Manchester City's Erling Haaland celebrates his second goal in the 3-0 Champions League win over Young Boys. PA
Manchester City's Erling Haaland celebrates his second goal in the 3-0 Champions League win over Young Boys. PA
Manchester City's Erling Haaland celebrates his second goal in the 3-0 Champions League win over Young Boys. PA
Manchester City's Erling Haaland celebrates his second goal in the 3-0 Champions League win over Young Boys. PA

Premier League talking points: VAR fury, stopping hitman Haaland, Moyes pressure building


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Which manager will VAR upset this weekend?

After a season when outrage levels among managers over VAR decisions have hit new highs, this past week has once again seen the beleaguered officials at Stockley Park taking flak on multiple fronts.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has led the way calling the decision to award Anthony Gordon's winner for Newcastle against the Gunners “embarrassing” and “a disgrace”, before doubling down on his comments a few days later.

Over at Wolves, manager Gary O'Neil was left incandescent after Sheffield United were awarded a penalty by VAR deep into injury time – after Fabio Silva's challenge on George Baldock – that was dispatched by Oliver Norwood to earn the Blades their first victory of the season.

“The referee was so quick to want to give it, it's never a clear penalty,” said O'Neil. “He just needs to wait calmly and if he's made a big error then VAR will let him know.”

Even mild-mannered Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou chipped in after his team's epic loss to Chelsea. “It’s just diminishing the authority of the referee” the Australian said of VAR. “You can’t tell me referees are in control of games. They’re not.”

At some point we might enjoy a weekend without VAR dominating discussions, but don't bank on it happening any time soon.

How will Tottenham and Arsenal react to losing?

Those Spurs and Arsenal defeats meant the last remaining unbeaten records in the Premier League had been brought to an abrupt end after 11 matches. All eyes will now be on the North London rivals to see how they react to their setbacks.

Saturday sees Stockley Park cheerleaders O'Neil and Postecoglou go head-to-head when Wolves take on Tottenham at Molineux, which is followed by Arsenal's home game with Burnley.

Wolves have proven a tough nut to crack of late – last week's defeat at Bramall Lane was their first in four matches – while Spurs will be without the injured Micky van de Ven and suspended pair Cristian Romero and Destiny Udogie. Playmaker James Maddison could also be missing with an ankle problem.

On paper, the Gunners should have a far easier day's work on their hands. Burnley are second bottom after losing nine of 11 games, having scored the fewest goals (eight) and conceded the second most (27) in the top-flight.

Newcastle's Anthony Gordon celebrates after scoring the winner against Arsenal. Getty Images
Newcastle's Anthony Gordon celebrates after scoring the winner against Arsenal. Getty Images

Who can stop hitman Haaland?

The biggest surprise of Manchester City's 6-1 rout of Bournemouth last week – a win that took the reigning champions back to the top of the table – was that Erling Haaland scored none of them, although the fact he had to come off the pitch with a twisted ankle at half time probably played a major part.

But the Norwegian was back among the goals midweek, hitting a double against Young Boys in the Champions League that takes his tally in the competition to 39 in 34 games. So keen was Mohamed Ali Camara to secure himself a memento of the occasion that the Young Boys captain asked for the striker's shirt as they walked off the pitch at half time, much to the bemusement of Haaland.

A worrying sign for defenders across Europe was the fact one of his goals came from outside the penalty area. “Yeah normally he scores from the six yard box and the penalty spot,” said manager Pep Guardiola. “He has this talent and it’s not the first time he’s done it.”

Last season's Golden Boot winner is currently top scorer in the Premier League once again with 11 in 11 matches. Attempting to keep up with City's ruthless hitman is Liverpool's Mohamed Salah and Tottenham's Son Heung-min who both have eight goals.

Can Chelsea build on smashing Spurs?

Attempting to halt the Haaland express this week are Chelsea with Maurcio Pochettino's men taking on City at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

The Blues came out on top in one of the all-time great Premier League battles on Monday that saw five goals, a further five disallowed, two red cards and whole heap of VAR calls in the win over Spurs.

After a summer of frenzied transfer activity, Chelsea have yet to find any consistency on it having only managed to string two league wins together on one occasion.

The 4-1 win at table-topping Tottenham – Pochettino's former club – felt a significant one, though, especially for striker Nicolas Jackson, who grabbed a hat-trick, doubling his tally for the season.

“It is about building his confidence,” said Pochettino. “I hope this hat-trick can allow him to play more relaxed and find the confidence he needs.”

Is pressure building again on Moyes?

Last season was a historic one for West Ham United and David Moyes, with the Irons securing their first major trophy since winning the FA Cup in 1980 when they defeated Fiorentina in the Europa Conference League final.

But their Premier League form was scratchy to say the least with West Ham finishing 14th, six points above the drop zone, having flirted with relegation right up until mid April.

Losing captain Declan Rice to Arsenal over the summer was a blow, but Moyes was able to bring in the likes of Edson Alvarez, James Ward-Prowse and Mohammed Kudus with the money brought in.

With talent such as Lucas Paqueta and Jarrod Bowen already in the squad, it is somewhat surprising that the Hammers again find themselves down in 14th place having collected four points from the last 21 available and losing three on the spin.

And they clearly have defensive issues with only Sheffield United, Luton Town and Bournemouth conceding more than their 20 goals. “I thought we were soft,” said Moyes after last week's 3-2 loss at Brentford. “We've not dealt with things which as a player I would have been disgusted with myself for not being able to deal with them much better.”

Company Profile:

Name: The Protein Bakeshop

Date of start: 2013

Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani

Based: Dubai

Size, number of employees: 12

Funding/investors:  $400,000 (2018) 

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The specs
  • Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
  • Power: 640hp
  • Torque: 760nm
  • On sale: 2026
  • Price: Not announced yet
Diriyah%20project%20at%20a%20glance
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HWJN
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Yasir%20Alyasiri%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%20Baraa%20Alem%2C%20Nour%20Alkhadra%2C%20Alanoud%20Saud%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Jetour T1 specs

Engine: 2-litre turbocharged

Power: 254hp

Torque: 390Nm

Price: From Dh126,000

Available: Now

MATCH INFO

Uefa Champioons League semi-final:

First leg: Liverpool 5 Roma 2

Second leg: Wednesday, May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome

TV: BeIN Sports, 10.45pm (UAE)

MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid

When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid

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Tearful appearance

Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday. 

Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow. 

She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.

A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.

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The five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting 

2. Prayer 

3. Hajj 

4. Shahada 

5. Zakat 

Women%E2%80%99s%20T20%20World%20Cup%20Qualifier
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The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Power: 510hp at 9,000rpm
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
Price: From Dh801,800
While you're here
Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENamara%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EJune%202022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMohammed%20Alnamara%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMicrofinance%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E16%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeries%20A%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFamily%20offices%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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Brief scores:

Everton 0

Leicester City 1

Vardy 58'

MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League final:

Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports

MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League quarter-final (first-leg score):

Juventus (1) v Ajax (1), Tuesday, 11pm UAE

Match will be shown on BeIN Sports

Museum of the Future in numbers
  •  78 metres is the height of the museum
  •  30,000 square metres is its total area
  •  17,000 square metres is the length of the stainless steel facade
  •  14 kilometres is the length of LED lights used on the facade
  •  1,024 individual pieces make up the exterior 
  •  7 floors in all, with one for administrative offices
  •  2,400 diagonally intersecting steel members frame the torus shape
  •  100 species of trees and plants dot the gardens
  •  Dh145 is the price of a ticket
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
RESULT

Manchester City 5 Swansea City 0
Man City:
D Silva (12'), Sterling (16'), De Bruyne (54' ), B Silva (64' minutes), Jesus (88')

The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.

Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

Read part two: how climate change drove the race for an alternative 

Read part one: how cars came to the UAE

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs

Engine: 5.0-litre supercharged V8

Transmission: Eight-speed auto

Power: 575bhp

Torque: 700Nm

Price: Dh554,000

On sale: now

ASIAN%20RUGBY%20CHAMPIONSHIP%202024
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EResults%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EHong%20Kong%2052-5%20UAE%3Cbr%3ESouth%20Korea%2055-5%20Malaysia%3Cbr%3EMalaysia%206-70%20Hong%20Kong%3Cbr%3EUAE%2036-32%20South%20Korea%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFixtures%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EFriday%2C%20June%2021%2C%207.30pm%20kick-off%3A%20UAE%20v%20Malaysia%3Cbr%3EAt%20The%20Sevens%2C%20Dubai%20(admission%20is%20free).%3Cbr%3ESaturday%3A%20Hong%20Kong%20v%20South%20Korea%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
'Falling%20for%20Christmas'
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Janeen%20Damian%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3EStars%3A%20Lindsay%20Lohan%2C%20Chord%20Overstreet%2C%20Jack%20Wagner%2C%20Aliana%20Lohan%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3ERating%3A%201%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
CHELSEA SQUAD

Arrizabalaga, Bettinelli, Rudiger, Christensen, Silva, Chalobah, Sarr, Azpilicueta, James, Kenedy, Alonso, Jorginho, Kante, Kovacic, Saul, Barkley, Ziyech, Pulisic, Mount, Hudson-Odoi, Werner, Havertz, Lukaku. 

Empty Words

By Mario Levrero  

(Coffee House Press)
 

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Updated: November 10, 2023, 2:51 AM`