Chelsea's Champions League hopes were rejuvenated and 10-man Leeds were left deeper in the relegation mire after a comfortable 3-0 win for Thomas Tuchel's side at Elland Road.
Mason Mount’s early strike and second-half goals from Christian Pulisic and Romelu Lukaku halted Chelsea’s three-game winless run and lifted them four points clear of London rivals Arsenal in third place.
It was a timely win for Tuchel’s stars, who had dropped 10 points in their previous five matches, before Saturday’s FA Cup final against Liverpool.
"We needed a performance like that. We deserved to win. That's the best message. We were excellent right from the start and kept our focus and high intensity," Tuchel told Sky Sports.
"We knew what was waiting. We had a lot of reason to trust ourselves. The players delivered. Full credit to them.
"We arrive [at the FA Cup final] with a clear mindset because we did what we needed to do this week. Good news."
For Leeds, it was another night to forget. They slumped to a third straight defeat to remain in the bottom three and had a man sent off for the second time in successive matches.
Jesse Marsch’s side played for 66 minutes with 10 men after Dan James’ straight red card for his ill-judged lunge on Mateo Kovacic.
James’ dismissal followed a similar rush of blood by teammate Luke Ayling in Sunday’s defeat at Arsenal and Leeds subsequently never threatened to add to their points tally.
Mount followed up his pass out to the right flank in the fourth minute and when Reece James played the ball back inside, the England midfielder slammed home the opening goal.
Leeds, who handed teenage midfielder Lewis Bate his first league start and kicked off with Raphinha at right wing-back, appeared at odds with another new formation as Chelsea moved the ball around comfortably.
Chelsea were a whisker away from adding a second when Mount’s cross eluded Lukaku, but Leeds lifted their fans with several forays forward before Diego Llorente fired wide.
Any optimism was short-lived however, as they were reduced to 10 men in the 24th minute when James was shown a straight red card for his challenge on Kovacic.
Leeds fans were furious, but referee Anthony Taylor had no option. James’ tackle was high and reckless and just as they had done at Arsenal, Marsch’s relegation battlers had shot themselves in the foot.
Lukaku thought he had lobbed Chelsea 2-0 up but his effort was ruled out for offside and the Belgium striker then headed James’ cross inches wide.
Such was Chelsea’s dominance, a second goal for the visitors appeared inevitable, while Leeds’ season-long injury woes continued when Jack Harrison limped off and was replaced by Junior Firpo.
Play was briefly halted in the 37th minute after touchline stewards waved for medical assistance for somebody in the away end before Leeds set an unwanted Premier League record before the interval.
Kalvin Phillips hauled down Pulisic and became the 100th yellow card for a Leeds player this season.
Lukaku headed another chance over before Chelsea added their second in the 55th minute.
Pulisic fired a low finish inside Leeds goalkeeper Illan Meslier’s right-hand post following Mount’s deft flick to all but end the contest.
Lukaku was agonisingly close to making it 3-0 in the 66th minute, but the third goal duly came when Leeds were punished after giving away possession again in their own half.
The Chelsea striker pounced on substitute Hakim Ziyech’s pass into the area and after evading several challenges, slammed home his eighth league goal of the season.
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
Score
Third Test, Day 1
New Zealand 229-7 (90 ov)
Pakistan
New Zealand won the toss and elected to bat
The squad traveling to Brazil:
Faisal Al Ketbi, Ibrahim Al Hosani, Khalfan Humaid Balhol, Khalifa Saeed Al Suwaidi, Mubarak Basharhil, Obaid Salem Al Nuaimi, Saeed Juma Al Mazrouei, Saoud Abdulla Al Hammadi, Taleb Al Kirbi, Yahia Mansour Al Hammadi, Zayed Al Kaabi, Zayed Saif Al Mansoori, Saaid Haj Hamdou, Hamad Saeed Al Nuaimi. Coaches Roberto Lima and Alex Paz.
Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
Anna and the Apocalypse
Director: John McPhail
Starring: Ella Hunt, Malcolm Cumming, Mark Benton
Three stars
How to become a Boglehead
Bogleheads follow simple investing philosophies to build their wealth and live better lives. Just follow these steps.
• Spend less than you earn and save the rest. You can do this by earning more, or being frugal. Better still, do both.
• Invest early, invest often. It takes time to grow your wealth on the stock market. The sooner you begin, the better.
• Choose the right level of risk. Don't gamble by investing in get-rich-quick schemes or high-risk plays. Don't play it too safe, either, by leaving long-term savings in cash.
• Diversify. Do not keep all your eggs in one basket. Spread your money between different companies, sectors, markets and asset classes such as bonds and property.
• Keep charges low. The biggest drag on investment performance is all the charges you pay to advisers and active fund managers.
• Keep it simple. Complexity is your enemy. You can build a balanced, diversified portfolio with just a handful of ETFs.
• Forget timing the market. Nobody knows where share prices will go next, so don't try to second-guess them.
• Stick with it. Do not sell up in a market crash. Use the opportunity to invest more at the lower price.
If you go...
Flying
There is no simple way to get to Punta Arenas from the UAE, with flights from Dubai and Abu Dhabi requiring at least two connections to reach this part of Patagonia. Flights start from about Dh6,250.
Touring
Chile Nativo offers the amended Los Dientes trek with expert guides and porters who are met in Puerto Williams on Isla Navarino. The trip starts and ends in Punta Arenas and lasts for six days in total. Prices start from Dh8,795.
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?
The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.
Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.
New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.
“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.
The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.
The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.
Bloomberg
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How to help
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