Eighty thousand coloured cards will be held up Wednesday night at Camp Nou before the Uefa Champions League last-16 second-leg game between Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain. A giant flag with “All with the team” will be unveiled, too, and the packed stadium, with 94,000 home fans, will provide the most vocal backdrop seen all season. By kick-off, many of the fans will believe the impossible is possible.
No team has ever gone through to the next round after losing the first leg of a game 4-0 in the Champions League, but if there is one team who can then it is Barcelona at home.
Luis Enrique’s side have hit their stride again after that humiliation in Paris three weeks ago, a performance which the Barca manager described as the worst of his three-year tenure. And that is all it will be, for the Asturian has since announced that he is stepping down at the end of the season. That announcement, after months of corrosive speculation, helped lift the mood at Camp Nou.
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Read more
■ Greg Lea: On 'flat track bullies' Chelsea marching towards title
■ Team of the week: Find out who joins Harry Kane in this week's XI
■ Antonio Conte: Chelsea must make Champions League 'every year'
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Barca’s manager is visibly more relaxed, he feels under less pressure and more inclined to enjoy his final months at a club where the managerial fuse is short.
The announcement also revived appreciation of Enrique. Three weeks ago, fans were divided as they cheered and jeered him. Against Celta Vigo on Saturday, when Barcelona provided their best performance of the season in a 5-0 victory, there were only cheers and a stream of Enrique songs in what became a carnival atmosphere.
The great football helped, especially the outstanding contribution from Lionel Messi, who scored twice. “Sometimes tactics don’t explain everything, it’s about talent,” said Celta manager Eduardo Berizzo. “And Messi’s talent decided the game.”
Though he played more to the right, Messi was deadly going down the middle. For his first goal, he received the ball with his back to goal in the centre circle before running beyond several Celta players.
Neymar made more dribbles than any player in the Primera Liga this term, while Ivan Rakitic enjoyed his best game in months. The side worked harder for each other to blitz a Celta team who had defeated them earlier in the season.
Other factors have helped. A month ago, Barcelona were off the pace in the title race. Now, they are top of the league after Real Madrid lost at Valencia and drew at home to Las Palmas. Since Paris, Barca have beaten their Copa del Rey final opponents Alaves 6-0 away, beaten Atletico Madrid 2-1 away, hammered Sporting Gijon 6-1 at home and then Celta 5-0 on Saturday. Sporting put out a reserve team out; Celta did not.
Though Real Madrid are only a point behind with a game in hand, the title is now in Barcelona’s hands for they still have to play Madrid again.
The mood in Barcelona is good and flags in the crowd on Saturday and Wednesday will urge a comeback. A smiling Enrique, when he wasn’t complimenting journalists on their questions, said: “We’ll give our best from the first to the last minute to make the comeback happen on Wednesday. We trust in our coach and nothing has changed. We trust 100 per cent in ourselves”.
Barca’s manager said that he has spent more hours analysing the PSG defeat than any other game since he took over in 2014. Now that he is looking to turn it around, he says he has unwavering faith in his players.
Barca are confident, talented, in form and motivated. Their attack is praised, yet goalkeeper Marc Andre ter Stegen has established his best level since joining from Borussia Monchengladbach.
However, it is still a mighty ask to overturn a 4-0 defeat and reach the quarter-finals for a record 10th successive season. PSG, with no injuries or suspensions to contend with, have been eliminated at the last-eight stage in each of the past four seasons.
They have the substantial cushion of four goals, a wily Spanish manager who outwitted Barcelona in the first leg and a team stocked with world-class performers, including the Andres Iniesta clone Marco Verratti, who were on top of their game in Paris.
They will need to be the same at Camp Nou.
Fixtures piling up for tired Celta
Spanish teams, especially Sevilla, have dominated the Europa League. Sevilla have won the past three tournaments, and earned the right to enter this season’s by finishing seventh in the Primera Liga last term but, as winners of the Europa League now automatically qualify for the Uefa Champions League, Athletic Bilbao, Celta Vigo and Villarreal were all among the favourites to win the competition instead.
Only Celta Vigo, playing in continental competition for the first time in a decade, remain of the three Spanish teams who reached the last 32. Athletic Bilbao were surprisingly eliminated by Cypriot side Apoel.
Villarreal’s 4-0 defeat to Roma in the first leg of the round of 32 was one of the biggest surprises of the season. They won 1-0 away in the second leg, but the damage had already been done.
Celta were also beaten at home by the competition’s form team, Shakhtar Donetsk. A goal down, they were going out of the competition until Iago Aspas scored a 91st-minute penalty to level the return tie in Kharkiv. Cabral’s 108th-minute winner sent them through to play Russian side Krasnodar, who eliminated Fenerbahce in the last 16. The first leg is in Vigo on Thursday, with Celta favourites against a side who won two of their six group games and lost three. Then they face another long trip east next week.
Despite losing their opening three league matches, this has been a good season for Celta, but it could quickly unravel. They knocked Real Madrid out of the Copa del Rey to reach the semi-finals, before exiting to a late Alaves goal. They beat Barcelona in the league, but were then hammered by the Catalans 5-0 on Saturday. Cup competitions and playing more games than any other Spanish team other than Barca and Real Madrid have hit Celta’s league form hard.
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■ In pictures: Messi mesmerises for Barcelona
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Celta have won only one of their past five league games and sit 10th, 10 points adrift of the sixth position, where they finished last season to qualify for Europe. Those games have included away matches at Atletico Madrid and Barcelona, combined with their cup matches.
They also have a rearranged league game to play against Real Madrid, but it is a challenging time for Celta and their talented players including Iago Aspas, the leading Spanish goalscorer in La Liga, and John Guidetti.
Celta still have to play almost all the teams who are pushing for those Europa League places, and they will have a chance to close the gap starting with Villarreal at home on Sunday. But playing two games a week and flying at least once a week from one of western Europe’s most westerly destinations will be tough. They also have a Galician derby at neighbours Deportivo La Coruna next week.
Alternatively they have another route into Europe next season — by winning the Europa League for a place in the Champions League.
Player of the week
■ Lionel Messi: The Argentine was imperious for Barcelona in a 5-0 win against Celta Vigo, scoring twice. As did Antoine Griezmann for Atletico Madrid in a 3-0 win over Valencia. Karim Benzema also scored a double in Real Madrid's impressive 4-1 win at Eibar and looked to be back to his best. James Rodriguez was also excellent at Eibar and got on the score sheet.
Game of the week
■ Real Sociedad v Athletic Bilbao: The biggest Basque derby between these two clubs. La Real are flying in fourth, and beat Real Betis away at the weekend with veteran Xabi Prieto scoring twice. Athletic sit seventh, four points off a European spot behind Villarreal. Given the competition from Eibar and Alaves, being the top Basque team is an achievement. Real Sociedad will go 10 points clear of Athletic if they win.
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Thor: Ragnarok
Dir: Taika Waititi
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Jeff Goldblum, Mark Ruffalo, Tessa Thompson
Four stars
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
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
Founders: Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Albabtain.
Based: Riyadh
Offices: UAE, Vietnam and Germany
Founded: September, 2020
Number of employees: 70
Sector: FinTech, online payment solutions
Funding to date: $116m in two funding rounds
Investors: Checkout.com, Impact46, Vision Ventures, Wealth Well, Seedra, Khwarizmi, Hala Ventures, Nama Ventures and family offices
Hydrogen: Market potential
Hydrogen has an estimated $11 trillion market potential, according to Bank of America Securities and is expected to generate $2.5tn in direct revenues and $11tn of indirect infrastructure by 2050 as its production increases six-fold.
"We believe we are reaching the point of harnessing the element that comprises 90 per cent of the universe, effectively and economically,” the bank said in a recent report.
Falling costs of renewable energy and electrolysers used in green hydrogen production is one of the main catalysts for the increasingly bullish sentiment over the element.
The cost of electrolysers used in green hydrogen production has halved over the last five years and will fall to 60 to 90 per cent by the end of the decade, acceding to Haim Israel, equity strategist at Merrill Lynch. A global focus on decarbonisation and sustainability is also a big driver in its development.
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
10 tips for entry-level job seekers
- Have an up-to-date, professional LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, set one up today. Avoid poor-quality profile pictures with distracting backgrounds. Include a professional summary and begin to grow your network.
- Keep track of the job trends in your sector through the news. Apply for job alerts at your dream organisations and the types of jobs you want – LinkedIn uses AI to share similar relevant jobs based on your selections.
- Double check that you’ve highlighted relevant skills on your resume and LinkedIn profile.
- For most entry-level jobs, your resume will first be filtered by an applicant tracking system for keywords. Look closely at the description of the job you are applying for and mirror the language as much as possible (while being honest and accurate about your skills and experience).
- Keep your CV professional and in a simple format – make sure you tailor your cover letter and application to the company and role.
- Go online and look for details on job specifications for your target position. Make a list of skills required and set yourself some learning goals to tick off all the necessary skills one by one.
- Don’t be afraid to reach outside your immediate friends and family to other acquaintances and let them know you are looking for new opportunities.
- Make sure you’ve set your LinkedIn profile to signal that you are “open to opportunities”. Also be sure to use LinkedIn to search for people who are still actively hiring by searching for those that have the headline “I’m hiring” or “We’re hiring” in their profile.
- Prepare for online interviews using mock interview tools. Even before landing interviews, it can be useful to start practising.
- Be professional and patient. Always be professional with whoever you are interacting with throughout your search process, this will be remembered. You need to be patient, dedicated and not give up on your search. Candidates need to make sure they are following up appropriately for roles they have applied.
Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz
Barbie
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Common OCD symptoms and how they manifest
Checking: the obsession or thoughts focus on some harm coming from things not being as they should, which usually centre around the theme of safety. For example, the obsession is “the building will burn down”, therefore the compulsion is checking that the oven is switched off.
Contamination: the obsession is focused on the presence of germs, dirt or harmful bacteria and how this will impact the person and/or their loved ones. For example, the obsession is “the floor is dirty; me and my family will get sick and die”, the compulsion is repetitive cleaning.
Orderliness: the obsession is a fear of sitting with uncomfortable feelings, or to prevent harm coming to oneself or others. Objectively there appears to be no logical link between the obsession and compulsion. For example,” I won’t feel right if the jars aren’t lined up” or “harm will come to my family if I don’t line up all the jars”, so the compulsion is therefore lining up the jars.
Intrusive thoughts: the intrusive thought is usually highly distressing and repetitive. Common examples may include thoughts of perpetrating violence towards others, harming others, or questions over one’s character or deeds, usually in conflict with the person’s true values. An example would be: “I think I might hurt my family”, which in turn leads to the compulsion of avoiding social gatherings.
Hoarding: the intrusive thought is the overvaluing of objects or possessions, while the compulsion is stashing or hoarding these items and refusing to let them go. For example, “this newspaper may come in useful one day”, therefore, the compulsion is hoarding newspapers instead of discarding them the next day.
Source: Dr Robert Chandler, clinical psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia
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The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
A Bad Moms Christmas
Dir: John Lucas and Scott Moore
Starring: Mila Kunis, Kathryn Hahn, Kristen Bell, Susan Sarandon, Christine Baranski, Cheryl Hines
Two stars
What is Folia?
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal's new plant-based menu will launch at Four Seasons hotels in Dubai this November. A desire to cater to people looking for clean, healthy meals beyond green salad is what inspired Prince Khaled and American celebrity chef Matthew Kenney to create Folia. The word means "from the leaves" in Latin, and the exclusive menu offers fine plant-based cuisine across Four Seasons properties in Los Angeles, Bahrain and, soon, Dubai.
Kenney specialises in vegan cuisine and is the founder of Plant Food Wine and 20 other restaurants worldwide. "I’ve always appreciated Matthew’s work," says the Saudi royal. "He has a singular culinary talent and his approach to plant-based dining is prescient and unrivalled. I was a fan of his long before we established our professional relationship."
Folia first launched at The Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills in July 2018. It is available at the poolside Cabana Restaurant and for in-room dining across the property, as well as in its private event space. The food is vibrant and colourful, full of fresh dishes such as the hearts of palm ceviche with California fruit, vegetables and edible flowers; green hearb tacos filled with roasted squash and king oyster barbacoa; and a savoury coconut cream pie with macadamia crust.
In March 2019, the Folia menu reached Gulf shores, as it was introduced at the Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay, where it is served at the Bay View Lounge. Next, on Tuesday, November 1 – also known as World Vegan Day – it will come to the UAE, to the Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeirah Beach and the Four Seasons DIFC, both properties Prince Khaled has spent "considerable time at and love".
There are also plans to take Folia to several more locations throughout the Middle East and Europe.
While health-conscious diners will be attracted to the concept, Prince Khaled is careful to stress Folia is "not meant for a specific subset of customers. It is meant for everyone who wants a culinary experience without the negative impact that eating out so often comes with."
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Anxiety and work stress major factors
Anxiety, work stress and social isolation are all factors in the recogised rise in mental health problems.
A study UAE Ministry of Health researchers published in the summer also cited struggles with weight and illnesses as major contributors.
Its authors analysed a dozen separate UAE studies between 2007 and 2017. Prevalence was often higher in university students, women and in people on low incomes.
One showed 28 per cent of female students at a Dubai university reported symptoms linked to depression. Another in Al Ain found 22.2 per cent of students had depressive symptoms - five times the global average.
It said the country has made strides to address mental health problems but said: “Our review highlights the overall prevalence of depressive symptoms and depression, which may long have been overlooked."
Prof Samir Al Adawi, of the department of behavioural medicine at Sultan Qaboos University in Oman, who was not involved in the study but is a recognised expert in the Gulf, said how mental health is discussed varies significantly between cultures and nationalities.
“The problem we have in the Gulf is the cross-cultural differences and how people articulate emotional distress," said Prof Al Adawi.
“Someone will say that I have physical complaints rather than emotional complaints. This is the major problem with any discussion around depression."
Daniel Bardsley
