Following Friday's draw for the quarter-finals of this year's Uefa Champions League, European correspondent Ian Hawkey gives his take on each match-up and picks the winners. Click or slide through for each match.
Atletico Madrid v Leicester City
None of the possible opponents for Leicester City, the novices at this level of European competition, were ever going to appear gentle. Atletico Madrid are in some ways the most menacing.
Leicester have been at their best this season when they have played to their counter-attacking strengths. Atletico have become one of the Champions League’s modern heavyweights through their own sharp breaking from within their own half, and are confident allowing rivals to have most of the possession.
Expect, then, the two teams to dare one another to take the initiative, be proactive, in the early phases of the tie. And anticipate some bruising duels, like the gnarled Atletico defender Diego Godin against Jamie Vardy. Leicester’s elimination of Sevilla means Spanish clubs have a real respect for the capabilities of the English champions. But Atletico, serial semi-finalists in this competition, must be favourites.
Forecast: Atletico to progress.
Juventus v Barcelona
If Barcelona are to repeat their treble of the Champions League, Primera Liga title and Copa del Rey, achieved in 2015 and an aspiration the soon-to-depart manager Luis Enrique insists is still a target, then they must repeat the victory with which they clinched the biggest prize of his coaching career.
Barcelona defeated Juventus in Berlin in the Champions League final that year, 3-1, with two members of the stellar forward line, Luis Suarez and Neymar, scoring.
The key confrontations now, as then, look to be those between Juventus’s experienced rearguard, led by Gigi Buffon in goal, and an attack commanded by Lionel Messi.
Juventus, on course for a sixth successive Serie A title, have developed their approach since then, and Barcelona, who will be without the suspended Sergio Busquets in Turin, must deal with the likes of Miralem Pjanic, Pablo Dybala and Gonzalo Higuain in a front six much altered since two years ago.
Forecast: Juventus to edge out Barca
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
“Carletto”, as the Bayern manager is known, will keep his cool, at least in the fevered lead-up to this mighty collection, although even the sanguine Carlo Ancelotti knows this blockbuster is not just any other game.
Ancelotti only recently steered Real Madrid to one of the three Champions League titles he has to his name as a coach. His first season in Germany should bring him a Bundesliga title to add to the Premier League, the Ligue 1 and the Serie A championships he has won, but it was his expertise in Europe that Bayern hired him for.
Madrid, guided by Ancelotti’s former deputy Zinedine Zidane, will test that.
The reigning champions knocked Bayern out in the semi-finals en route to victory in the 2014 final. Bayern defeated Madrid in the semi-final in 2012.
Former Madrid players Arjen Robben and Xabi Alonso can expect a noisy reception at the Bernabeu. Xabi, who retires as a professional in June, will be warmly applauded.
Forecast: Bayern to trump Madrid
Borussia Dortmund v Monaco
Dortmund are averaging more than three goals per game in the Champions League this season, and hit four at home to Benfica last Tuesday to breeze through, despite a first-leg deficit, to the last eight. Monaco, meanwhile, are on an astonishing 126 goals across competitions so far this season after their 3-1 win over Manchester City.
A pair of coaches, Thomas Tuchel and Leonardo Jardim, will look to enhance their growing reputations, and a parade of talented young French footballers, from Dortmund’s Ousmane Dembele to the Monaco flyers Kylian Mbappe, and Thomas Lemar will want to catch the eye.
Both teams are fortified by the knowledge that even in the absence of senior men like Dortmund’s Marco Reus and Monaco’s Radamel Falcao – both injured in last week’s wins – they can turn on the style.
Forecast: Dortmund to end Monaco’s charge
sports@thenational.ae
Company profile
Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends
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Ponti
Sharlene Teo, Pan Macmillan
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
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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
Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Monster
Directed by: Anthony Mandler
Starring: Kelvin Harrison Jr., John David Washington
3/5
Disposing of non-recycleable masks
Use your ‘black bag’ bin at home
Do not put them in a recycling bin
Take them home with you if there is no litter bin
- No need to bag the mask
Tips to keep your car cool
- Place a sun reflector in your windshield when not driving
- Park in shaded or covered areas
- Add tint to windows
- Wrap your car to change the exterior colour
- Pick light interiors - choose colours such as beige and cream for seats and dashboard furniture
- Avoid leather interiors as these absorb more heat
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Keep it fun and engaging
Stuart Ritchie, director of wealth advice at AES International, says children cannot learn something overnight, so it helps to have a fun routine that keeps them engaged and interested.
“I explain to my daughter that the money I draw from an ATM or the money on my bank card doesn’t just magically appear – it’s money I have earned from my job. I show her how this works by giving her little chores around the house so she can earn pocket money,” says Mr Ritchie.
His daughter is allowed to spend half of her pocket money, while the other half goes into a bank account. When this money hits a certain milestone, Mr Ritchie rewards his daughter with a small lump sum.
He also recommends books that teach the importance of money management for children, such as The Squirrel Manifesto by Ric Edelman and Jean Edelman.
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GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
It’ll be summer in the city as car show tries to move with the times
If 2008 was the year that rocked Detroit, 2019 will be when Motor City gives its annual car extravaganza a revamp that aims to move with the times.
A major change is that this week's North American International Auto Show will be the last to be held in January, after which the event will switch to June.
The new date, organisers said, will allow exhibitors to move vehicles and activities outside the Cobo Center's halls and into other city venues, unencumbered by cold January weather, exemplified this week by snow and ice.
In a market in which trends can easily be outpaced beyond one event, the need to do so was probably exacerbated by the decision of Germany's big three carmakers – BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi – to skip the auto show this year.
The show has long allowed car enthusiasts to sit behind the wheel of the latest models at the start of the calendar year but a more fluid car market in an online world has made sales less seasonal.
Similarly, everyday technology seems to be catching up on those whose job it is to get behind microphones and try and tempt the visiting public into making a purchase.
Although sparkly announcers clasp iPads and outline the technical gadgetry hidden beneath bonnets, people's obsession with their own smartphones often appeared to offer a more tempting distraction.
“It's maddening,” said one such worker at Nissan's stand.
The absence of some pizzazz, as well as top marques, was also noted by patrons.
“It looks like there are a few less cars this year,” one annual attendee said of this year's exhibitors.
“I can't help but think it's easier to stay at home than to brave the snow and come here.”
Nepotism is the name of the game
Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad.
