April is normally the month where Real Madrid move up through the gears ahead of success and more trophies in May. Time and again, football’s most successful club bewilder opponents and leave them dazed.
As the reigning Spanish, European and world champions, there was little reason to suspect they wouldn’t do the same this season as they homed in on a treble. But April has started awfully for Carlo Ancelotti’s side. The signs were there when Real Sociedad held them to a 4-4 draw at the Bernabeu in the Copa del Rey semi-final last week before Madrid narrowly advanced on aggregate in extra time.
Saturday saw a Valencia side who have been fighting relegation all season win 2-1 at the Bernabeu with a 95th-minute winner. That defeat left Real Madrid four points behind Barcelona at the top of La Liga with eight league games to play.
Tuesday night saw what could be the biggest blow of all, a 3-0 reverse at Arsenal in the Uefa Champions League quarter-final first leg. Spain was stunned.
“Arsenal burns Madrid,” was the headline in El Pais, who said that “Arteta’s team dominates a timid and disorientated Madrid, who except for Mbappe’s runs was subdued. Madrid collapsed with two amazing free kicks from Declan Rice and a goal from Merino.”
It was one of the greatest results in Arsenal's history and they are clear favourites to reach only a fourth semi-final in European football’s top competition. But as the front page of Wednesday’s Marca states: “Humiliated … but for Madrid nothing is impossible.” The second leg is next Wednesday at the Bernabeu, time for the shock of the Arsenal game to sink in and get a reaction.
“Nothing in the Champions League has been more extreme than Real Madrid’s way of winning, a tightrope walker of impossible nights, a team that has walked along the sharpest edges without their heart rates rising, disconcerting rivals who fell under the weight of something they considered absurd. And that it was,” wrote El Pais. “Their falls are also extreme. The giants, as giants, collapse with a crash. Ancelotti’s team sank disappointed in Manchester under the hammer of City [4-0] and melted two years later in London burned by the meticulous conviction of Arsenal and the aim of Declan Rice, who made two astonishing free kicks. Mikel Merino’s feet made it more difficult for Real Madrid to pass to the semi-final.”
Ancelotti, usually a celebrant for his outstanding side, turned critic.
“The last 30 minutes were very bad,” said the Italian. “In the first half we did quite well, the team was organised. But with the two goals from set pieces we fell a little physically and mentally. We had no reaction, something we usually have. We were not able to make a joint reaction, a united one. We made individual plays and they penalised us. We lost order.”
Madrid have not been as imperious in Europe as usual, losing three of their eight games in the group phase. It barely seems to matter though as they almost always do enough to progress and win the competition, yet the defeat at Arsenal could have been worse.
“I know two of their three goals were free kicks, but they could have scored many more," admitted Madrid forward Jude Bellingham. “We weren’t even close. They punished us and that happens in a high-level football. That’s the truth, Arsenal were really good.”
Madrid fans will be determined to make the Bernabeu hell for Arsenal as they attempt their latest astonishing comeback. But there was praise for the English club in Spain.
“Declan Rice, settled into that stage of life we all dream of as children and only a select few can enjoy in the same match, in the best competition and against the reigning champion, unleashed two missiles into the top corner so devastating, so impressive, that he beat Courtois after one of the craziest performances – and it’s already difficult – from the Belgian goalkeeper for Madrid,” wrote El Pais. “Two direct free kicks, two impossible goals.”
And while half of those in Spain with affection for Madrid hope for better, the other half were not displeased.
“Humiliated,” is the headline on the Catalan Mundo Deportivo around a picture of one of Rice’s superb curling free kicks around Madrid’s wall, with their brilliant white shirt greyed out to show that they were almost invisible. Rice had never scored from a direct free kick in his professional career that is now in its 10th season. Then he did it twice in 12 second-half minutes. Not for nothing the cover of the Madrid based AS showed Vinicius Junior with his shirt pulled over his face and the Catalan Sport an image of Bellingham wiping his brow, dazed and confused. Arsenal were that good and Madrid weren’t.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
What is graphene?
Graphene is extracted from graphite and is made up of pure carbon.
It is 200 times more resistant than steel and five times lighter than aluminum.
It conducts electricity better than any other material at room temperature.
It is thought that graphene could boost the useful life of batteries by 10 per cent.
Graphene can also detect cancer cells in the early stages of the disease.
The material was first discovered when Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were 'playing' with graphite at the University of Manchester in 2004.
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Hili 2: Unesco World Heritage site
The site is part of the Hili archaeological park in Al Ain. Excavations there have proved the existence of the earliest known agricultural communities in modern-day UAE. Some date to the Bronze Age but Hili 2 is an Iron Age site. The Iron Age witnessed the development of the falaj, a network of channels that funnelled water from natural springs in the area. Wells allowed settlements to be established, but falaj meant they could grow and thrive. Unesco, the UN's cultural body, awarded Al Ain's sites - including Hili 2 - world heritage status in 2011. Now the most recent dig at the site has revealed even more about the skilled people that lived and worked there.
Company profile
Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
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Quick pearls of wisdom
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
The specs
Engine: 3-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 400hp
Torque: 475Nm
Transmission: 9-speed automatic
Price: From Dh215,900
On sale: Now
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
Company%20Profile
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UK's plans to cut net migration
Under the UK government’s proposals, migrants will have to spend 10 years in the UK before being able to apply for citizenship.
Skilled worker visas will require a university degree, and there will be tighter restrictions on recruitment for jobs with skills shortages.
But what are described as "high-contributing" individuals such as doctors and nurses could be fast-tracked through the system.
Language requirements will be increased for all immigration routes to ensure a higher level of English.
Rules will also be laid out for adult dependants, meaning they will have to demonstrate a basic understanding of the language.
The plans also call for stricter tests for colleges and universities offering places to foreign students and a reduction in the time graduates can remain in the UK after their studies from two years to 18 months.
The specs
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: seven-speed
Power: 720hp
Torque: 770Nm
Price: Dh1,100,000
On sale: now
Results
2pm: Serve U – Maiden (TB) Dh60,000 (Dirt) 1,400m; Winner: Violent Justice, Pat Dobbs (jockey), Doug Watson (trainer)
2.30pm: Al Shafar Investment – Conditions (TB) Dh100,000 (D) 1,400m; Winner: Desert Wisdom, Bernardo Pinheiro, Ahmed Al Shemaili
3pm: Commercial Bank of Dubai – Handicap (TB) Dh68,000 (D) 1,200m; Winner: Fawaareq, Sam Hitchcott, Doug Watson
3.30pm: Shadwell – Rated Conditions (TB) Dh100,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: Down On Da Bayou, Xavier Ziani, Salem bin Ghadayer
4pm: Dubai Real Estate Centre – Maiden (TB) Dh60,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: Rakeez, Patrick Cosgrave, Bhupat Seemar
4.30pm: Al Redha Insurance Brokers – Handicap (TB) Dh78,000 (D) 1,800m; Winner: Capla Crusader, Bernardo Pinheiro, Rashed Bouresly
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