Lionel Messi tore a ligament in his left knee near the start of Barcelona’s costly 2-1 win over Las Palmas yesterday that provisionally lifted the defending champions to the top of the Spanish league.
The club’s all-time leading scorer asked to be substituted in the eighth minute after he had tried to return to the match following a collision with a Las Palmas defender.
Scans at a local hospital found he had torn a ligament, and the club said Messi will be sidelined for seven to eight weeks.
“This is a test and an extra motivation for this team,” Barcelona coach Luis Enrique said. “We have to accept the challenge and improve our performances because we are capable of it.”
Luis Suarez responded immediately to his coach’s call by scoring twice to help the hosts bounce back from their 4-1 loss at Celta Vigo on Wednesday.
The Uruguay striker headed in Barcelona’s first in the 25th minute before he fired in a second goal in the 54th. Neymar missed a penalty in the 66th, and Las Palmas forward Jonathan Viera scored in the 88th.
The blow to Barcelona was softened a bit when Real Madrid surrendered the league lead to their rivals after they failed to get a ball past Malaga goalkeeper Carlos Kameni in a 0-0 draw despite playing with an extra man for the final 13 minutes.
The Camp Nou crowd of almost 75,000 went from sharing a collective sigh to an eerie silence when Messi’s early scoring chance ended with him writhing on pitch.
Messi used an expert touch to control a long ball and streak down the right side of the area, where Diego Bigas collided with the star forward, sending Messi to the turf. Play was stopped for team doctors to check on Messi. He then went back to test his leg but eventually asked to be replaced by Munir El Haddadi.
“The worst news is the injury to our best man,” Barcelona’s Sergio Busquets said.
“He asked to be changed because something was wrong, he doesn’t like not to play. I hope we gets better soon.”
Suarez eased some of the jitters among Barcelona’s faithful when he jumped above two defenders to head in Sergi Roberto’s cross from the right corner.
Las Palmas mustered a pair of counter-attacks before half time, but Suarez got the winner when he converted a pass from El Haddadi.
Suarez set up Neymar for another goal when Las Palmas defender Antolin Alcaraz handled his lofted ball in the area, only for the Brazil striker to fire his spot kick over the bar.
Viera added drama to stoppage time when he scored after Javier Mascherano lost the ball and let the visitors pull one back.
In Madrid, Kameni made a series of impressive saves, but none was better than the one hand he managed to get in the patch of Cristiano Ronaldo’s blistering shot in the 48th.
Madrid keeper Keylor Navas was forced into action seconds later when he repelled Malaga’s most dangerous effort through Juan Carlos Perez’s free kick.
Isco was inches away from Madrid’s winner when he volleyed a rebound of another Kameni stop through the goalkeeper’s arms, only for Weligton to clear the ball off the line in the 76th.
Malaga’s Nordin Amrabat earned a direct red card a minute later when he elbowed Marcelo in the face.
Ronaldo was left shaking his head in disbelief when he headed over the bar from inside the six-yard box in injury time. He followed that by kicking the post after another miss.
Lewandowski amongst the goals for victorious Bayern Munich
Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski came to the rescue once again when he scored the first two goals in their 3-0 victory over Mainz on Saturday to stretch their lead at the top to five points with their seventh win in seven league games.
The champions were struggling against their disciplined opponents until the Poland captain rose high to head in for the lead in the 51st minute, thus becoming the fastest foreign player to reach the 100 Bundesliga goal mark by achieving the feat in his 168th match.
Lewandowski, who found the net five times against VfL Wolfsburg in the midweek game, scored again in the 63rd minute. He rounded keeper Loris Karius for his 10th goal in seven matches, a mark only achieved in the past by Gerd Mueller in the 1968/69 season and the 1977/78 season.
Winger Kingsley Coman added another five minutes later as Mainz buckled and Bayern stretched their stellar start to the season.
The Bavarians, who host Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League next week, are top of the table on a maximum 21 points with Borussia Dortmund, in action against Darmstadt 98 on Sunday, on 16 in second place.
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The specs
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 620hp from 5,750-7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm from 3,000-5,750rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh1.05 million ($286,000)
Details
Through Her Lens: The stories behind the photography of Eva Sereny
Forewords by Jacqueline Bisset and Charlotte Rampling, ACC Art Books
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
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What are the GCSE grade equivalents?
- Grade 9 = above an A*
- Grade 8 = between grades A* and A
- Grade 7 = grade A
- Grade 6 = just above a grade B
- Grade 5 = between grades B and C
- Grade 4 = grade C
- Grade 3 = between grades D and E
- Grade 2 = between grades E and F
- Grade 1 = between grades F and G
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Jigra
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
Company Profile
Company name: Yeepeey
Started: Soft launch in November, 2020
Founders: Sagar Chandiramani, Jatin Sharma and Monish Chandiramani
Based: Dubai
Industry: E-grocery
Initial investment: $150,000
Future plan: Raise $1.5m and enter Saudi Arabia next year
Squad: Majed Naser, Abdulaziz Sanqour, Walid Abbas, Khamis Esmail, Habib Fardan, Mohammed Marzouq (Shabab Al Ahli Dubai), Khalid Essa, Muhanad Salem, Mohammed Ahmed, Ismail Ahmed, Ahmed Barman, Amer Abdulrahman, Omar Abdulrahman (Al Ain), Ali Khaseif, Fares Juma, Mohammed Fawzi, Khalfan Mubarak, Mohammed Jamal, Ahmed Al Attas (Al Jazira), Ahmed Rashid, Mohammed Al Akbari (Al Wahda), Tariq Ahmed, Mahmoud Khamis, Khalifa Mubarak, Jassim Yaqoub (Al Nasr), Ali Salmeen (Al Wasl), Yousef Saeed (Sharjah), Suhail Al Nubi (Baniyas)
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Mary Beard
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
The specs
Engine: 5.0-litre supercharged V8
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Power: 575bhp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: Dh554,000
On sale: now
THE BIO
Ms Al Ameri likes the variety of her job, and the daily environmental challenges she is presented with.
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She is the youngest of three children, and has a brother and sister.
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The Buckingham Murders
Starring: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ash Tandon, Prabhleen Sandhu
Director: Hansal Mehta
Rating: 4 / 5
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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
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APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits
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Heavily-sugared soft drinks slip through the tax net
Some popular drinks with high levels of sugar and caffeine have slipped through the fizz drink tax loophole, as they are not carbonated or classed as an energy drink.
Arizona Iced Tea with lemon is one of those beverages, with one 240 millilitre serving offering up 23 grams of sugar - about six teaspoons.
A 680ml can of Arizona Iced Tea costs just Dh6.
Most sports drinks sold in supermarkets were found to contain, on average, five teaspoons of sugar in a 500ml bottle.
MEYDAN CARD
6.30pm Al Maktoum Challenge Round-1 Group One (PA) US$65,000 (Dirt) 1,600m
7.05pm Handicap (TB) $175,000 (Turf) 1,200m
7.40pm UAE 2000 Guineas Trial Conditions (TB) $100,000 (D) 1,600m
8.15pm Singspiel Stakes Group Two (TB) $250,000 (T) 1,800m
8.50pm Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 1,600m
9.25pm Al Maktoum Challenge Round-1 Group Two (TB) $350,000 (D) 1,600m
10pm Dubai Trophy Conditions (TB) $100,000 (T) 1,200m
10.35pm Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 1,600m
The National selections:
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7.05pm Ekhtiyaar
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8.15pm Benbatl
8.50pm Zakouski
9.25pm: Kimbear
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The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.