Jose Mourinho hails ‘phenomenal’ Courtois after Chelsea’s Champions League draw with PSG

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho praised goalkeeper Thibault Courtois and admitted his side were fortunate to come away with a draw in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie with Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday.

PSG had the better of the game but had only a second-half Edinson Cavani goal to show for their efforts, with Courtois producing half a dozen vital saves to help Chelsea claim a 1-1 draw in the French capital.

Branislav Ivanovic’s precious away goal in the first half – from Chelsea’s only chance of the game – gives the Premier League leaders the upper hand going into the second leg at Stamford Bridge on March 11.

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“I think the first half was our half. Paris gave us the ball, played defensively with a very low block. They never put pressure on us and we were very comfortable, moving the ball, letting the clock tick and never having problems to control the game,” Mourinho said.

“The second half was different. They were very direct and it was their half. I think 1-1 reflects one half for Chelsea, one half for Paris, but if you go to chances created and the goalkeepers’ performances we have to be honest and say they had more than us, so if somebody was closer to winning the game it was Paris, not Chelsea.

“The advantage is minimal. Now everything is decided at Stamford Bridge and not in two matches. They are a fantastic team and we did OK.”

After being rested against Everton last week, Courtois was brought back into the Chelsea side in place of Petr Cech and displayed why he is seen as one of the finest goalkeepers in the world with a string of saves, including one from Zlatan Ibrahimovic in injury time.

“If football was nine outfield players plus two goalkeepers we would give no chance to anyone. We would be absolutely phenomenal because they are both phenomenal,” said Mourinho of the duo, before highlighting defender Ivanovic’s ability to pop up with crucial goals in big games.

“Iva has this feeling in big occasions. It looks like he chooses his moments,” Mourinho said, referring to the win against Liverpool in the League Cup semi-final and his goal in Paris in the Europa League final against Benfica in 2013. “He chooses the right moment to do it.”

With time to prepare for the second leg, Chelsea’s next game is against Burnley in the Premier League on Saturday, when Mourinho may decide to rotate his squad after conceding that several players had not trained in the build-up to the Paris clash.

The Portuguese coach said Eden Hazard, Willian, Oscar and Ivanovic had all been absent from the training ground while Cesc Fabregas had been “three days in bed with high temperatures”.

PSG coach Laurent Blanc was missing several players due to injury but was pleased with the performance of David Luiz in a holding midfield role against his old club and with the overall display of his team, despite the result.

“The score is not favourable to us, but I’m very happy with my team. There are lots of very satisfying things but the score is what counts at the end so the return match will be complicated,” he said.

PSG won 3-1 at home to Chelsea in the quarter-finals last season before losing 2-0 in the return to go out on away goals.

“I would have preferred us to win the game 3-1. I think our match was better than last year. I think Chelsea hardly existed in an attacking sense.

“Their only shot on target, unfortunately for us, was the goal we conceded but after that we gave them practically nothing,” Blanc said.

“We were up against a great goalkeeper, as well, let’s not forget. The result could have been better but the match was very good.

“Chelsea have a slight advantage, especially because they are at home.

“With our attacking qualities we are capable of scoring practically anywhere in Europe. We didn’t do it last year but have to this time.”

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”