Mason Mount played a pivotal role in Manchester United’s win over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Sunday. Joshua Zirkzee had equalised nine minutes earlier when United were awarded a free-kick. Bruno Fernandes and Mount stood over the ball, deep in conversation as Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson organised the wall in front him
“I said to him: ‘I will roll it for you’,” said Mount. “He said, ‘No, you stay there’. Then I said, ‘You shoot’ because the sun was difficult today and it was causing a bit of a problem in the first half for us with long balls. I thought it would be difficult for Deano [goalkeeper Henderson] to see the ball in goal. But Bruno said, ‘Stay there’ and then rolled it to me. You could see my reaction was a bit ‘Ah, get on the end of it’.
“It was really quick. That is what helped the situation because they didn’t see it coming. They didn’t see us talking. They were late to react, then it is about finding the little space in the wall. It is a bit of disruption and then it hit the target."
The 63rd-minute goal brought only United’s second away win in 12 matches. It was much needed after last Monday’s home defeat to Everton. It was Palace’s first home defeat since February.
One of the reasons United brought Mount from Chelsea in 2023 was because they felt he had a goal threat from set-pieces.
“I love being in those situations,” said Mount. “You don’t always get that many chances in a game, especially in the Premier League. When that chance is there, it is about taking it and hitting the target and at least making the keeper make a save. We know how much set-pieces are in the game now. For me, it’s about hitting the target. I was buzzing to see it hit the back of the net, to score and most importantly, get the three points for the team."
It was the first time Mount had played 90 minutes in a Premier League match since joining United.
“That is a massive positive for me,” said Mount. “I have been working hard recently and feel good now. To get that 90 minutes under my belt is a positive. I will go into recovery now and go for the next game. For me personally, I am very happy with that.
"I haven’t done [90 minutes in a Premier League game] in a while, but I feel capable of doing that. But whether starting on the bench or starting the game, you must have the same mentality of coming on and having an effect on the game. Can you make an imprint on the game straight away? When you are starting, being ready to play the whole game.”
United were poor in the first half, better in the second. What did the manager say at half-time?
“He was saying keep going and stay calm. We all know what we needed to do in the second half. They just played recently so we felt they could drop off a little bit in the second half. There were chances there for us. It was about carrying on what we were doing. It was difficult to go 1-0 down but we showed character to get back into the game in the second half.”
Ruben Amorim is an admirer of Mount, who appreciates his support after multiple injuries.
“It is important, especially this season,” he said. “I’ve had a few niggles but nothing bad at all. I felt good this season. I had a good pre-season under my belt. I have been working hard in training. As a group we are at it. It has been up and down but as a group we are in a lot better place, me personally but also as a group.
"We really need to kick on now and win more games. That is the most important thing now – win. Difficult result last game [1-0 defeat to Everton] but to come back and win today was massively important. It is time to kick on now and shoot for those top four positions."
United’s next games are at home to West Ham on Thursday and away to Wolves on Monday.
RESULTS
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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.”
Innotech Profile
Date started: 2013
Founder/CEO: Othman Al Mandhari
Based: Muscat, Oman
Sector: Additive manufacturing, 3D printing technologies
Size: 15 full-time employees
Stage: Seed stage and seeking Series A round of financing
Investors: Oman Technology Fund from 2017 to 2019, exited through an agreement with a new investor to secure new funding that it under negotiation right now.
Persuasion
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Company profile
Company name: Dharma
Date started: 2018
Founders: Charaf El Mansouri, Nisma Benani, Leah Howe
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: TravelTech
Funding stage: Pre-series A
Investors: Convivialite Ventures, BY Partners, Shorooq Partners, L& Ventures, Flat6Labs
Bio:
Favourite Quote: Prophet Mohammad's quotes There is reward for kindness to every living thing and A good man treats women with honour
Favourite Hobby: Serving poor people
Favourite Book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite food: Fish and vegetables
Favourite place to visit: London
The biog
Name: Timothy Husband
Nationality: New Zealand
Education: Degree in zoology at The University of Sydney
Favourite book: Lemurs of Madagascar by Russell A Mittermeier
Favourite music: Billy Joel
Weekends and holidays: Talking about animals or visiting his farm in Australia
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Barcelona v Liverpool, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE).
Second leg
Liverpool v Barcelona, Tuesday, May 7, 11pm
Games on BeIN Sports
The cost of Covid testing around the world
Egypt
Dh514 for citizens; Dh865 for tourists
Information can be found through VFS Global.
Jordan
Dh212
Centres include the Speciality Hospital, which now offers drive-through testing.
Cambodia
Dh478
Travel tests are managed by the Ministry of Health and National Institute of Public Health.
Zanzibar
AED 295
Zanzibar Public Health Emergency Operations Centre, located within the Lumumba Secondary School compound.
Abu Dhabi
Dh85
Abu Dhabi’s Seha has test centres throughout the UAE.
UK
From Dh400
Heathrow Airport now offers drive through and clinic-based testing, starting from Dh400 and up to Dh500 for the PCR test.
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
Company name: Play:Date
Launched: March 2017 on UAE Mother’s Day
Founder: Shamim Kassibawi
Based: Dubai with operations in the UAE and US
Sector: Tech
Size: 20 employees
Stage of funding: Seed
Investors: Three founders (two silent co-founders) and one venture capital fund
