Angel di Maria made his debut as a second half substitute as champions Paris Saint-Germain maintained their perfect start to the season with a 3-0 win at AS Monaco on Sunday.
Argentine Di Maria played his first 24 minutes for Paris following a move from Manchester United and even set up PSG’s final goal.
But it was Uruguay striker Edinson Cavani who was the hero, notching a double before Ezequiel Lavezzi finished off the scoring.
“I’m satisfied, overall it was a positive match,” said PSG coach Laurent Blanc.
Of Di Maria, he said the winger “is going to be a vital element”.
“With Lavezzi, they have a lot of complicity, that’s going to help Angel acclimatise.”
The win put PSG three points clear of the pack as Monaco remained in mid-table.
“We’re disappointed because our aim is always to win, but Paris were better than us,” admitted Monaco coach Leonardo Jardim.
Cavani had the best chance of the opening period a couple of minutes before the break, but picked out by Maxwell’s inch-perfect pass, he swiped wildly at the ball, which hit his standing leg before bobbling wide.
Monaco’s Italian striker Stephan El Shaarawy had a sight of goal early in the second period but shot straight at goalkeeper Kevin Trapp.
Cavani broke the deadlock on 57 minutes with a bullet header into the top corner from Blaise Matuidi’s pinpoint cross, leaving goalkeeper Danijel Subasic a helpless spectator.
Moments later, Matuidi blew a one-on-one chance with Subasic with a poor first touch before the goalkeeper eventually saved his tame, low, curling shot.
Di Maria entered the fray on 66 minutes in the place of Lucas Moura and should have had his first assist for the club almost immediately, but after arrowing an inch-perfect ball into the box, Cavani directed his free header straight at Subasic.
But Cavani did not need to wait long for his second and showed a predator’s instincts on 73 minutes as Monaco’s backline stood off Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who slipped in the Uruguayan between full-back and centre-back for an easy finish.
Serge Aurier squandered a great chance with a sliced shot after bursting into the box although Cavani was in perfect position in front of goal to complete his hat-trick.
But seven minutes from time, substitute Lavezzi, who’d replaced Ibrahimovic, ran onto a searing long ball from Di Maria to lash home a volley.
Earlier on Sunday, Saint-Etienne scored either side of half-time to defeat Bastia 2-1 at their Stade Geoffroy-Guichard to end the Corsican club's unbeaten start to the Ligue 1 season.
Just three days after qualifying for the Europa League group phase, Christophe Galtier guided his side to a second win of the early domestic season thanks to a 20th minute strike from captain Loic Perrin and then a 62nd minute winner from on-loan Valentin Eysseric.
Bastia had pulled level four minutes before the break through Gael Danic but slip to sixth in the table after their first defeat in four outings.
Bordeaux picked up their first win of the season with a 2-0 victory over Nantes in a battle of former champions.
Tunisian midfielder Wahbi Khazri grabbed the all-important opener right on the stroke of half-time before 19-year-old Serbian defender Milan Gajic wrapped up the victory with a strike three minutes from time.
The defeat was the first of the season for Nantes.
On Saturday, Lyon returned to winning ways as they rode a Nabil Fekir hat-trick to a 4-0 thrashing away to Caen while Rennes claimed their place in the top three with a 3-1 home victory over Toulouse.
Reims are second on goal difference following a 4-1 dismantling of suffering Brittany side Lorient, while Lille won for the first time under new coach Herve Renard when they edged Gazelec-Ajaccio 1-0.
On Friday, Marseille came back to earth with a thud following their 6-0 thrashing of Troyes last week in new coach Michel's first match in charge, but it all went wrong at Guingamp where they slumped to a 2-0 reverse.
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The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 611bhp
Torque: 620Nm
Transmission: seven-speed automatic
Price: upon application
On sale: now
Janet Yellen's Firsts
- In 2014, she became the first woman to lead the US Federal Reserve
- In 1999, she became the first female chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
HAEMOGLOBIN DISORDERS EXPLAINED
Thalassaemia is part of a family of genetic conditions affecting the blood known as haemoglobin disorders.
Haemoglobin is a substance in the red blood cells that carries oxygen and a lack of it triggers anemia, leaving patients very weak, short of breath and pale.
The most severe type of the condition is typically inherited when both parents are carriers. Those patients often require regular blood transfusions - about 450 of the UAE's 2,000 thalassaemia patients - though frequent transfusions can lead to too much iron in the body and heart and liver problems.
The condition mainly affects people of Mediterranean, South Asian, South-East Asian and Middle Eastern origin. Saudi Arabia recorded 45,892 cases of carriers between 2004 and 2014.
A World Health Organisation study estimated that globally there are at least 950,000 'new carrier couples' every year and annually there are 1.33 million at-risk pregnancies.
Know before you go
- Jebel Akhdar is a two-hour drive from Muscat airport or a six-hour drive from Dubai. It’s impossible to visit by car unless you have a 4x4. Phone ahead to the hotel to arrange a transfer.
- If you’re driving, make sure your insurance covers Oman.
- By air: Budget airlines Air Arabia, Flydubai and SalamAir offer direct routes to Muscat from the UAE.
- Tourists from the Emirates (UAE nationals not included) must apply for an Omani visa online before arrival at evisa.rop.gov.om. The process typically takes several days.
- Flash floods are probable due to the terrain and a lack of drainage. Always check the weather before venturing into any canyons or other remote areas and identify a plan of escape that includes high ground, shelter and parking where your car won’t be overtaken by sudden downpours.
Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
Padmaavat
Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Starring: Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor, Jim Sarbh
3.5/5
Golden Shoe top five (as of March 1):
Harry Kane, Tottenham, Premier League, 24 goals, 48 points
Edinson Cavani, PSG, Ligue 1, 24 goals, 48 points
Ciro Immobile, Lazio, Serie A, 23 goals, 46 points
Mohamed Salah, Liverpool, Premier League, 23 goals, 46 points
Lionel Messi, Barcelona, La Liga, 22 goals, 44 points
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six
Power: 650hp at 6,750rpm
Torque: 800Nm from 2,500-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Fuel consumption: 11.12L/100km
Price: From Dh796,600
On sale: now
Disposing of non-recycleable masks
Use your ‘black bag’ bin at home
Do not put them in a recycling bin
Take them home with you if there is no litter bin
- No need to bag the mask
HWJN
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Yasir%20Alyasiri%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%20Baraa%20Alem%2C%20Nour%20Alkhadra%2C%20Alanoud%20Saud%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
