Chelsea's Willian, right, has scored five goals in five games, the best run of his Chelsea career. Will Oliver / EPA
Chelsea's Willian, right, has scored five goals in five games, the best run of his Chelsea career. Will Oliver / EPA
Chelsea's Willian, right, has scored five goals in five games, the best run of his Chelsea career. Will Oliver / EPA
Chelsea's Willian, right, has scored five goals in five games, the best run of his Chelsea career. Will Oliver / EPA

Barcelona in Chelsea's sights after Antonio Conte lauds Willian for Crystal Palace performance


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Chelsea manager Antonio Conte praised the all-round contribution of Willian after the in-form Brazilian helped halt a run of back-to-back league defeats ahead of next week's showdown with Barcelona in Europe.

Willian's deflected shot opened the scoring in Saturday's 2-1 victory over Crystal Palace, and it was his clever dummy that created the second, an own goal by Martin Kelly.

He has scored five goals in five games, the best run of his Chelsea career, which is timely ahead of Wednesday’s Uefa Champions League last 16, second leg match in Barcelona.

But Conte was also pleased by the forward’s hard work off the ball.

"You can see when a player is in great form, I’m the first to pick him in the starting 11," the Italian said. "He’s playing in a fantastic way but, I want to underline, not only with the ball – also without the ball. He’s working very hard and he’s helping the team.

"I think that he has shown great maturity at this point of his career. In my heart I hope to see him at this level, continuing these performances. It’s very important to have a balance in the team because when you don’t have that balance anything can happen."

Willian also had a shot blocked on the line by James Tomkins and a free-kick saved by Wayne Hennessey as Chelsea went for a third goal, eventually leaving themselves open to a late consolation for Palace. Olivier Giroud might have had a hat-trick but is still waiting for his first Chelsea goal in the Premier League.

"We made a lot of chances and it was a pity that they scored the goal and we had three minutes that were a bit nervous," Conte said. "You hope to finish the game more relaxed. But it wasn’t just Olivier. Many players have had chances to score, not only Olivier.

"We must be pleased with his commitment. He hit the post and in the first half a defender cleared a chance. He was a bit unlucky.

"For sure in this league you must keep your focus the whole game but we tried to score the third goal and made a lot of chances. Sometimes you can think that the situation is easier but we played a good game, with a great desire to win. The commitment was good and we must be happy.

"But the game against Barcelona will be very different. We will have to show great resilience. We will be playing against one of the best teams in the world. We have to find the right plan to face this game."

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The introduction of Wilfried Zaha after six games out with a knee injury boosted Crystal Palace in the second half but by the time he set up Patrick van Aanholt for a 90th-minute consolation goal, there was no way back for the Eagles.

"It’s a shame we didn’t play the whole of the game as we played the second half," Roy Hodgson, the Palace manager, said. "We came in 2-0 down and against a team of Chelsea’s pace and power on the break it could have ended very badly. The introduction of Wilfried asked some questions and in the end we could have drawn the game."

But Hodgson dismissed suggestions that he could have let Zaha start the game. "If I’d started with Zaha and he’d broken down - after only one and a half training sessions - the question would have been very different. I wanted to keep him on the bench longer."

And Hodgson was encouraged by the display, following the narrow 3-2 defeat by Manchester United. "We’ve had defeats against top teams but haven’t discredited ourselves. It’s very clear what we’ve got to do in the remaining games."

Intercontinental Cup

Namibia v UAE Saturday Sep 16-Tuesday Sep 19

Table 1 Ireland, 89 points; 2 Afghanistan, 81; 3 Netherlands, 52; 4 Papua New Guinea, 40; 5 Hong Kong, 39; 6 Scotland, 37; 7 UAE, 27; 8 Namibia, 27

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UPI facts

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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
 
Started: 2021
 
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
 
Based: Tunisia 
 
Sector: Water technology 
 
Number of staff: 22 
 
Investment raised: $4 million 
Most sought after workplace benefits in the UAE
  • Flexible work arrangements
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  • Mental well-being assistance
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Name: Peter Dicce

Title: Assistant dean of students and director of athletics

Favourite sport: soccer

Favourite team: Bayern Munich

Favourite player: Franz Beckenbauer

Favourite activity in Abu Dhabi: scuba diving in the Northern Emirates 

 

THE BIO

Family: I have three siblings, one older brother (age 25) and two younger sisters, 20 and 13 

Favourite book: Asking for my favourite book has to be one of the hardest questions. However a current favourite would be Sidewalk by Mitchell Duneier

Favourite place to travel to: Any walkable city. I also love nature and wildlife 

What do you love eating or cooking: I’m constantly in the kitchen. Ever since I changed the way I eat I enjoy choosing and creating what goes into my body. However, nothing can top home cooked food from my parents. 

Favorite place to go in the UAE: A quiet beach.

UAE players with central contracts

Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Rameez Shahzad, Shaiman Anwar, Adnan Mufti, Mohammed Usman, Ghulam Shabbir, Ahmed Raza, Qadeer Ahmed, Amir Hayat, Mohammed Naveed and Imran Haider.

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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.

Expert advice

“Join in with a group like Cycle Safe Dubai or TrainYAS, where you’ll meet like-minded people and always have support on hand.”

Stewart Howison, co-founder of Cycle Safe Dubai and owner of Revolution Cycles

“When you sweat a lot, you lose a lot of salt and other electrolytes from your body. If your electrolytes drop enough, you will be at risk of cramping. To prevent salt deficiency, simply add an electrolyte mix to your water.”

Cornelia Gloor, head of RAK Hospital’s Rehabilitation and Physiotherapy Centre 

“Don’t make the mistake of thinking you can ride as fast or as far during the summer as you do in cooler weather. The heat will make you expend more energy to maintain a speed that might normally be comfortable, so pace yourself when riding during the hotter parts of the day.”

Chandrashekar Nandi, physiotherapist at Burjeel Hospital in Dubai
 

Ticket prices

General admission Dh295 (under-three free)

Buy a four-person Family & Friends ticket and pay for only three tickets, so the fourth family member is free

Buy tickets at: wbworldabudhabi.com/en/tickets

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.

The Energy Research Centre

Founded 50 years ago as a nuclear research institute, scientists at the centre believed nuclear would be the “solution for everything”.
Although they still do, they discovered in 1955 that the Netherlands had a lot of natural gas. “We still had the idea that, by 2000, it would all be nuclear,” said Harm Jeeninga, director of business and programme development at the centre.
"In the 1990s, we found out about global warming so we focused on energy savings and tackling the greenhouse gas effect.”
The energy centre’s research focuses on biomass, energy efficiency, the environment, wind and solar, as well as energy engineering and socio-economic research.

2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups

Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.

Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.

Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.

Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).

Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.

Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.

Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.

Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.

Walls

Louis Tomlinson

3 out of 5 stars

(Syco Music/Arista Records)

Hotel Data Cloud profile

Date started: June 2016
Founders: Gregor Amon and Kevin Czok
Based: Dubai
Sector: Travel Tech
Size: 10 employees
Funding: $350,000 (Dh1.3 million)
Investors: five angel investors (undisclosed except for Amar Shubar)