SOUTHAMPTON, United Kingdom // Premier League champions Manchester City gave themselves renewed belief that they can hunt down leaders Chelsea after moving into second place in the table by winning 3-0 at Southampton.
Read more: Manchester City finally play like English Premier League contenders, writes Richard Jolly
Chelsea have been imperious to date this season, but they dropped points in a 0-0 draw at Sunderland on Saturday and City took advantage with an impressive victory at St Mary’s a day later.
Second-half goals from Yaya Toure, substitute Frank Lampard and Gael Clichy saw the champions end Southampton’s unbeaten home record and City manager Manuel Pellegrini challenged his side to carry their form into Wednesday’s away game with Sunderland.
“We have 25 games to play,” said the Chilean, whose team trail Chelsea by six points. “It’s a lot of points. Nobody knows what happens in the future.
“Chelsea are playing very well. We’ll see what happens in the future. And we must try to see what we do against Sunderland.”
Sergio Aguero had been City’s saviour in their mid-week win over Bayern Munich in the Champions League, taking his tally for the season to 17 goals with a hat-trick in a 3-2 success.
The Argentine showcased the altruistic side to his game against Ronald Koeman’s Southampton, teeing up Toure to drive home City’s 51st-minute opener and then steering a glorious pass into Clichy’s path for the visitors’ third goal.
His afternoon had started in inauspicious fashion, as he was booked for diving in the ninth minute despite appearing to have been cleaned out by Southampton centre-back Jose Fonte.
Pellegrini commented: “From my position I saw that it was a penalty, but I am not the referee.
“One thing I was absolutely sure about was that Sergio never dived. Sergio is not a player that tries to cheat the referee.”
City lost Eliaquim Mangala in the 74th minute after he was shown a second yellow card for barging over Southampton substitute Shane Long as he raced towards goal, but Pellegrini defended the Frenchman, saying he had committed a “necessary foul”.
A hamstring injury to captain Vincent Kompany meant that City finished the game with nine men. The Belgian centre-back is scheduled to undergo tests on Monday.
Southampton matched City in an even first half, with visiting goalkeeper Joe Hart saving twice in quick succession from Graziano Pelle and Steven Davis, but after City made the breakthrough, they ran out of steam.
Koeman conceded that his side, who have made the best start to a Premier League season in the club’s history, were initially “a little bit nervous”.
But although they are due to visit Arsenal on Wednesday and then entertain Manchester United on December 8, he said it was too early to write off Southampton’s chances of a top-four finish.
Asked for his response to those in the media who will dismiss his side’s hopes of Champions League qualification, he told his post-match press conference: “They write of today. Because we didn’t show something different.
“But if we are the fifth in the league, still we are very happy. On Wednesday we will get a new opportunity to show the qualities. There’s no time to be disappointed.”
However, having seen his team beaten for only the second time in 11 league games, he conceded that they had come up short.
“We knew we had to be good to have a good result today (Sunday), but our ball possession in the beginning of the game was not good,” said the former Netherlands international.
“I think we defended well. We had a good organisation. They didn’t create a lot of opportunities.
“But when I thought in the second half, ‘OK, little by little we’ll do a little bit more pressing to try to win the game,’ it was 1-0 down. It was not good enough today. That is what I have to say.”
English Premier League fixtures
Tuesday (in UAE time)
Burnley v Newcastle United, 11.45pm
Leicester City v Liverpool, 11.45pm
Manchester United v Stoke City, 11.45pm
Swansea City v Queens Park Rangers, 11.45pm
West Bromwich Albion v West Ham United, midnight
Crystal Palace v Aston Villa, midnight
Wednesday
Arsenal v Southampton, 11.45pm
Chelsea v Tottenham Hotspur, 11.45pm
Everton v Hull City, 11.45pm
Sunderland v Manchester City, 11.45pm
Follow our sports coverage on twitter at @SprtNationalUAE
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
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
MATCH INFO
Aston Villa 1 (Konsa 63')
Sheffield United 0
Red card: Jon Egan (Sheffield United)
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
THE BIO
Bio Box
Role Model: Sheikh Zayed, God bless his soul
Favorite book: Zayed Biography of the leader
Favorite quote: To be or not to be, that is the question, from William Shakespeare's Hamlet
Favorite food: seafood
Favorite place to travel: Lebanon
Favorite movie: Braveheart
If you go...
Etihad flies daily from Abu Dhabi to Zurich, with fares starting from Dh2,807 return. Frequent high speed trains between Zurich and Vienna make stops at St. Anton.
Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Starring: Jamie Foxx, Angela Bassett, Tina Fey
Directed by: Pete Doctor
Rating: 4 stars
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20HyperPay%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202014%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Muhannad%20Ebwini%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Riyadh%2C%20Saudi%20Arabia%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20FinTech%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%20size%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2455m%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20AB%20Ventures%2C%20Amwal%20Capital%2C%20INet%2C%20Mada%20VC%2C%20Mastercard%2C%20SVC%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
ENGLAND SQUAD
Joe Root (captain), Dom Sibley, Rory Burns, Dan Lawrence, Ben Stokes, Ollie Pope, Ben Foakes (wicketkeeper), Moeen Ali, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes, Jack Leach, Stuart Broad
'The Batman'
Stars:Robert Pattinson
Director:Matt Reeves
Rating: 5/5
The specs
Price, base / as tested Dh960,000
Engine 3.9L twin-turbo V8
Transmission Seven-speed dual-clutch automatic
Power 661hp @8,000rpm
Torque 760Nm @ 3,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined 11.4L / 100k
What is dialysis?
Dialysis is a way of cleaning your blood when your kidneys fail and can no longer do the job.
It gets rid of your body's wastes, extra salt and water, and helps to control your blood pressure. The main cause of kidney failure is diabetes and hypertension.
There are two kinds of dialysis — haemodialysis and peritoneal.
In haemodialysis, blood is pumped out of your body to an artificial kidney machine that filter your blood and returns it to your body by tubes.
In peritoneal dialysis, the inside lining of your own belly acts as a natural filter. Wastes are taken out by means of a cleansing fluid which is washed in and out of your belly in cycles.
It isn’t an option for everyone but if eligible, can be done at home by the patient or caregiver. This, as opposed to home haemodialysis, is covered by insurance in the UAE.
Result
Arsenal 4
Monreal (51'), Ramsey (82'), Lacazette 85', 89')
West Ham United 1
Arnautovic (64')
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.”
The specs
Engine: 3-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 400hp
Torque: 475Nm
Transmission: 9-speed automatic
Price: From Dh215,900
On sale: Now
BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities
Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails
Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies
Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments
How it works
Each player begins with one of the great empires of history, from Julius Caesar's Rome to Ramses of Egypt, spread over Europe and the Middle East.
Round by round, the player expands their empire. The more land they have, the more money they can take from their coffers for each go.
As unruled land and soldiers are acquired, players must feed them. When a player comes up against land held by another army, they can choose to battle for supremacy.
A dice-based battle system is used and players can get the edge on their enemy with by deploying a renowned hero on the battlefield.
Players that lose battles and land will find their coffers dwindle and troops go hungry. The end goal? Global domination of course.
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
VEZEETA PROFILE
Date started: 2012
Founder: Amir Barsoum
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: HealthTech / MedTech
Size: 300 employees
Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)
Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC
