Cristiano Ronaldo came off the bench to score a dramatic late winner as Portugal came from behind to beat Scotland 2-1 and extend their strong start to the Uefa Nations League.
Scotland were given hope of a first win against Portugal since 1980 after taking a shock lead through Scott McTominay's bullet header in the seventh minute. However, Bruno Fernandes fired in Portugal's equaliser early in the second half before Ronaldo pounced in the 88th minute for his 901st career goal.
"The influence is always the same, regardless of whether he starts on the bench or not," Fernandes, who played his 600th career game, said of his former Manchester United teammate.
"Everyone who came on made the difference. Cristiano has a goal, today he scored 901 and now he's on his way to a thousand, which is what he wants."
Portugal lead League A Group 1 with six points after starting with a victory over Croatia, who are second on three following a 1-0 win against Poland on Sunday. Scotland have suffered two defeats, both of them to late goals.
The Scots arrived in Lisbon still stinging from a 3-2 home defeat to Poland but the travelling fans were soon in full voice in the Estadio da Luz as Napoli midfielder McTominay arrived at the back post to power home a superb cross by Kenny McLean.
Portugal responded by laying siege to Scotland's goal but keeper Angus Gunn made a string of saves, one a world-class effort to keep out Rafael Leao's low drive. The hosts had 15 goal attempts before the break but were left frustrated as Scotland dug deep to protect their lead.
Gunn was beaten in the 54th minute, though, as the ball was pulled back to Fernandes whose shot was well-struck but probably should have been kept out by the Scotland goalkeeper.
Portugal seemed to have run out of steam but found another gear late on with Joao Felix twice being denied by superb Gunn saves and Ronaldo heading against the inside of the post.
Inevitably, however, Al Nassr star Ronaldo stole the limelight with a simple tap-in from a wicked delivery by Nuno Mendes.
Scotland looked crestfallen as they soaked up another late disappointment in a winless run of eight competitive matches. What is more, they have conceded in the 85th minute or later in five of their last six games in all competitions.
"Obviously disappointed – it looked for a long period that we'd get something from the game," Scotland manager Steve Clarke said. "The effort and the quality the players put in, they deserved to get something."
Ruiz shines for 10-man Spain
Fabian Ruiz scored twice for Spain in their 4-1 win away to Switzerland, with the recently crowned European champions emerging victorious despite playing the majority of the match with only 10 men.
Centre-back Robin Le Normand was shown a straight red card in the 20th minute for bringing down Breel Embolo as the last man, by which time Spain were leading 2-0 thanks to Joselu's header from Lamine Yamal's cross in the fourth minute and Ruiz's goal in the 13th after Nico Williams’ shot was saved.
Zeki Amdouni pulled a goal back for the Swiss before halftime but substitute Ferran Torres set up Ruiz for his second goal, then scored himself to clinch Spain's first win of their Nations League title defence after opening with a 0-0 draw at Serbia on Thursday.
"If there's one thing I like to boast about, it's the pride I've always felt for this team," Spain coach Luis de la Fuente said. "When these circumstances happen, one feels more proud.
"With 10 men we have been able to interpret the game in a masterful way. I am very proud of this team and every day we see that we continue to grow and that we can improve."
Enduring Modric inspires Croatia
Luka Modric turns 39 on Monday but, like Ronaldo, remains as integral as ever for his country. The Real Madrid midfielder again demonstrated his enduring quality by clipping home an exquisite free kick from the edge of the box in Croatia's 1-0 win over Poland.
It was Modric's 27th goal in 180 appearances for his country, which left him tied with former Spain defender Sergio Ramos as the second highest-capped European player in men's international football – only behind Ronaldo with 214.
Robert Lewandowski, another veteran at age 36, hit the post for Poland, who beat Scotland 3-2 in the first round of Nations League group games on Thursday.
Eriksson tribute in Sweden victory
Swedish football fans paid tribute to one of the country's most famous managers – and then celebrated the further blossoming of the team's new strikeforce.
There was a minute's silence before Sweden's home match with Estonia in honour of Sven-Goran Eriksson, who died on August 26 after battling cancer. An image of Eriksson was shown on the big screens in the Strawberry Arena just outside Stockholm.
Sweden won 3-0 thanks to a Viktor Gyokeres double and an Alexander Isak goal. They also each scored in a 3-1 win in Azerbaijan on Thursday, with the Swedes showing improved form after missing out on qualification for both the World Cup in 2022 and this year's Euros.
There was another Scandinavian win as Denmark beat Serbia 2-0 following goals from Albert Gronbaek and Yussuf Poulsen.
UK’s AI plan
- AI ambassadors such as MIT economist Simon Johnson, Monzo cofounder Tom Blomfield and Google DeepMind’s Raia Hadsell
- £10bn AI growth zone in South Wales to create 5,000 jobs
- £100m of government support for startups building AI hardware products
- £250m to train new AI models
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
Skoda Superb Specs
Engine: 2-litre TSI petrol
Power: 190hp
Torque: 320Nm
Price: From Dh147,000
Available: Now
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
Syria squad
Goalkeepers: Ibrahim Alma, Mahmoud Al Youssef, Ahmad Madania.
Defenders: Ahmad Al Salih, Moayad Ajan, Jehad Al Baour, Omar Midani, Amro Jenyat, Hussein Jwayed, Nadim Sabagh, Abdul Malek Anezan.
Midfielders: Mahmoud Al Mawas, Mohammed Osman, Osama Omari, Tamer Haj Mohamad, Ahmad Ashkar, Youssef Kalfa, Zaher Midani, Khaled Al Mobayed, Fahd Youssef.
Forwards: Omar Khribin, Omar Al Somah, Mardik Mardikian.
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.”
Getting%20there%20and%20where%20to%20stay
%3Cp%3EFly%20with%20Etihad%20Airways%20from%20Abu%20Dhabi%20to%20New%20York%E2%80%99s%20JFK.%20There's%2011%20flights%20a%20week%20and%20economy%20fares%20start%20at%20around%20Dh5%2C000.%3Cbr%3EStay%20at%20The%20Mark%20Hotel%20on%20the%20city%E2%80%99s%20Upper%20East%20Side.%20Overnight%20stays%20start%20from%20%241395%20per%20night.%3Cbr%3EVisit%20NYC%20Go%2C%20the%20official%20destination%20resource%20for%20New%20York%20City%20for%20all%20the%20latest%20events%2C%20activites%20and%20openings.%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-finals, second leg:
Liverpool (0) v Barcelona (3), Tuesday, 11pm UAE
Game is on BeIN Sports
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EClara%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2019%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPatrick%20Rogers%2C%20Lee%20McMahon%2C%20Arthur%20Guest%2C%20Ahmed%20Arif%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ELegalTech%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%20size%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%244%20million%20of%20seed%20financing%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EWamda%20Capital%2C%20Shorooq%20Partners%2C%20Techstars%2C%20500%20Global%2C%20OTF%2C%20Venture%20Souq%2C%20Knuru%20Capital%2C%20Plug%20and%20Play%20and%20The%20LegalTech%20Fund%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
