Swansea City 0 Middlesbrough 0
Man of the Match: Ben Gibson (Middlesbrough)
There may be few more predictable outcomes this season. Swansea City were deprived of their top scorer, Fernando Llorente. Middlesbrough are the lowest scorers in English football. A change of manager has not brought a change of scoreline and, for the sixth time this season, one of their games finished goalless.
They are not the great entertainers. Aitor Karanka’s spectre looms large over Middlesbrough and, if his draining defensiveness accounts for their plight, the solidity he has implemented was responsible the result. Swansea dominated but Middlesbrough held out to secure a stalemate. “We are disappointed not to win,” Swansea manager Paul Clement said.
A draw may be ostensibly useful, but it had the feel of an opportunity missed by both teams. Certainly for Swansea, whose three-point cushion on the bottom three disappeared when Hull City won on Saturday, but also for Boro.
A pivotal week of meetings with relegation rivals, with Hull and Burnley next, may offer the prospect of respite but a side with an aversion to winning need to make up ground.
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■ Crystal Palace: Zaha magic and Sakho solidity behind shock win
■ Reaction: Jose Mourinho publicly criticises four players
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“You can’t get beat by the teams around you,” said Middlesbrough captain Ben Gibson, but draws are not enough any more.
They are yet to beat anyone in the Premier League in 2017 or to score on the road this year. Both of those statistics could, perhaps should, have changed. Caretaker manager Steve Agnew has tried to be bolder than Karanka but is discovering that attacking intent does not automatically bring incision. Agnew reconfigured Boro in a 4-2-3-1 formation. When Gaston Ramirez went off injured, he paired two target men, in Alvaro Negredo and the substitute Rudy Gestede.
And when the Spaniard bent in an injury-time cross, Gestede, a player who made his reputation with his aerial expertise, rose highest. And headed wide. “The big man is kicking himself,” Gibson said.
Others had a similar response. Goalkeeper Victor Valdes sank to his knees in frustration as Gestede showed why the January signing has gone 39 Premier League games without tasting victory, dating back to his ill-fated spell at Aston Villa.
It showed, too, that Middlesbrough are stripped of confidence in front of goal. They mustered one shot on target, a dink from Negredo that Lukasz Fabianski parried.
Their threat, such as it was, came from the raw pace of Adama Traore, and both Leroy Fer and Alfie Mawson were booked for fouls on the winger. But his finishing is erratic and his best chance was dragged wide. And so, instead, Boro were reliant on one of the five most frugal defences in the division.
“We lacked a bit in the final third,” Clement said. “We peppered their box with set pieces.”
A ploy of crossing may have succeeded had the towering Llorente been fit. Instead an ankle injury kept him out. Jordan Ayew was a smaller, ineffective deputy. Tom Carroll’s first-half thunderbolt hit the stanchion and Swansea showed increasing urgency; with Tottenham Hotspur next, this looked the more winnable game of a double header at home.
Victor Valdes made a fine save from Gylfi Sigurdsson’s curler. The Icelander had a free kick deflected narrowly wide by the arm of Adam Forshaw: referee Bobby Madley ignored Swansea’s appeals for a penalty. Then Fer blazed over in the 89th minute; a game of precious little drama could have produced a winner at either end. But the match scarcely merited one.
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The years Ramadan fell in May
Name: Brendalle Belaza
From: Crossing Rubber, Philippines
Arrived in the UAE: 2007
Favourite place in Abu Dhabi: NYUAD campus
Favourite photography style: Street photography
Favourite book: Harry Potter
The Year Earth Changed
Directed by:Tom Beard
Narrated by: Sir David Attenborough
Stars: 4
The five pillars of Islam
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Getting there
The flights
Flydubai operates up to seven flights a week to Helsinki. Return fares to Helsinki from Dubai start from Dh1,545 in Economy and Dh7,560 in Business Class.
The stay
Golden Crown Igloos in Levi offer stays from Dh1,215 per person per night for a superior igloo; www.leviniglut.net
Panorama Hotel in Levi is conveniently located at the top of Levi fell, a short walk from the gondola. Stays start from Dh292 per night based on two people sharing; www. golevi.fi/en/accommodation/hotel-levi-panorama
Arctic Treehouse Hotel in Rovaniemi offers stays from Dh1,379 per night based on two people sharing; www.arctictreehousehotel.com
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Zayed Sustainability Prize
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
AI traffic lights to ease congestion at seven points to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Street
The seven points are:
Shakhbout bin Sultan Street
Dhafeer Street
Hadbat Al Ghubainah Street (outbound)
Salama bint Butti Street
Al Dhafra Street
Rabdan Street
Umm Yifina Street exit (inbound)
The biog
First Job: Abu Dhabi Department of Petroleum in 1974
Current role: Chairperson of Al Maskari Holding since 2008
Career high: Regularly cited on Forbes list of 100 most powerful Arab Businesswomen
Achievement: Helped establish Al Maskari Medical Centre in 1969 in Abu Dhabi’s Western Region
Future plan: Will now concentrate on her charitable work
Women%E2%80%99s%20T20%20World%20Cup%20Qualifier
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
The biog
Name: Dhabia Khalifa AlQubaisi
Age: 23
How she spends spare time: Playing with cats at the clinic and feeding them
Inspiration: My father. He’s a hard working man who has been through a lot to provide us with everything we need
Favourite book: Attitude, emotions and the psychology of cats by Dr Nicholes Dodman
Favourit film: 101 Dalmatians - it remind me of my childhood and began my love of dogs
Word of advice: By being patient, good things will come and by staying positive you’ll have the will to continue to love what you're doing
Other ways to buy used products in the UAE
UAE insurance firm Al Wathba National Insurance Company (AWNIC) last year launched an e-commerce website with a facility enabling users to buy car wrecks.
Bidders and potential buyers register on the online salvage car auction portal to view vehicles, review condition reports, or arrange physical surveys, and then start bidding for motors they plan to restore or harvest for parts.
Physical salvage car auctions are a common method for insurers around the world to move on heavily damaged vehicles, but AWNIC is one of the few UAE insurers to offer such services online.
For cars and less sizeable items such as bicycles and furniture, Dubizzle is arguably the best-known marketplace for pre-loved.
Founded in 2005, in recent years it has been joined by a plethora of Facebook community pages for shifting used goods, including Abu Dhabi Marketplace, Flea Market UAE and Arabian Ranches Souq Market while sites such as The Luxury Closet and Riot deal largely in second-hand fashion.
At the high-end of the pre-used spectrum, resellers such as Timepiece360.ae, WatchBox Middle East and Watches Market Dubai deal in authenticated second-hand luxury timepieces from brands such as Rolex, Hublot and Tag Heuer, with a warranty.
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
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits
Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Storage: 128/256/512GB
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps
Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
More on Quran memorisation:
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
What are the influencer academy modules?
- Mastery of audio-visual content creation.
- Cinematography, shots and movement.
- All aspects of post-production.
- Emerging technologies and VFX with AI and CGI.
- Understanding of marketing objectives and audience engagement.
- Tourism industry knowledge.
- Professional ethics.
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
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
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Company%C2%A0profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Eamana%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2010%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Karim%20Farra%20and%20Ziad%20Aboujeb%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EUAE%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERegulator%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDFSA%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinancial%20services%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E85%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESelf-funded%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Babumoshai Bandookbaaz
Director: Kushan Nandy
Starring: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Bidita Bag, Jatin Goswami
Three stars
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
More coverage from the Future Forum
