Sir Alex Ferugson, the Manchester United manager, admits he should not have let Nani take the penalty he missed against Galatasary in their narrow victory at Old Trafford.
The Portuguese winger became the third United player to fail from the spot, and Ferguson said afterwards penalty duties should have fallen to Robin van Persie.
"I thought Robin should have taken it, to be honest with you," he said.
"I think we will have to decide before the game. That was my fault, I should have done that."
United could not build on their lead and Galatasaray, appearing in the Champions League for the first time in six years, were unlucky not to leave with a point after hitting the woodwork three times.
Nani made United work harder for their win when Muslera saved the Portuguese winger's feeble 53rd-minute penalty following a foul on Brazilian defender Rafael.
The result was Sir Alex Ferguson's 100th Champions League win, but the biggest cheer of the evening was for the return to action of Darren Fletcher for the first time in almost a year.
"The supporters recognise what a tough time he has had for the last year," Ferguson said. "They gave him a marvellous reception.
"He has been out of the game for a year it took him one or two minutes to get going but he can only be better after tonight."
In the group's other match Rafael Bastos scored twice against his former club Braga to put Romanian club Cluj at the top of the table.
Bastian Schweinsteiger and Bayern Munich cast aside the bitter memories of their Champions League final defeat in May to begin the campaign with a 2-1 Group F victory over Valencia.
Schweinsteiger, whose spot-kick miss in the final shootout allowed Chelsea to score and be crowned European champions, fired Bayern into the lead with a deflected shot in the 38th minute, much to the delight of the 68,000 sold-out crowd in Munich.
Midfielder Toni Kroos added a second when he scored with a 20-metre drive in the 76th minute.
Defensive-minded Valencia, in their first encounter with Bayern since losing to the Germans in the 2001 Champions League final, cut the deficit with a header from Nelson Valdez in stoppage time.
Bayern should then have made it 3-1 but substitute Mario Mandzukic saw his penalty saved by keeper Diego Alves after Adil Rami was sent off.
A remarkable three-goal salvo in the first half gave BATE Borisov their first-ever Champions League win, 3-1 at Lille, to leave the French club facing a huge task to rescue their campaign.
Aleksandr Volodko, Vitali Rodionov and Edgar Olekhnovich all found the net for the Belarusian side.
Juventus stunned holders Chelsea with a superb fightback to earn a 2-2 draw in their opening Group E match at Stamford Bridge.
Oscar had given the hosts a dream start with a stunning first-half double on his debut in the competition, but Antonio Conte's side exploited poor defending by the European Cup holders.
"We did during the game give the ball away a little bit too cheaply at times but I think we also played some good stuff tonight," Roberto Di Matteo, the Chelsea manager, said afterwards.
"It was a great debut for Oscar. I thought it was the right game to start him and he did a perfect job tactically.
"He scored two goals and the second one was a wonderful goal. He is a big talent. He has got a bit of everything.
"We shouldn't forget that he is still a young man - he is only 21 - but he is already quite established in his national team already."
A double from Armenian midfielder Henrik Mkhitaryan gave Ukrainian giants Shakhtar Donetsk a 2-0 win over Danish Champions League debutants Nordsjaelland in Group E.
Scottish champions Celtic claimed a goalless draw against Group G rivals Benfica in Glasgow on their spirited return to the competition.
Despite starting brightly Celtic failed to trouble Benfica goalkeeper Artur during the opening half, while alert work in the home goal by Fraser Foster kept the scores level.
"I hope that we gained a little bit more respect tonight from the footballing world," Neil Lennon, the Celtic manager, said afterwards.
"I think Benfica went into the game heavy favourites but I don't think you could call the game tonight.
"I think a draw was probably a fair result.
"It shows that we have a bit of depth to the squad and can compete at this level.
"We didn't work their keeper as much as we would have liked but saying that I was very pleased with the team performance.
"There were 10 guys out there making their Champions League debut against a very experienced Champions League side so I am very proud of them."
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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
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company profile
Name: Back to Games and Boardgame Space
Started: Back to Games (2015); Boardgame Space (Mark Azzam became co-founder in 2017)
Founder: Back to Games (Mr Azzam); Boardgame Space (Mr Azzam and Feras Al Bastaki)
Based: Dubai and Abu Dhabi
Industry: Back to Games (retail); Boardgame Space (wholesale and distribution)
Funding: Back to Games: self-funded by Mr Azzam with Dh1.3 million; Mr Azzam invested Dh250,000 in Boardgame Space
Growth: Back to Games: from 300 products in 2015 to 7,000 in 2019; Boardgame Space: from 34 games in 2017 to 3,500 in 2019
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Constant Variable (CVT)
Power: 141bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: Dh64,500
On sale: Now
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.”
TOURNAMENT INFO
Women’s World Twenty20 Qualifier
Jul 3- 14, in the Netherlands
The top two teams will qualify to play at the World T20 in the West Indies in November
UAE squad
Humaira Tasneem (captain), Chamani Seneviratne, Subha Srinivasan, Neha Sharma, Kavisha Kumari, Judit Cleetus, Chaya Mughal, Roopa Nagraj, Heena Hotchandani, Namita D’Souza, Ishani Senevirathne, Esha Oza, Nisha Ali, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi
Types of fraud
Phishing: Fraudsters send an unsolicited email that appears to be from a financial institution or online retailer. The hoax email requests that you provide sensitive information, often by clicking on to a link leading to a fake website.
Smishing: The SMS equivalent of phishing. Fraudsters falsify the telephone number through “text spoofing,” so that it appears to be a genuine text from the bank.
Vishing: The telephone equivalent of phishing and smishing. Fraudsters may pose as bank staff, police or government officials. They may persuade the consumer to transfer money or divulge personal information.
SIM swap: Fraudsters duplicate the SIM of your mobile number without your knowledge or authorisation, allowing them to conduct financial transactions with your bank.
Identity theft: Someone illegally obtains your confidential information, through various ways, such as theft of your wallet, bank and utility bill statements, computer intrusion and social networks.
Prize scams: Fraudsters claiming to be authorised representatives from well-known organisations (such as Etisalat, du, Dubai Shopping Festival, Expo2020, Lulu Hypermarket etc) contact victims to tell them they have won a cash prize and request them to share confidential banking details to transfer the prize money.
* Nada El Sawy
The specs
Price: From Dh529,000
Engine: 5-litre V8
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Power: 520hp
Torque: 625Nm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.8L/100km
