Match info
Manchester United 1 (Van de Beek 80') Crystal Palace 3 (Townsend 7', Zaha pen 74' & 85')
Man of the match Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace)
In the game that could have been Jadon Sancho’s debut, on the day that their long-term target Gareth Bale signed for someone else instead, Manchester United’s evening instead revolved around a winger they signed and cast aside.
Wilfried Zaha was only granted four appearances for them in 2013. On his return to Old Trafford, he delivered a brace.
United’s slow, sluggish performance brought a false start to their season. Crystal Palace were United’s opponents and opposites, offering the organisation at the back and the cutting edge on the counter attack to win at Old Trafford for a second successive season. Andros Townsend and Zaha got the goals, but this was a terrific team performance.
United’s failings were so manifold they could not be solely attributed to a lack of transfer activity. Donny van de Beek, the sole signing they made, did open his account, stabbing in a shot in predatory fashion after the ball bounced off Joel Ward, but even that invited questions if he should have started.
With the Dutchman confined to a cameo, United suffered their first league defeat since January, ending a 14-game unbeaten run.
In their defence, it was only 34 days after last season finished and without anything resembling a normal pre-season, it was understandable they looked rusty and last year they were at their best when they were at their sharpest.
Bruno Fernandes, Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford collected awards before kick-off as the fans’ and players’ player of the year and scorer of the goal of their season respectively. None showed such attacking verve on his return.
In contrast, a short break brought a change of fortunes for Palace as they extended their fine away record at the elite. They finished last season without a goal in 427 minutes on the road. They scored inside eight minutes here.
If it had been tempting to wonder if this would be a campaign too far for Roy Hodgson, the 73-year-old has began it at a canter. His gameplan was intelligent and was executed excellently.
Palace were brighter from the beginning. Solskjaer resolved his first major selection decision of the season in favour of the incumbent, keeping David de Gea in goal and putting his new challenger, Dean Henderson, on the bench. De Gea’s first notable act was to scuff a clearance to James McCarthy. His second was to retrieve the ball from the back of his net.
Jeffrey Schlupp escaped down the visitors’ left flank all too easily – United had benched the former Palace right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka, who might have presented stiffer resistance – and crossed. Townsend escaped from Luke Shaw to supply the finish and, already, equal his tally in last season’s Premier League.
In De Gea’s defence, he ended the half better than he started it. After Zaha led a trademark Palace counter-attack, Jordan Ayew, a scorer at Old Trafford last season, threatened to repeat the feat with a rising shot that the goalkeeper did superbly to tip over the bar.
Zaha had a goal rightly disallowed for offside but if that amounted to a simple decision, Palace’s second brought two contentious ones.
After an intervention from VAR, Martin Atkinson looked at the pitchside monitor, saw Ayew’s scooped shot hit Victor Lindelof’s hand – even if there was little the Swede could do to get out of the way – and awarded the spot kick.
De Gea saved Ayew’s tame penalty but Jonathan Moss, the VAR, spotted the goalkeeper had strayed off his line. This time Zaha stepped up and scored with rather more conviction.
He completed a personal double with a shot that flew past a motionless De Gea. United, meanwhile, were muted and largely restricted to long shots by Palace’s defiant defence.
Mason Greenwood came off the bench to miss one fine chance. Van de Beek came on and scored, but that only prompted a response in kind from Zaha.
Ticket prices
- Golden circle - Dh995
- Floor Standing - Dh495
- Lower Bowl Platinum - Dh95
- Lower Bowl premium - Dh795
- Lower Bowl Plus - Dh695
- Lower Bowl Standard- Dh595
- Upper Bowl Premium - Dh395
- Upper Bowl standard - Dh295
The bio
His favourite book - 1984 by George Orwell
His favourite quote - 'If you think education is expensive, try ignorance' by Derek Bok, Former President of Harvard
Favourite place to travel to - Peloponnese, Southern Greece
Favourite movie - The Last Emperor
Favourite personality from history - Alexander the Great
Role Model - My father, Yiannis Davos
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On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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.
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
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The Africa Institute 101
Housed on the same site as the original Africa Hall, which first hosted an Arab-African Symposium in 1976, the newly renovated building will be home to a think tank and postgraduate studies hub (it will offer master’s and PhD programmes). The centre will focus on both the historical and contemporary links between Africa and the Gulf, and will serve as a meeting place for conferences, symposia, lectures, film screenings, plays, musical performances and more. In fact, today it is hosting a symposium – 5-plus-1: Rethinking Abstraction that will look at the six decades of Frank Bowling’s career, as well as those of his contemporaries that invested social, cultural and personal meaning into abstraction.
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Stage 7:
1. Caleb Ewan (AUS) Lotto Soudal - 3:18:29
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3. Phil Bauhaus (GER) Bahrain Victorious
4. Michael Morkov (DEN) Deceuninck-QuickStep
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General Classification:
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5. Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education-Nippo - 0:01:45
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
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Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
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Ziina users will be able to use the app to help relief efforts in Beirut, which has been left reeling after an August blast caused an estimated $15 billion in damage and left thousands homeless. Ziina has partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to raise money for the Lebanese capital, co-founder Faisal Toukan says. “As of October 1, the UNHCR has the first certified badge on Ziina and is automatically part of user's top friends' list during this campaign. Users can now donate any amount to the Beirut relief with two clicks. The money raised will go towards rebuilding houses for the families that were impacted by the explosion.”
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Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
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SERIES INFO
Schedule:
All matches at the Harare Sports Club
1st ODI, Wed Apr 10
2nd ODI, Fri Apr 12
3rd ODI, Sun Apr 14
4th ODI, Sun Apr 16
UAE squad
Mohammed Naveed (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Shaiman Anwar, Mohammed Usman, CP Rizwan, Chirag Suri, Mohammed Boota, Ghulam Shabber, Sultan Ahmed, Imran Haider, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed
Zimbabwe squad
Peter Moor (captain), Solomon Mire, Brian Chari, Regis Chakabva, Sean Williams, Timycen Maruma, Sikandar Raza, Donald Tiripano, Kyle Jarvis, Tendai Chatara, Chris Mpofu, Craig Ervine, Brandon Mavuta, Ainsley Ndlovu, Tony Munyonga, Elton Chigumbura
How it works
1) The liquid nanoclay is a mixture of water and clay that aims to convert desert land to fertile ground
2) Instead of water draining straight through the sand, it apparently helps the soil retain water
3) One application is said to last five years
4) The cost of treatment per hectare (2.4 acres) of desert varies from $7,000 to $10,000 per hectare
Match info
Manchester United 1 (Van de Beek 80') Crystal Palace 3 (Townsend 7', Zaha pen 74' & 85')
Man of the match Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace)
