Sometimes football matches do not last 90 minutes. Sometimes they do not even last 19. Any idea this was a contest ended when David Silva scored Manchester City’s third goal in the 18th minute.
Yet if an early onslaught served as a devastating demonstration of City’s calibre, what followed still had a certain significance.
Pep Guardiola’s team scored six times for the second occasion this season, to add to their two five-goal hauls. Two of those six were scored by Raheem Sterling, two more assisted by him, a further one involved him.
As City displaced the winger’s former employers Liverpool from the summit, there were regular choruses of “Raheem Sterling, he’s top of the league”. More than most, Sterling has taken them there.
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“He is in incredible form,” Guardiola said. “He is sharp, fast, clever, fighting, decisive. The first season [of his reign] he was scared. I have the feeling he is now enjoying scoring goals and making assists.”
The numbers indicate as much. No one has been involved in more Premier League goals this campaign. There was already ample evidence of why Sterling merits the new contract that should soon be announced, but he produced plenty more. He has allied ruthlessness with relentlessness in a way he did not before Guardiola’s appointment, speed, style and statistics in a manner that makes him an embodiment of City.
He is not alone in that. Sergio Aguero brought up his 150th Premier League goal, though it seemed to please Guardiola more than he set up each of Sterling’s double.
His first, on the stroke of half-time, was finished at the second attempt after Aguero robbed a dozing Cedric Soares, who summed up how Southampton were off the pace. His second was rifled in after a defence-splitting pass from the Argentine.
He was returning a favour. Sterling wriggled his way to the byline to supply Aguero for a tap-in for his latest landmark and City’s second goal. Yet it was a match when the champions boasted searing speed and incision on both flanks.
Leroy Sane bookended the game with telling contributions, completing the scoring from Sterling’s pass and breaking the deadlock when his low cross was inadvertently finished by Southampton defender Wesley Hoedt.
When Silva hooked in the third, after Sterling’s cross was flicked on by Sane, City had secured victory with 80 per cent of the match remaining. Rampant and inventive, clinical and creative, they were sharper and hungrier than Southampton.
“That was the game gone,” said Mark Hughes, whose sides have conceded 13 goals on his last two trips to the Etihad Stadium. “The gameplan you want to implement goes out of the window. We weren’t strong enough in that opening period."
They were distinctly fallible thereafter. Sane rattled the post and Guardiola said: “We could have scored eight or nine.” Yet Hughes was not alone in rueing defensive generosity. “We were not stable behind,” said Guardiola.
Perhaps the day’s greatest surprise was that City conceded for the first time in seven league matches and Southampton scored for the first in six.
Danny Ings, who converted a penalty he won, became the only opposing striker or midfielder to muster a top-flight goal against City this season. His side could have scored more.
“When you concede those situations in the next stage of Champions League, you are out because the level is higher,” said Guardiola. “We can improve.” Southampton need to.
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.
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The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
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.
Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha
Starring: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shantanu Maheshwari, Jimmy Shergill, Saiee Manjrekar
Director: Neeraj Pandey
Rating: 2.5/5
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
THE BIO: Martin Van Almsick
Hometown: Cologne, Germany
Family: Wife Hanan Ahmed and their three children, Marrah (23), Tibijan (19), Amon (13)
Favourite dessert: Umm Ali with dark camel milk chocolate flakes
Favourite hobby: Football
Breakfast routine: a tall glass of camel milk
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
European arms
Known EU weapons transfers to Ukraine since the war began: Germany 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 Stinger surface-to-air missiles. Luxembourg 100 NLAW anti-tank weapons, jeeps and 15 military tents as well as air transport capacity. Belgium 2,000 machine guns, 3,800 tons of fuel. Netherlands 200 Stinger missiles. Poland 100 mortars, 8 drones, Javelin anti-tank weapons, Grot assault rifles, munitions. Slovakia 12,000 pieces of artillery ammunition, 10 million litres of fuel, 2.4 million litres of aviation fuel and 2 Bozena de-mining systems. Estonia Javelin anti-tank weapons. Latvia Stinger surface to air missiles. Czech Republic machine guns, assault rifles, other light weapons and ammunition worth $8.57 million.
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)
'Worse than a prison sentence'
Marie Byrne, a counsellor who volunteers at the UAE government's mental health crisis helpline, said the ordeal the crew had been through would take time to overcome.
“It was worse than a prison sentence, where at least someone can deal with a set amount of time incarcerated," she said.
“They were living in perpetual mystery as to how their futures would pan out, and what that would be.
“Because of coronavirus, the world is very different now to the one they left, that will also have an impact.
“It will not fully register until they are on dry land. Some have not seen their young children grow up while others will have to rebuild relationships.
“It will be a challenge mentally, and to find other work to support their families as they have been out of circulation for so long. Hopefully they will get the care they need when they get home.”
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
Match info
Uefa Nations League Group B:
England v Spain, Saturday, 11.45pm (UAE)
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Company%C2%A0profile
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