• Amad Diallo of Manchester United celebrates scoring his team's second goal with teammates in the 2-1 Premier League win against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on December 15, 2024. Getty Images
    Amad Diallo of Manchester United celebrates scoring his team's second goal with teammates in the 2-1 Premier League win against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on December 15, 2024. Getty Images
  • MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 15: Amad Diallo of Manchester United celebrates scoring his team's second goal during the Premier League match between Manchester City FC and Manchester United FC at Etihad Stadium on December 15, 2024 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Carl Recine / Getty Images)
    MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 15: Amad Diallo of Manchester United celebrates scoring his team's second goal during the Premier League match between Manchester City FC and Manchester United FC at Etihad Stadium on December 15, 2024 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Carl Recine / Getty Images)
  • Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola during the game. Getty Images
    Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola during the game. Getty Images
  • Amad Diallo of Manchester United scores his team's winner. Getty Images
    Amad Diallo of Manchester United scores his team's winner. Getty Images
  • Bruno Fernandes of Manchester United scores his team's first goal from the penalty spot. Getty Images
    Bruno Fernandes of Manchester United scores his team's first goal from the penalty spot. Getty Images
  • Josko Gvardiol of Manchester City celebrates scoring his team's first goal with teammate Ruben Dias. Getty Images
    Josko Gvardiol of Manchester City celebrates scoring his team's first goal with teammate Ruben Dias. Getty Images
  • Josko Gvardiol of Manchester City scores his team's opening goal. Getty Images
    Josko Gvardiol of Manchester City scores his team's opening goal. Getty Images
  • Tempers flare after a coming together between Manchester City's Kyle Walker and Manchester United's Rasmus Hojlund. PA
    Tempers flare after a coming together between Manchester City's Kyle Walker and Manchester United's Rasmus Hojlund. PA
  • Manchester City's Phil Foden has a shot. EPA
    Manchester City's Phil Foden has a shot. EPA
  • Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim consoles Mason Mount after he was substituted following another injury. Reuters
    Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim consoles Mason Mount after he was substituted following another injury. Reuters
  • Kevin De Bruyne of Manchester City takes on Lisandro Martinez of Manchester United. Getty Images
    Kevin De Bruyne of Manchester City takes on Lisandro Martinez of Manchester United. Getty Images
  • Jeremy Doku of Manchester City is closed down by Noussair Mazraoui of Manchester United. Getty Images
    Jeremy Doku of Manchester City is closed down by Noussair Mazraoui of Manchester United. Getty Images
  • Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola before the kick-off. Getty Images
    Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola before the kick-off. Getty Images

Amad and Fernandes seal last-gasp victory for Manchester United in dramatic derby against City


Stuart James
  • English
  • Arabic

Manchester United somehow managed to pull a last-gasp victory from the hat as late goals from Amad Diallo and Bruno Fernandes sealed all three points in a dramatic derby against Manchester City.

Pep Guardiola's side looked to be cruising to victory in a low-quality clash at the Etihad Stadium after Josko Gvardiol had put them ahead in the 36th minute.

The Croatian defender rose above the United defence virtually unmarked to head home from a corner. It was the eighth goal United have conceded from a corner this season.

But the game was turned on its head in a matter of minutes as Amad, United's best player by a distance, was upended in the box by Nunes, who was attempting to recover from a careless back pass.

Fernandes produced a cool finish from the penalty spot to level the game in the 88th minute.

Two minutes later, Amad made a brilliant burst into the box to latch on to Lisandro Martinez's pass before beating City goalkeeper Ederson and producing a deft finish from a tight angle.

City manager Pep Guardiola looked disconsolate at the final whistle. The four-time-in-a-row champions now have just one win and eight defeats in their past 11 games. The result leaves them in fifth place in the Premier League, nine points behind leaders Liverpool.

The victory was by far the most significant of new United manager Ruben Amorim's short reign.

It was a much-needed, if barely deserved win.

While Guardiola's side have collected their lowest Premier League points tally four 14 years, United have made their worst top-flight start for 38 seasons.

But victory moved United above Tottenham into 12th place in the table, just five points behind fifth-placed City.

After the match, Amorim told BBC Match of the Day: "It was incredible. I think we deserved it. It was a very tough match but we believe until the end. We managed to score, we needed that win, it was important for us and for our fans.

"We were in the game for 90 minutes and that is very good. We talk about the Arsenal game, we played well in the first half but they were not believing that we could win. Today was so much more different.

"I also believe. Then we have Fergie time and we put the things together and something magic happened. It was a good day for us.

"They [the fans] need it. Just like us, but you can see the way they celebrate is special. But we need to continue. Our club needs to win these kinds of matches, I understand the happiness of our fans but we need to continue.

"With a victory for City, the performance was the same. We need to improve a lot of things but today the guys deserved the win. They were in it until the last minute and that is important for us."

On a bad day for strikers, neither Erling Haaland or his opposite number Rasmus Hojlund could find the target.

Norwegian hitman Haaland wasted several decent chances, while Dane Hojlund was replaced by Joshua Zirkzee after 77 minutes after barely making an impact. United didn't muster a single shot in the first half.

Tempers flared just before half-time when a coming together between Kyle Walker and Hojlund sparked a melee involving several players from both sides.

Walker brought down the United forward who leapt up to confront the City right-back. The two touched heads and Walker fell to the turf dramatically.

Replays showed there was no movement from Hojlund towards Walker, who ended up in referee Anthony Taylor's book for his troubles.

Manchester City midfielder Phil Foden said after the match: "Massively [disappointed] – game was in our hands. 1-0 up we were controlling the game. We had a lot of possession. Seems to be the story at the moment I don't know what happens but we switch off and they score two goals. It keeps happening at the moment. We have to stick together now, rebuild and go again.

"We've not been used to losing this amount of games in a short period. But sometimes you have to experience this in life, you can't always win. When things go wrong they then seem to go worse. We have to stick together and regroup."

United's player of the match Amad said: "We wanted to win this game. It was not easy.

"In the second half we pressed good, we wanted to win and we showed today that we can win any game. Let's enjoy it today and look forward to the next game."

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Cyber crime - This includes fraud, impersonation, scams and deepfake technology, tactics that are increasingly targeting infrastructure and exploiting human vulnerabilities.
Cyber terrorism - Social media platforms are used to spread radical ideologies, misinformation and disinformation, often with the aim of disrupting critical infrastructure such as power grids.
Cyber warfare - Shaped by geopolitical tension, hostile actors seek to infiltrate and compromise national infrastructure, using one country’s systems as a springboard to launch attacks on others.

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Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026

1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years

If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.

2. E-invoicing in the UAE

Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption. 

3. More tax audits

Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks. 

4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime

Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.

5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit

There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.

6. Further transfer pricing enforcement

Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes. 

7. Limited time periods for audits

Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion. 

8. Pillar 2 implementation 

Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.

9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services

Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations. 

10. Substance and CbC reporting focus

Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity. 

Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer

Sarfira

Director: Sudha Kongara Prasad

Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal 

Rating: 2/5

Avatar: Fire and Ash

Director: James Cameron

Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana

Rating: 4.5/5

How to protect yourself when air quality drops

Install an air filter in your home.

Close your windows and turn on the AC.

Shower or bath after being outside.

Wear a face mask.

Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.

If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.

RESULT

Manchester United 2 Burnley 2
Man United:
 Lingard (53', 90' 1)
Burnley: Barnes (3'), Defour (36')

Man of the Match: Jesse Lingard (Manchester United)

Another way to earn air miles

In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.

An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.

“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.

England's Ashes squad

Joe Root (captain), Moeen Ali, Jimmy Anderson, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Joe Denly, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes. 

PREMIER LEAGUE RESULTS

Bournemouth 1 Manchester City 2
Watford 0 Brighton and Hove Albion 0
Newcastle United 3 West Ham United 0
Huddersfield Town 0 Southampton 0
Crystal Palace 0 Swansea City 2
Manchester United 2 Leicester City 0
West Bromwich Albion 1 Stoke City 1
Chelsea 2 Everton 0
Tottenham Hotspur 1 Burnley 1
Liverpool 4 Arsenal 0

Updated: December 15, 2024, 7:35 PM