Matthijs de Ligt and Marcus Rashford both scored after Andre Onana’s vital spot-kick save to lift Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United to a much-needed 3-0 victory at promoted Southampton on Saturday.
Both sides returned from the international break in need of a result as Saints looked for a first point since their Premier League return against a team humbled at home by rivals Liverpool last time out.
Southampton started well but capitulated after Onana saved Cameron Archer’s weak penalty, with De Ligt’s maiden United strike and Rashford’s first of the campaign doing the damage.
Alejandro Garnacho was chopped down by Jack Stephens, who saw red, before adding a third late on in a result that alleviates some of the pressure on Ten Hag, who could ill afford another setback.
Dutchman De Ligt said: "The win was obviously really important. I think if you get three points from three games it's not enough so there was some pressure but I think today we played very well. A big credit to Andre Onana who saved a really important penalty, he changed the game for us.
"We've been working on some set pieces, this one was not exactly out of the book but this was from a good spot. It's my wife's birthday so this one is for her!"
Asked if he had a point to prove after being subbed at half-time for the Netherlands last week, he added: "Not exactly a point to prove, sometimes it doesn't go as well as you want but you have to look at the positive side. I was happy I played one and a half, it's a long time since I played games. This is my third game in a week. For me it's important to get rhythm and I can show a little more what I can do.
"I am enjoying it a lot [at United]. We have a great group, amazing guys. A lot of young guys who have to grow and want to grow. Hopefully we can get more results like this and grow as a team."
'Sometimes you have to find a way to win'
United began badly but the game changed when De Ligt headed home two minutes after Onana stopped Archer’s spot-kick, with the striker then guilty of giving Rashford too much time to strike soon after.
Saints boss Russell Martin made four changes, with homegrown Tyler Dibling among those brought in. The talented 18-year-old tested Onana before winning a penalty after a rash challenge from Diogo Dalot.
After a long delay - the ball was on the spot for 51 seconds - in which the VAR checked the foul was in the box, Archer stepped up and saw Onana save his poor 33rd minute penalty and weak follow-up header.
It was a huge let-off and United capitalised just two minutes later. Aaron Ramsdale had done well to tip a 20-yard Joshua Zirkzee attempt wide but could not stop De Ligt guiding home a header when the resulting corner was played back to Bruno Fernandes to send in a cross.
Saints looked stunned and fell further behind in the 41st minute as Rashford was afforded too much time by Archer and sent a curling 20-yard strike beyond Ramsdale.
Any faint hope of a comeback was ended in the 79th minute as the referee gave a straight red card for Stephens’ poor challenge on substitute Garnacho.
Fernandes shot wide and substitute Taylor Harwood-Bellis impressively blocked a Zirkzee attempt, with Garnacho firing home the third in stoppage time.
"Sometimes you have to find a way to win," said Ten Hag. "First minutes of the game we had some problems but after Andre [Onana] stopped the penalty and the goal by Matthijs de Ligt, the game was all ours."
On Rashford's goal, he added: "It's very important. We spoke before the game and it is so huge for him, for every striker, when the season starts you want to be on the scoring list. Now he has his first, I'm sure more will come. We had the chances to kill the game off, we had the chances, I don't know how many. We had several to go to 3-0 or 4-0."
Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
LIVERPOOL SQUAD
Alisson Becker, Virgil van Dijk, Georginio Wijnaldum, James Milner, Naby Keita, Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah, Joe Gomez, Adrian, Jordan Henderson, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Adam Lallana, Andy Lonergan, Xherdan Shaqiri, Andy Robertson, Divock Origi, Curtis Jones, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Neco Williams
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
The specs: Lamborghini Aventador SVJ
Price, base: Dh1,731,672
Engine: 6.5-litre V12
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 770hp @ 8,500rpm
Torque: 720Nm @ 6,750rpm
Fuel economy: 19.6L / 100km
'Nightmare Alley'
Director:Guillermo del Toro
Stars:Bradley Cooper, Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara
Rating: 3/5
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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
NATIONAL%20SELECTIONS
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Tips%20for%20travelling%20while%20needing%20dialysis
%3Cul%3E%0A%3Cli%3EInform%20your%20doctor%20about%20your%20plans.%C2%A0%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EAsk%20about%20your%20treatment%20so%20you%20know%20how%20it%20works.%C2%A0%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EPay%20attention%20to%20your%20health%20if%20you%20travel%20to%20a%20hot%20destination.%C2%A0%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EPlan%20your%20trip%20well.%C2%A0%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3C%2Ful%3E%0A
Gender pay parity on track in the UAE
The UAE has a good record on gender pay parity, according to Mercer's Total Remuneration Study.
"In some of the lower levels of jobs women tend to be paid more than men, primarily because men are employed in blue collar jobs and women tend to be employed in white collar jobs which pay better," said Ted Raffoul, career products leader, Mena at Mercer. "I am yet to see a company in the UAE – particularly when you are looking at a blue chip multinationals or some of the bigger local companies – that actively discriminates when it comes to gender on pay."
Mr Raffoul said most gender issues are actually due to the cultural class, as the population is dominated by Asian and Arab cultures where men are generally expected to work and earn whereas women are meant to start a family.
"For that reason, we see a different gender gap. There are less women in senior roles because women tend to focus less on this but that’s not due to any companies having a policy penalising women for any reasons – it’s a cultural thing," he said.
As a result, Mr Raffoul said many companies in the UAE are coming up with benefit package programmes to help working mothers and the career development of women in general.
Like a Fading Shadow
Antonio Muñoz Molina
Translated from the Spanish by Camilo A. Ramirez
Tuskar Rock Press (pp. 310)
Company%20profile
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STAGE%201%20RESULTS
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EA Sports FC 26
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3/5
STAY%2C%20DAUGHTER
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EAuthor%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EYasmin%20Azad%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESwift%20Press%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EAvailable%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENow%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Fourth-round clashes for British players
- Andy Murray (1) v Benoit Paire, Centre Court (not before 4pm)
- Johanna Konta (6) v Caroline Garcia (21), Court 1 (4pm)
The biog
Name: Younis Al Balooshi
Nationality: Emirati
Education: Doctorate degree in forensic medicine at the University of Bonn
Hobbies: Drawing and reading books about graphic design
Game Changer
Director: Shankar
Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram
Rating: 2/5