Barcelona slump to shock loss at Cadiz after ter Stegen gaffe

Barcelona conceded two embarrassing goals as they suffered a shock 2-1 defeat away to Cadiz in La Liga on Saturday.

The Catalans fell behind in the eighth minute when centre back Oscar Mingueza headed the ball towards his own goal and although keeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen got a hand to the ball, Cadiz forward Alvaro Gimenez helped it over the line.

Barca drew level with a fortuitous goal of their own in the 57th when Cadiz defender Pedro Alcala diverted a Jordi Alba cross into the net, flummoxing his impressive goalkeeper Jeremias Ledesma who had been keeping Barca at bay.

Cadiz restored their lead six minutes later, however, when Alvaro Negredo capitalised on a calamitous mix-up between Barca defenders Alba and Clement Lenglet following a throw-in.

Alba aimed the throw towards Lenglet but the Frenchman could not control the ball and Negredo, on the pitch for less than a minute, ran to press Ter Stegen, blocked his kick out and dribbled the ball past the diving Frenkie de Jong and into the unguarded net.

Barca's fourth defeat of the season left them seventh in the standings on 14 points after 10 games, 12 points behind leaders Atletico, and Ronald Koeman's side have failed to win their last four away matches.

The Dutch coach criticised the attitude of his players.

"It's incredible that we lost because of a goal like that, it's an error you do not expect this team to make. It shows we were not concentrating," he said.

"The attitude was not good tonight. I'm very disappointed."

Barca midfielder Sergio Busquets said individual errors had cost them a lot of points this season.

"You cannot question the team's attitude or commitment, but when you start like we did today it makes the game very difficult," he said.

Cadiz, who recorded their first home win since returning to the top flight, moved above them into fifth place on 18 points. The Andalusians also beat champions Real Madrid 1-0 away from home earlier in the campaign.

Barca captain Lionel Messi had a frustrating night despite being rested for the Champions League win at Ferencvaros in midweek and was repeatedly thwarted by fellow Argentine and Rosario native Ledesma in the Cadiz goal.

Ledesma also kept out a stinging shot from Miralem Pjanic late on and a close-range effort from Antoine Griezmann.

Cadiz should have put the game out of Barca's reach when Bobby Adekanye raced towards goal unchallenged but failed to beat Ter Stegen.

However, their defence stood tall and they pulled off another huge win in their first season back in the top flight for 14 years.

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.”

The specs

Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors

Power: Combined output 920hp

Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic

Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km

On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025

Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000

Electric scooters: some rules to remember

Riders must be 14-years-old or over
Wear a protective helmet
Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
Do not drive outside designated lanes

Barcelona slump to shock loss at Cadiz after ter Stegen gaffe

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The specs

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