Manchester United are warming to the task in the Europa League as they booked a spot in the last 32 with a 2-0 win over Zorya Luhansk on a freezing night in Ukraine on Thursday.
Goals from Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who made a mockery of his two-month exile from the starting lineup with a superb individual effort, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic secured an easy win that banished memories of their earlier group stage struggles.
The victory confirmed United in second place in Group A behind Turkish side Fenerbahce who ended Feyenoord’s qualification hopes with a 1-0 away win over the Dutch side.
Premier League Southampton, however, were dumped out after a 1-1 draw at home to Hapoel Beer Sheva that was enough to send the Israeli side into the next round as Group K runners-up.
United, who could now view the competition as their best route into the Champions League with their Premier League form continuing to disappoint, needed only a draw to progress but never looked in danger of suffering an upset.
Mkhitaryan, who joined United from Borussia Dortmund in the close season, may finally have won over manager Jose Mourinho after he danced through the heart of the defence to slot home his first goal for the club early in the second half.
The Armenian, a constant thorn in Zorya’s side, looks to have regained the confidence that helped him score 23 goals for Dortmund in all competitions last season.
“I was waiting a long time for this goal,” Mkhitaryan told BT Sport. “My next goal has to be at Old Trafford because I want to score at home.”
Ibrahimovic netted in the 88th minute after latching on to a Paul Pogba through ball, his seventh goal in his last six games in all competitions.
Eleven places in the Europa League’s knockout stages were still up for grabs and Serie A side Fiorentina added their name to the list from Group J with a 2-1 win in Qarabag on an eventful night for 19-year-old midfielder Federico Chiesa.
The son of former Italy striker Enrico grabbed the winning goal, his first senior strike, in the 76th minute but was then dismissed following a second booking eight minutes later.
Hapoel needed a score draw or better against Southampton to go through from a topsy-turvy group that had already seen former European champions Inter Milan eliminated.
Having barely threatened all night, Hapoel took the lead through Maor Buzaglo’s angled drive and although Virgil van Dijk claimed a stoppage-time equaliser, there was to be no late escape act from the Premier League team.
Fenerbahce required a point in Rotterdam to reach the last 32 and took all three to finish top of the standings.
Feyenoord needed to win by two goals but were undone in the 22nd minute when Moussa Sow found the net with a bicycle kick to continue his habit of producing acrobatic strikes following his overhead effort against United earlier in the group stage.
Villarreal progressed, ending the hopes of Steaua Bucharest, with a 2-1 triumph over the former European champions in Group L.
Goals from Nicola Sansone and an 88th-minute winner from Manuel Trigueros, following Vlad Achim’s leveller for Steaua, propelled the Spaniards to second place while the Romanians finished bottom.
Dundalk’s hopes of becoming the first Irish side to grace the knockout stages of a European competition were dashed by a 2-1 defeat at Maccabi Tel Aviv in Group D where AZ Alkmaar beat Zenit St Petersburg 3-2 to join the Russians in the last 32.
The draw for the next round, when eight teams will drop into the competition from the Uefa Champions League, takes place on Monday.
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If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
Founders: Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Albabtain.
Based: Riyadh
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Founded: September, 2020
Number of employees: 70
Sector: FinTech, online payment solutions
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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.”
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Director: Kangana Ranaut
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Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
