When Pep Guardiola described Marcelo Bielsa as “a joy for world football”, it is safe to say this was not what he had in mind. Not Leeds United camped behind the ball, all within 30 yards of their goal, having just 29 per cent of possession. Nor Stuart Dallas racing away to score his second goal and condemn Manchester City to defeat.
For Leeds, it was a stunning, spectacular result but there was little joy for Guardiola here. After 27 wins in 28, City lost to the 10 remaining men of a promoted team.
“Defeat sometimes is necessary to understand how difficult it is what we have done,” Guardiola said. His team still need 11 points to regain the title. He was beaten by one of his heroes.
The contrarian and the purist in Bielsa insisted: “We deserved to win but the just or fair thing would have been for City to win.”
His reputation was not built on rearguard actions but this was necessitated. The scoreline would have been proof of the progress he has overseen even without the circumstances. “From the adversity and effort of the players it was emotional for me. It was a rebellious team. They weren't resigned to lose.”
Leeds were depleted before the break, with captain Liam Cooper getting their first top-flight red card since 2004, but a triumph of spirit contained evidence of Bielsa’s alchemy as they recorded a first league win over big-six opponents in that time.
Dallas was a decent Championship winger before Bielsa’s appointment. Now he has become the Argentinian’s ultimate utility man, a multipurpose midfielder or full-back who can play anywhere and run all day. It felt fitting that he was still going in injury time, sprinting on to Gjanni Alioski’s outside-of-the-boot pass to slide a shot under Ederson, just as he had drilled Leeds ahead, via the inside of the post, after being teed up by Patrick Bamford.
Despite spending much of the season in defence, Dallas has seven league goals. “This year has allowed Dallas to show a part of himself that we didn’t know he had,” Bielsa said.
His brace was sandwiched by examples of Leeds’ organisation and concentration. Often deficient defensively, they excelled without Cooper. Bielsa, the inveterate attacker, said he had never trained for such a scenario.
“Nothing that happened today had any influence from my part,” he insisted, but he brought on two centre-backs, first sacrificing Bamford a couple of minutes after his assist. Cooper flew in at Gabriel Jesus, planting his studs in the striker’s knee. Referee Andre Marriner booked him; after reviewing it on the monitor, he changed the colour of the card and Cooper’s dangerous tackle got the punishment it deserved.
Yet Leeds adapted brilliantly. It took a high-class strike to unlock them, a slick move featuring a penetrative pass from Fernandinho before Bernardo Silva found Ferran Torres, who scored his first league goal of 2021.
The identity of the scorer was instructive. Guardiola signalled that Wednesday’s trip to Borussia Dortmund was the priority he gave Nathan Ake a first game of 2021 and Oleksandr Zinchenko a rare outing in midfield and made seven changes. “I don’t regret any of them,” he said. Along with John Stones and Fernandinho, the Ukrainian was one of City’s three best players, but they lacked their usual fluency.
Zinchenko’s set-pieces posed a threat. Even against 11 men, Stones and Fernandinho kept carrying the ball forward, each rationalising that if the Leeds players were all man-marking, there was space for them to surge into. Stones set up Zinchenko when he had a shot saved while Raheem Sterling dragged a shot wide after an inspired break into the box by Fernandinho, who rolled back the years by resembling the attacking midfielder he was for Shakhtar Donetsk.
Yet City were too reliant on that trio for too long as they missed some of their rested regulars. “We did not create enough for the forwards,” Guardiola said. In the final half hour, Silva, Fernandinho and Joao Cancelo all had efforts but City’s 29 shots yielded a lone goal.
“Sometimes Leeds create more chances and lose the game,” Guardiola said. “Football is the only game like that.” And Leeds had a threat. The outstanding Raphinha might have won it but for a brilliant tackle by Ederson. Dallas did.
WTL%20SCHEDULE
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Nancy 9 (Hassa Beek)
Nancy Ajram
(In2Musica)
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
UAE SQUAD
Omar Abdulrahman (Al Hilal), Ali Khaseif, Ali Mabkhout, Salem Rashed, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Zayed Al Ameri, Mohammed Al Attas (Al Jazira), Khalid Essa, Ahmed Barman, Ryan Yaslam, Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Habib Fardan, Tariq Ahmed, Mohammed Al Akbari (Al Nasr), Ali Saleh, Ali Salmin (Al Wasl), Adel Al Hosani, Ali Hassan Saleh, Majed Suroor (Sharjah), Ahmed Khalil, Walid Abbas, Majed Hassan, Ismail Al Hammadi (Shabab Al Ahli), Hassan Al Muharrami, Fahad Al Dhahani (Bani Yas), Mohammed Al Shaker (Ajman)
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
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How to join and use Abu Dhabi’s public libraries
• There are six libraries in Abu Dhabi emirate run by the Department of Culture and Tourism, including one in Al Ain and Al Dhafra.
• Libraries are free to visit and visitors can consult books, use online resources and study there. Most are open from 8am to 8pm on weekdays, closed on Fridays and have variable hours on Saturdays, except for Qasr Al Watan which is open from 10am to 8pm every day.
• In order to borrow books, visitors must join the service by providing a passport photograph, Emirates ID and a refundable deposit of Dh400. Members can borrow five books for three weeks, all of which are renewable up to two times online.
• If users do not wish to pay the fee, they can still use the library’s electronic resources for free by simply registering on the website. Once registered, a username and password is provided, allowing remote access.
• For more information visit the library network's website.
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
THE DETAILS
Director: Milan Jhaveri
Producer: Emmay Entertainment and T-Series
Cast: John Abraham, Manoj Bajpayee
Rating: 2/5
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
SPEC SHEET
Display: 6.8" edge quad-HD dynamic Amoled 2X, Infinity-O, 3088 x 1440, 500ppi, HDR10 , 120Hz
Processor: 4nm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1/Exynos 2200, 8-core
Memory: 8/12GB RAM
Storage: 128/256/512GB/1TB
Platform: Android 12
Main camera: quad 12MP ultra-wide f/2.2, 108MP wide f/1.8, 10MP telephoto f/4.9, 10MP telephoto 2.4; Space Zoom up to 100x, auto HDR, expert RAW
Video: 8K@24fps, 4K@60fps, full-HD@60fps, HD@30fps, super slo-mo@960fps
Front camera: 40MP f/2.2
Battery: 5000mAh, fast wireless charging 2.0 Wireless PowerShare
Connectivity: 5G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC
I/O: USB-C
SIM: single nano, or nano and SIM, nano and nano, eSIM/nano and nano
Colours: burgundy, green, phantom black, phantom white, graphite, sky blue, red
Price: Dh4,699 for 128GB, Dh5,099 for 256GB, Dh5,499 for 512GB; 1TB unavailable in the UAE
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
MATCH INFO
Asian Champions League, last 16, first leg:
Al Ain 2 Al Duhail 4
Second leg:
Tuesday, Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium, Doha. Kick off 7.30pm
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RESULTS
5pm: Rated Conditions (PA) Dh85,000 (Turf) 1,600m
Winner: AF Mouthirah, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer)
5.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner: AF Alajaj, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
6pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner: Hawafez, Connor Beasley, Abubakar Daud
6.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 2,200m
Winner: Tair, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinel
7pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 2,200m
Winner: Wakeel W’Rsan, Richard Mullen, Jaci Wickham
7.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh100,000 (T) 2,400m
Winner: Son Of Normandy, Fernando Jara, Ahmad bin Harmash
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
More on Quran memorisation:
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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Full list of brands available for Instagram Checkout
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Tuesday's fixtures
Kyrgyzstan v Qatar, 5.45pm
