Ronald Koeman defends decision to start Lionel Messi, Antoine Griezmann 'angry' at defence as Barcelona lose Spanish Super Cup final


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Barcelona manager Ronald Koeman has defended his decision to start Lionel Messi in the Spanish Super Cup final after the Argentine was sent off for the first time in his club career as Athletic Bilbao won 3-2 after extra time.

Messi had missed Wednesday's semi-final win over Real Sociedad through injury but before the final Koeman said he would allow his captain to make a decision on his fitness.

"I think after so many years at the top level, he knows when he can play and when he can't," Koeman told a news conference after the defeat. "I spoke with him and he said he was fit enough to start the game."

Messi was lively early on and heavily involved in Barca's opener, but he visibly tired and was kept out of the game by Bilbao as it wore on.

His frustrations got the better of him and reached boiling point in the final minute of added time as he struck Asier Villalibre and was dismissed following a VAR review.

"I can understand what Messi did," Koeman said. "I don't know how many times they fouled him, and it's normal to react when they keep trying to foul you as a player who is looking to dribble with the ball, but I need to see it again properly."

Given the red card was shown for violent conduct, Messi is likely to face a four-game ban across La Liga and the Copa del Rey.

Antoine Griezmann, who scored both of Barcelona's goals, blamed a lack of leadership in defence for his side's defeat.

Griezmann twice gave the Catalans the lead, however Bilbao enjoyed the game's best chances, causing havoc at set-pieces as they had a goal disallowed for offside and missed two gilt-edged headers to increase their advantage in the extra period.

"I'm angry, annoyed, peeved. Every single bad feeling you can have after losing a final," Griezmann told Movistar.

Barca have struggled to defend dead ball situations in big games in recent years, conceding from corners in their famous Champions League eliminations to AS Roma and Liverpool.

They are currently missing defensive lynchpin Gerard Pique, who is likely to be out until March with a knee problem, and are sorely missing his presence at the back.

"We knew that Marcelino's side's press well and they played well, but we made so many strategic mistakes.

"We defended poorly and weren't communicating on set-pieces: important little details like when the ball is cleared or when we need to push out, someone needs to be shouting."

Goals from Oscar De Marcos, substitute Asier Villalibre and Inaki Williams secured the trophy for Bilbao.

Barcelona face neighbours Cornella in the Copa del Rey round of 32 in midweek, while they sit third in La Liga, seven points behind leaders Atletico Madrid having played two games more.

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Rating: 1/5

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The specs

Common to all models unless otherwise stated

Engine: 4-cylinder 2-litre T-GDi

0-100kph: 5.3 seconds (Elantra); 5.5 seconds (Kona); 6.1 seconds (Veloster)

Power: 276hp

Torque: 392Nm

Transmission: 6-Speed Manual/ 8-Speed Dual Clutch FWD

Price: TBC

THE LOWDOWN

Photograph

Rating: 4/5

Produced by: Poetic License Motion Pictures; RSVP Movies

Director: Ritesh Batra

Cast: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Sanya Malhotra, Farrukh Jaffar, Deepak Chauhan, Vijay Raaz

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Grimes 20' (pen), Celina, 29'

Man City 3

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Stage 7:

1. Caleb Ewan (AUS) Lotto Soudal - 3:18:29

2. Sam Bennett (IRL) Deceuninck-QuickStep - same time

3. Phil Bauhaus (GER) Bahrain Victorious

4. Michael Morkov (DEN) Deceuninck-QuickStep

5. Cees Bol (NED) Team DSM

General Classification:

1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates - 24:00:28

2. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers - 0:00:35

3. Joao Almeida (POR) Deceuninck-QuickStep - 0:01:02

4. Chris Harper (AUS) Jumbo-Visma - 0:01:42

5. Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education-Nippo - 0:01:45

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1. Fasting 

2. Prayer 

3. Hajj 

4. Shahada 

5. Zakat 

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Manchester United 1 (Fernandes pen 2') Tottenham Hotspur 6 (Ndombele 4', Son 7' & 37' Kane (30' & pen 79, Aurier 51')

Man of the match Son Heung-min (Tottenham)

Sole survivors
  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Power: 510hp at 9,000rpm
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
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Gender pay parity on track in the UAE

The UAE has a good record on gender pay parity, according to Mercer's Total Remuneration Study.

"In some of the lower levels of jobs women tend to be paid more than men, primarily because men are employed in blue collar jobs and women tend to be employed in white collar jobs which pay better," said Ted Raffoul, career products leader, Mena at Mercer. "I am yet to see a company in the UAE – particularly when you are looking at a blue chip multinationals or some of the bigger local companies – that actively discriminates when it comes to gender on pay."

Mr Raffoul said most gender issues are actually due to the cultural class, as the population is dominated by Asian and Arab cultures where men are generally expected to work and earn whereas women are meant to start a family.

"For that reason, we see a different gender gap. There are less women in senior roles because women tend to focus less on this but that’s not due to any companies having a policy penalising women for any reasons – it’s a cultural thing," he said.

As a result, Mr Raffoul said many companies in the UAE are coming up with benefit package programmes to help working mothers and the career development of women in general. 

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