorers as much as a band of hugely accomplished footballers who are capable of finding the net. Lovely team goals sandwiched a wonderful individual strike from Kevin de Bruyne.
They were elegantly ruthless. Swansea arrived intent on defending, fielding a 5-4-1 formation. They were still behind inside 12 minutes and two adrift after 16. David Silva and Sterling were common denominators.
City began by stroking the ball around and then, with enviable ease, scored from their first meaningful attacks. De Bruyne was the instigator, sliding a pass to Sterling. His cutback was met by David Silva, who first flicked the ball up and then dispatched a low volley.
Then David Silva formed the meat in a sandwich as Fabian Delph played a one-two with him. He delivered a low centre and Sterling, in behind a Swansea defence who thought they were playing offside, had a simple finish.
De Bruyne provided the pick of the goals with a rasping, rising shot that flew past Fabianski. It was another indication of what an extraordinary player the Belgian has become. This was his fifth goal from outside the box the box this season. “When you are analysing 10 months, there is no player better than him,” added Guardiola, arguing De Bruyne is the player of the season.
City could also savour the sight of Benjamin Mendy coming on for his first appearance since suffering a cruciate ligament injury in September. He looked understandably rusty but was greeted with a rousing ovation.
One of the stories of City’s season has been how well they have coped without their sole specialist left-back but the returning Mendy was mobbed in the pitch invasion that followed the final whistle.
Swansea’s defeat was a reprieve for West Bromwich Albion, whose relegation would have been ratified if they had avoided defeat. The damage done to their goal difference could yet be a factor, though manager Carlos Carvalhal denied morale was damaged. After all, they are not alone in being eviscerated by City.
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
Teachers' pay - what you need to know
Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:
- top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month - plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated 'outstanding' or 'very good', followed by American schools
- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say
- it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance
- some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs
- maths and science teachers are most in demand and some schools will pay up to Dh3,000 more than other teachers in recognition of their technical skills
- at the other end of the market, teachers in some Indian schools, where fees are lower and competition among applicants is intense, can be paid as low as Dh3,000 per month
- in Indian schools, it has also become common for teachers to share residential accommodation, living in a block with colleagues
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
Essentials
The flights
Whether you trek after mountain gorillas in Rwanda, Uganda or the Congo, the most convenient international airport is in Rwanda’s capital city, Kigali. There are direct flights from Dubai a couple of days a week with RwandAir. Otherwise, an indirect route is available via Nairobi with Kenya Airways. Flydubai flies to Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo, via Entebbe in Uganda. Expect to pay from US$350 (Dh1,286) return, including taxes.
The tours
Superb ape-watching tours that take in all three gorilla countries mentioned above are run by Natural World Safaris. In September, the company will be operating a unique Ugandan ape safari guided by well-known primatologist Ben Garrod.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, local operator Kivu Travel can organise pretty much any kind of safari throughout the Virunga National Park and elsewhere in eastern Congo.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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
Arrogate's winning run
1. Maiden Special Weight, Santa Anita Park, June 5, 2016
2. Allowance Optional Claiming, Santa Anita Park, June 24, 2016
3. Allowance Optional Claiming, Del Mar, August 4, 2016
4. Travers Stakes, Saratoga, August 27, 2016
5. Breeders' Cup Classic, Santa Anita Park, November 5, 2016
6. Pegasus World Cup, Gulfstream Park, January 28, 2017
7. Dubai World Cup, Meydan Racecourse, March 25, 2017
England-South Africa Test series
1st Test England win by 211 runs at Lord's, London
2nd Test South Africa win by 340 runs at Trent Bridge, Nottingham
3rd Test July 27-31 at The Oval, London
4th Test August 4-8 at Old Trafford, Manchester
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Bedu%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202021%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Khaled%20Al%20Huraimel%2C%20Matti%20Zinder%2C%20Amin%20Al%20Zarouni%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20AI%2C%20metaverse%2C%20Web3%20and%20blockchain%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Currently%20in%20pre-seed%20round%20to%20raise%20%245%20million%20to%20%247%20million%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Privately%20funded%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
PAKISTAN SQUAD
Abid Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Shan Masood, Azhar Ali (test captain), Babar Azam (T20 captain), Asad Shafiq, Fawad Alam, Haider Ali, Iftikhar Ahmad, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Sarfaraz Ahmed (wicketkeeper), Faheem Ashraf, Haris Rauf, Imran Khan, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Hasnain, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Sohail Khan, Usman Shinwari, Wahab Riaz, Imad Wasim, Kashif Bhatti, Shadab Khan and Yasir Shah.
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
The past winners
2009 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull)
2010 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull)
2011 - Lewis Hamilton (McLaren)
2012 - Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus)
2013 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull)
2014 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
2015 - Nico Rosberg (Mercedes)
2016 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
2017 - Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
Read more about the coronavirus
RESULT
Manchester City 5 Swansea City 0
Man City: D Silva (12'), Sterling (16'), De Bruyne (54' ), B Silva (64' minutes), Jesus (88')
