Carlos Tevez took his Serie A goals tally to 14 for the season as champions Juventus moved 10 points clear of closest challengers AS Roma with a 3-1 win over outclassed AC Milan on Saturday.
Roma can bring their deficit on the Turin giants back to seven points if they account for Cagliari on Sunday.
But after what was another commanding performance from Massimiliano Allegri’s league leaders, Roma have their work cut out to stop Juventus from winning a fourth consecutive Italian championship.
“It’s three important points. A ten-point gap is quite significant but we have to keep our concentration intact and improve certain aspects of our games,” Allegri told Sky Sport.
“We played a good game but we gave away too many corners, one of which led to their goal while others put us in danger in the first half.
“I expected Milan to put us under pressure. They’re a top side and in January brought a few good players, and don’t forget they’ve got a few on the sidelines as well.
“They still have what it takes to challenge for a place in Europe.”
Embattled Milan unveiled several new players on Thursday including Mattia Destro, Gabriel Paletta and Luca Antonelli and the latter marked his debut with a goal for the visitors inside the half hour.
But Juventus were practically unstoppable from the word go and bossed this encounter from start to finish.
It took Argentinian international Tevez, who celebrated his 31st birthday on Thursday, only 14 minutes to stretch his tally at the top of the league scoring charts.
Milan defender Alex nodded the ball straight to Alvaro Morata on the halfway line and Tevez ran on to the Spaniard’s lob to outpace Paletta on the way towards goal before sliding the ball under Diego Lopez in the Milan net.
Left-back Antonelli, signed last week from Cagliari, gave Milan a rare chance to cheer when he rose highest at a corner to send a glancing header past Gianluigi Buffon at the keeper’s far post.
But Milan’s joy lasted barely three minutes.
Lopez came off his line to punch away a corner and after being slightly impeded by Leonardo Bonucci saw the defender’s cheeky sideswipe from Tevez’s header back in towards goal go past him and midfielder Sulley Muntari from four yards out.
Milan’s protests were waved away and the visitors suffered another blow when French forward Jeremy Menez, their top scorer this season on 12 goals, was forced off after appearing to suffer a dizzy spell.
Milan had claimed their first win of 2015 last week at home to basement side Parma, but any hopes they had of fighting their way back into the match soon faded.
With ex-Roma striker Destro suspended, Menez was replaced by Giampaolo Pazzini eight minutes before the break.
Juventus were unlucky not to be awarded a penalty soon after for a Michael Essien handling offence as the Ghanaian missed a header at a corner.
Pazzini spurned a great to chance to level on 53 minutes when he ran on to a poor clearance to the left of the area only to see Buffon pull off a great one-handed save at the near post.
“It’s a pity because with Pazzini we had the chance to pull level at 2-2 and that could have changed the game for us,” said Milan coach Filippo Inzaghi.
“I complimented the lads because, despite having several players missing, we played on a par with Juventus.”
But Juventus were firmly in control and stretched their lead in the 65th minute when Morata pounced after Claudio Marchisio’s drive smacked back off the crossbar.
The result left Juventus top on 53 points, 10 ahead of Roma with Napoli, in third, a further four points adrift.
Torino’s purple patch continued with a 3-1 win away to Verona which moved them up to seventh place.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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'Munich: The Edge of War'
Director: Christian Schwochow
Starring: George MacKay, Jannis Niewohner, Jeremy Irons
Rating: 3/5
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six
Power: 650hp at 6,750rpm
Torque: 800Nm from 2,500-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Fuel consumption: 11.12L/100km
Price: From Dh796,600
On sale: now
The biog
Favourite books: 'Ruth Bader Ginsburg: A Life' by Jane D. Mathews and ‘The Moment of Lift’ by Melinda Gates
Favourite travel destination: Greece, a blend of ancient history and captivating nature. It always has given me a sense of joy, endless possibilities, positive energy and wonderful people that make you feel at home.
Favourite pastime: travelling and experiencing different cultures across the globe.
Favourite quote: “In the future, there will be no female leaders. There will just be leaders” - Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook.
Favourite Movie: Mona Lisa Smile
Favourite Author: Kahlil Gibran
Favourite Artist: Meryl Streep
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities
Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails
Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies
Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments
Neymar's bio
Total club appearances 411
Total goals scored 241
Appearances for Barca 186
Goals scored for Barca 105
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
Zayed Sustainability Prize
COMPANY PROFILE
● Company: Bidzi
● Started: 2024
● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid
● Based: Dubai, UAE
● Industry: M&A
● Funding size: Bootstrapped
● No of employees: Nine
Know your camel milk:
Flavour: Similar to goat’s milk, although less pungent. Vaguely sweet with a subtle, salty aftertaste.
Texture: Smooth and creamy, with a slightly thinner consistency than cow’s milk.
Use it: In your morning coffee, to add flavour to homemade ice cream and milk-heavy desserts, smoothies, spiced camel-milk hot chocolate.
Goes well with: chocolate and caramel, saffron, cardamom and cloves. Also works well with honey and dates.
Series result
1st ODI Zimbabwe won by 6 wickets
2nd ODI Sri Lanka won by 7 wickets
3rd ODI Sri Lanka won by 8 wickets
4th ODI Zimbabwe won by 4 wickets
5th ODI Zimbabwe won by 3 wickets
First Person
Richard Flanagan
Chatto & Windus
Iran's dirty tricks to dodge sanctions
There’s increased scrutiny on the tricks being used to keep commodities flowing to and from blacklisted countries. Here’s a description of how some work.
1 Going Dark
A common method to transport Iranian oil with stealth is to turn off the Automatic Identification System, an electronic device that pinpoints a ship’s location. Known as going dark, a vessel flicks the switch before berthing and typically reappears days later, masking the location of its load or discharge port.
2. Ship-to-Ship Transfers
A first vessel will take its clandestine cargo away from the country in question before transferring it to a waiting ship, all of this happening out of sight. The vessels will then sail in different directions. For about a third of Iranian exports, more than one tanker typically handles a load before it’s delivered to its final destination, analysts say.
3. Fake Destinations
Signaling the wrong destination to load or unload is another technique. Ships that intend to take cargo from Iran may indicate their loading ports in sanction-free places like Iraq. Ships can keep changing their destinations and end up not berthing at any of them.
4. Rebranded Barrels
Iranian barrels can also be rebranded as oil from a nation free from sanctions such as Iraq. The countries share fields along their border and the crude has similar characteristics. Oil from these deposits can be trucked out to another port and documents forged to hide Iran as the origin.
* Bloomberg
