Bafetimbi Gomis erred, then he atoned.
The Al Hilal striker’s night began on a sour note, but concluded with a sweeter than sweet sensation.
By the end, his club’s quest for that most coveted of crowns had received a sizeable boost. They departed Doha with a near-insurmountable lead.
And so the first leg of their Asian Champions League semi-final proved a favourable one for the Saudi Arabians, Xavi’s Al Sadd defeated 4-1 at their Jassim bin Hamad Stadium despite taking an early lead.
Determined to have quite the evening, it was Gomis who gifted Sadd an initial advantage. In the 14th minute, and facing the away end, the Frenchman misdirected Hassan Al Haidos’ cross into his own net.
Without a goal in his past three Champions League matches, Gomis had registered on the scoresheet, albeit for the wrong side. Seeking a third final appearance in the past six years, Hilal’s latest venture veered right at the off.
Yet they rebounded. Sebastian Giovinco had a shot saved. Only a fine block denied full-back Mohammed Al Breik applying the finishing touch to a sweeping move.
Then Gomis made amends. Moments after he had dragged wide a shot when free on the edge of the Sadd penalty area, he struck. The Qataris played their part, getting in a muddle at the back to allow Andre Carrillo to collect the ball and find Giovinco at the far post. The Italian cushioned the cross into Gomis’ path, and the forward restored parity.
A first goal in four continental matches after notching seven in his opening seven, Gomis moved to eight for the tournament. Only Leonardo, the former Al Wahda winger now at Dubai’s Al Ahli Shabab, had more with nine.
Within a flash, Sadd’s night got even worse. Defender Abdelkarim Hassan reacted to conceding a cheap foul by smashing away the ball. He received a yellow card, then manhandled the referee. The red swiftly followed.
Indignant, Sadd soon succumbed. Once more Gomis was initially wasteful, shooting straight at Saad Al Sheeb when through on goal. However, again he rectified his blunder, causing enough confusion from the ensuing corner to allow Ali Al Bulaihi to chest home on the goal-line. Hilal headed into half-time with their tails up; Sadd sloped off shell-shocked.
On the hour, they were all but knocked out. This time, Yasser Al Shahrani's surge down the left to tee up Gomis, who bundled over the line.
Scenting blood, Hilal made it four almost straight after, substitute and stalwart Mohammad Al Shalhoub placing his low effort beyond Al Sheeb. Aged 38, he will know to never count anyone out, but this tie feels bound for only one outcome. Champions in 2011, Sadd need at least four goals in Riyadh on October 22 to have any hope of avoiding a second successive semi-final exit.
Runners-up in 2014 and 2017, Hilal are well placed to reach the showpiece again. The 2000 champions, before the “Champions League” rebrand, sit firmly in pole. Mission half accomplished, this might be their year, finally, after all.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
The biog
Age: 32
Qualifications: Diploma in engineering from TSI Technical Institute, bachelor’s degree in accounting from Dubai’s Al Ghurair University, master’s degree in human resources from Abu Dhabi University, currently third years PHD in strategy of human resources.
Favourite mountain range: The Himalayas
Favourite experience: Two months trekking in Alaska
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Scoreline
Liverpool 4
Oxlade-Chamberlain 9', Firmino 59', Mane 61', Salah 68'
Manchester City 3
Sane 40', Bernardo Silva 84', Gundogan 90' 1
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
Yemen's Bahais and the charges they often face
The Baha'i faith was made known in Yemen in the 19th century, first introduced by an Iranian man named Ali Muhammad Al Shirazi, considered the Herald of the Baha'i faith in 1844.
The Baha'i faith has had a growing number of followers in recent years despite persecution in Yemen and Iran.
Today, some 2,000 Baha'is reside in Yemen, according to Insaf.
"The 24 defendants represented by the House of Justice, which has intelligence outfits from the uS and the UK working to carry out an espionage scheme in Yemen under the guise of religion.. aimed to impant and found the Bahai sect on Yemeni soil by bringing foreign Bahais from abroad and homing them in Yemen," the charge sheet said.
Baha'Ullah, the founder of the Bahai faith, was exiled by the Ottoman Empire in 1868 from Iran to what is now Israel. Now, the Bahai faith's highest governing body, known as the Universal House of Justice, is based in the Israeli city of Haifa, which the Bahais turn towards during prayer.
The Houthis cite this as collective "evidence" of Bahai "links" to Israel - which the Houthis consider their enemy.
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
