Chelsea bounced back into contention for next season's Champions League with a 1-0 home win over Everton in the Premier League on Saturday thanks to a fine first-half strike by Nicolas Jackson.
The Senegal striker, fed by Enzo Fernandez, drove low into the bottom corner past a diving Jordan Pickford in the 27th minute for his first goal in four months.
Enzo Maresca's Chelsea should have had more but were thwarted by a stubborn defence and Pickford, who kept out a series of shots, notably from Noni Madueke.
Chelsea keeper Robert Sanchez also pulled off a finger-tip save in the 88th minute to deny Dwight McNeil and stay in front.
The result lifted Chelsea to fourth in the table, one point behind Manchester City. Everton are 13th.
It was a memorable day for Jackson who ended his 13-game goal drought to seal a crucial win.
A dominant display was capped by Jackson's goal - the striker's first since December 15 finished confidently from 20 yards past Pickford as though he had been scoring every week, as suspended head coach Maresca watched from the stands.
The Italian's lively celebrations following Pedro Neto's last-gasp winner at Fulham a week ago had earned him a third yellow card of the season, but his exuberance will feel justified if, as looks increasingly possible, Chelsea go the distance in the race for the top five.
This win, which would have been greater but for an inspired individual display by Pickford, was Chelsea's third in five in the Premier League and ensured they will see out the weekend in the Champions League places.
They dominated virtually throughout. Early on, Marc Cucurella linked up on the left with Madueke who dashed forward and drew the first of many saves from Pickford.
Romeo Lavia made his first start since mid-January and in the first half Chelsea enjoyed near-total control of midfield as a result, moving the ball with urgency in the Everton half and displaying an aggression off the ball that has been seen infrequently in recent months.
It was through just such pestering that they went in front. Pickford's clearance put Beto under pressure, and facing his own goal he was dispossessed by the probing boot of Trevoh Chalobah.
Fernandez picked up the bits on 27 minutes, threading the ball up to Jackson who turned on the spot and took a confident stride forward before sending a delightful finish into the corner.
Ipswich relegated
Ipswich were relegated from the Premier League after slumping to a 3-0 defeat against Newcastle on Saturday.
Third-bottom Ipswich are 15 points behind fourth-bottom West Ham with four games left, ensuring their first season in the top-flight for 22 years will end with an immediate return to the Championship.
Their relegation alongside Southampton and Leicester, who were both already condemned to the drop, means all three promoted sides will be back in the second tier next season.
Also, Fulham came from behind to beat bottom side Southampton 2-1 to claim three precious points in their chase for European football after Ryan Sessegnon grabbed the winner in the 92nd minute.
Southampton took the lead from a set-piece in the 14th minute when Jack Stephens scored with a glancing header before Emile Smith Rowe equalised in the 72nd thanks to a deflection off Jan Bednarek.
But with the Saints pegged back and Fulham playing on the front foot, Adama Traore delivered a cross into the box where Sessegnon stooped low to divert a header into the bottom corner.
The Byblos iftar in numbers
29 or 30 days – the number of iftar services held during the holy month
50 staff members required to prepare an iftar
200 to 350 the number of people served iftar nightly
160 litres of the traditional Ramadan drink, jalab, is served in total
500 litres of soup is served during the holy month
200 kilograms of meat is used for various dishes
350 kilograms of onion is used in dishes
5 minutes – the average time that staff have to eat
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDeveloper%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ERemedy%20Entertainment%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Microsoft%20Game%20Studios%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EConsoles%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20PlayStation%204%20%26amp%3B%205%2C%20Xbox%3A%20360%20%26amp%3B%20One%20%26amp%3B%20Series%20X%2FS%20and%20Nintendo%20Switch%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
HIJRA
Starring: Lamar Faden, Khairiah Nathmy, Nawaf Al-Dhufairy
Director: Shahad Ameen
Rating: 3/5
Super 30
Produced: Sajid Nadiadwala and Phantom Productions
Directed: Vikas Bahl
Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Pankaj Tripathi, Aditya Srivastav, Mrinal Thakur
Rating: 3.5 /5
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
MATCH INFO
Everton 0
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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.”
Scores
New Zealand 266 for 9 in 50 overs
Pakistan 219 all out in 47.2 overs
New Zealand win by 47 runs
