Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said he warned his players to let Liverpool's surprise loss to Everton serve as a reminder that any team can slip up in the title race, before watching them thrash Brighton away 4-0.
City moved a point behind Premier League leaders Arsenal and leapfrogged Liverpool into second spot thanks to Phil Foden’s double and goals from Kevin de Bruyne and Julian Alvarez.
Victory on England's south coast came 24 hours after Liverpool suffered a 2-0 defeat to their Merseyside rivals at Goodison Park.
It was a second defeat on the bounce for Jurgen Klopp's side, having fallen to a shock 1-0 home defeat to Crystal Palace earlier this month.
Guardiola, whose reigning champions have a game in hand over their two closest rivals, insists the Reds remain contenders and acknowledges City are also susceptible to slipping up during the run-in.
“I said to the players what happened to Liverpool can happen to us and can happen to Arsenal,” said the Spaniard.
“People didn’t expect them to lose against Crystal Palace and yesterday but it can happen to us – it’s football.
“Everton is playing to avoid the relegation zone and we have a similar game at Nottingham Forest [on Sunday] and they play for their lives.
“Maybe because they were a real contender of ours for many years, my appreciation for Liverpool is higher than ever.
“Still it [the title] is there [for Liverpool] because I know the character of their team. They are going to fight until the end and we have to do it too.”
City eased their way into Thursday evening’s clash at the Amex Stadium before De Bruyne’s superb diving header and Foden’s quick-fire brace put them in complete control at the break.
Alvarez completed the rout as the visitors resumed their title defence with a statement of intent after scraping past Chelsea to reach the FA Cup final and crashing out of the Champions League at the hands of Real Madrid.
City are chasing an English record fourth successive top-flight title – and six in seven seasons under Guardiola – but says past success is no guarantee City will win it again this time around.
Guardiola is chasing a fourth successive top-flight title – and sixth in seven seasons – but is unsure if the previous achievements will give his team the edge in the final weeks of the campaign.
“What we have done in the past doesn’t mean it’s going to happen in the future," he said. "To do it again, you have to make it happen. We know what we’re playing for.
“We know that if we don’t win or we draw, we will not have chance to fight until the end, so of course the pressure is there, otherwise we cannot perform that well.
“Five games left and on to the next."
Brighton’s persistence in playing out from the back contributed to their own downfall on a difficult evening.
The Seagulls had reason to feel aggrieved about the award of the free-kick from which Foden claimed the visitors’ second, while referee Jarred Gillett later waved away a strong penalty appeal when Joao Pedro appeared to be bundled over by Josko Gvardiol.
Yet 11th-placed Albion could have few complaints about a one-sided result which further damages their floundering European push.
Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi refused to blame the officiating after his injury-hit side’s winless run stretched to five games.
“We played against one of the best teams in the world,” said the Italian.
“We tried to play without DNA, respecting our qualities. We conceded the first, the second, the third, the fourth all in a bad way, we made mistakes.
“I’m frustrated because we can’t compete against the big teams in this moment and we have to be honest.
“We didn’t lose for the referee’s responsibilities.”
Founders: Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Albabtain.
Based: Riyadh
Offices: UAE, Vietnam and Germany
Founded: September, 2020
Number of employees: 70
Sector: FinTech, online payment solutions
Funding to date: $116m in two funding rounds
Investors: Checkout.com, Impact46, Vision Ventures, Wealth Well, Seedra, Khwarizmi, Hala Ventures, Nama Ventures and family offices
Score
Third Test, Day 2
New Zealand 274
Pakistan 139-3 (61 ov)
Pakistan trail by 135 runs with 7 wickets remaining in the innings
The biog
Prefers vegetables and fish to meat and would choose salad over pizza
Walks daily as part of regular exercise routine
France is her favourite country to visit
Has written books and manuals on women’s education, first aid and health for the family
Family: Husband, three sons and a daughter
Fathiya Nadhari's instructions to her children was to give back to the country
The children worked as young volunteers in social, education and health campaigns
Her motto is to never stop working for the country
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
Virtuzone GCC Sixes
Date and venue Friday and Saturday, ICC Academy, Dubai Sports City
Time Matches start at 9am
Groups
A Blighty Ducks, Darjeeling Colts, Darjeeling Social, Dubai Wombats; B Darjeeling Veterans, Kuwait Casuals, Loose Cannons, Savannah Lions; C Awali Taverners, Darjeeling, Dromedary, Darjeeling Good Eggs
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
Naga
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WWE Super ShowDown results
Seth Rollins beat Baron Corbin to retain his WWE Universal title
Finn Balor defeated Andrade to stay WWE Intercontinental Championship
Shane McMahon defeated Roman Reigns
Lars Sullivan won by disqualification against Lucha House Party
Randy Orton beats Triple H
Braun Strowman beats Bobby Lashley
Kofi Kingston wins against Dolph Zigggler to retain the WWE World Heavyweight Championship
Mansoor Al Shehail won the 50-man Battle Royal
The Undertaker beat Goldberg
England Test squad
Ben Stokes (captain), Joe Root, James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Foakes, Jack Leach, Alex Lees, Craig Overton, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Scores
Rajasthan Royals 160-8 (20 ov)
Kolkata Knight Riders 163-3 (18.5 ov)
Notable Yas events in 2017/18
October 13-14 KartZone (complimentary trials)
December 14-16 The Gulf 12 Hours Endurance race
March 5 Yas Marina Circuit Karting Enduro event
March 8-9 UAE Rotax Max Challenge
About%20My%20Father
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ELaura%20Terruso%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ERobert%20De%20Niro%2C%20Sebastian%20Maniscalco%2C%20Kim%20Cattrall%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202%2F5%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A