The odds might be stacked against Manchester City in Barcelona next week but manager Manuel Pellegrini does not believe it is mission impossible.
City head to the Nou Camp on Wednesday trailing 2-0 after the first leg of their Uefa Champions League last-16 tie against the Catalan giants.
Meanwhile, Barcelona manager Gearardo Martino is worried as his sloppy side slipped to another defeat on Saturday.
Most pundits have written off Manchester City’s chances of reaching the quarter-finals and the daunting task is made all the more difficult by the touchline ban affecting Pellegrini.
The Chilean must watch from the stands, and have no contact with his players or coaching staff before or during the match, as punishment for controversial comments about the referee following the first leg.
Pellegrini has had other matters to worry about since then in sustaining a Premier League title challenge, the Capital One Cup final and, this weekend, an FA Cup quarter-final against Wigan.
But attention will soon switch to the Nou Camp and the challenge of engineering an unlikely turnaround.
Pellegrini said: “I am looking at every competition with the same importance.
“On Sunday we have to play in the FA Cup, so we are thinking about the FA Cup.
“But when we finish that we will try to make a good match against Barcelona to try to have our revenge and continue in the Champions League.”
City’s progress to the last 16 represents improvement after failing to get beyond the group stage in the past two seasons.
Yet there was no hiding the disappointment last month as Barcelona outmanoeuvred them tactically.
City deviated from their usual 4-4-2 formation by bulking up the midfield to absorb pressure.
It worked to a large extent, and chances were created on the break, but Barcelona controlled possession and played a patient game.
The game turned in an instant Lionel Messi found a gap and was brought down by Martin Demichelis, who was sent off, for a penalty.
Pellegrini’s rant at Swedish referee Jonas Eriksson stemmed from that incident, as he believed the offence was outside the box, but he could not hide the fact his team were caught out.
For much of the season Pellegrini has stuck to his preferred system and attacking principles, and that is likely to be the best way to serve his team this week.
The Chilean, whose side are buoyed by last week’s League Cup success, said: “Not all the teams play exactly the same all the time, every time.
“Maybe it is not easy for us to play against different teams in the way we always want to do it but it is very important to try to continue the way we want to do it.
“The final of the Capital One Cup was one example of that.
“We were not on our best day but we tried to play in the way we always do, but with patience. In the end we scored goals.
“We are always trying to improve in defending and attacking.
“Maybe in two or three matches at the beginning we didn’t defend well, against Cardiff, Aston Villa and Arsenal, when we scored six.
“But we are always trying to work to improve in all senses.
“In this part of the season I think we are defending well, even though we are not scoring as many goals.”
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How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
How Apple's credit card works
The Apple Card looks different from a traditional credit card — there's no number on the front and the users' name is etched in metal. The card expands the company's digital Apple Pay services, marrying the physical card to a virtual one and integrating both with the iPhone. Its attributes include quick sign-up, elimination of most fees, strong security protections and cash back.
What does it cost?
Apple says there are no fees associated with the card. That means no late fee, no annual fee, no international fee and no over-the-limit fees. It also said it aims to have among the lowest interest rates in the industry. Users must have an iPhone to use the card, which comes at a cost. But they will earn cash back on their purchases — 3 per cent on Apple purchases, 2 per cent on those with the virtual card and 1 per cent with the physical card. Apple says it is the only card to provide those rewards in real time, so that cash earned can be used immediately.
What will the interest rate be?
The card doesn't come out until summer but Apple has said that as of March, the variable annual percentage rate on the card could be anywhere from 13.24 per cent to 24.24 per cent based on creditworthiness. That's in line with the rest of the market, according to analysts
What about security?
The physical card has no numbers so purchases are made with the embedded chip and the digital version lives in your Apple Wallet on your phone, where it's protected by fingerprints or facial recognition. That means that even if someone steals your phone, they won't be able to use the card to buy things.
Is it easy to use?
Apple says users will be able to sign up for the card in the Wallet app on their iPhone and begin using it almost immediately. It also tracks spending on the phone in a more user-friendly format, eliminating some of the gibberish that fills a traditional credit card statement. Plus it includes some budgeting tools, such as tracking spending and providing estimates of how much interest could be charged on a purchase to help people make an informed decision.
* Associated Press
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Company profile
Name: Infinite8
Based: Dubai
Launch year: 2017
Number of employees: 90
Sector: Online gaming industry
Funding: $1.2m from a UAE angel investor
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Zombieland: Double Tap
Director: Ruben Fleischer
Stars: Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone
Four out of five stars
Elvis
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How green is the expo nursery?
Some 400,000 shrubs and 13,000 trees in the on-site nursery
An additional 450,000 shrubs and 4,000 trees to be delivered in the months leading up to the expo
Ghaf, date palm, acacia arabica, acacia tortilis, vitex or sage, techoma and the salvadora are just some heat tolerant native plants in the nursery
Approximately 340 species of shrubs and trees selected for diverse landscape
The nursery team works exclusively with organic fertilisers and pesticides
All shrubs and trees supplied by Dubai Municipality
Most sourced from farms, nurseries across the country
Plants and trees are re-potted when they arrive at nursery to give them room to grow
Some mature trees are in open areas or planted within the expo site
Green waste is recycled as compost
Treated sewage effluent supplied by Dubai Municipality is used to meet the majority of the nursery’s irrigation needs
Construction workforce peaked at 40,000 workers
About 65,000 people have signed up to volunteer
Main themes of expo is ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’ and three subthemes of opportunity, mobility and sustainability.
Expo 2020 Dubai to open in October 2020 and run for six months
Section 375
Cast: Akshaye Khanna, Richa Chadha, Meera Chopra & Rahul Bhat
Director: Ajay Bahl
Producers: Kumar Mangat Pathak, Abhishek Pathak & SCIPL
Rating: 3.5/5
