Frank Lampard admitted Chelsea face a fight to finish in the Premier League's top four after Antonio Rudiger's second goal of the game earned a 2-2 draw against Leicester on Saturday.
Rudiger put Chelsea ahead early in the second half at the King Power Stadium before Harvey Barnes and Ben Chilwell scored in quick succession to give Leicester the lead.
A thrilling second half climaxed when Rudiger became the first defender to score a brace for Chelsea in the Premier League since John Terry against Fulham in 2013.
"We were the better team in the first half, in terms of how we moved the ball, and we created some gilt-edged chances. In the second half we weren't so fluid and they created some good chances themselves," Lampard, who dropped goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga for the match a replaced him with Willy Caballero, said.
Frustrated that Chelsea failed to make any signings during the window, Lampard this week claimed his team are now underdogs in the race to qualify for next season's Champions League via a top-four finish.
"We were underdogs at the start of the season," he said. "Not many people gave us the top four slot and I understand why, and it's probably the same now."
The hosts missed the chance to move 11 points clear of Chelsea but remain third, and are well on course to reach the Champions League.
"We should have won having gone 2-1 up. We gifted them two goals really, which we're disappointed with," Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers said. "Against a top team it might be deemed a good result but we should win that game."
Sheffield United temporarily moved up to fifth in the table after winning 1-0 at Crystal Palace, courtesy of a terrible goalkeeping blunder.
Spanish keeper Vicente Guaita mishandled Oliver Norwood's corner and dropped the ball into his own net just before the hour mark.
Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder said: "It's a huge result today. "We were lucky with the goal, but I thought we were good value for the win.
Manchester United could overtake the Blades again if they win their late game at home to Wolves
West Ham United slipped into the relegation zone after surrendering a two goal lead as their home match with Brighton finished 3-3.
Issa Diop put West Ham ahead on the half hour, before Robert Snodgrass doubled the advantage on the stroke of half-time.
Brighton got back in the game in fortunate fashion when West Ham keeper Lukasz Fabianski's attempted punch clear struck the back of his team mate Angelo Ogbonna and flew into the net.
A Snodgrass thunderbolt looked to have sealed West Ham the points only for Pascal Gross to pounce on some woeful defending to halve the deficit after 75 minutes.
Then, four minutes later, Glenn Murray scored a controversial late equaliser after the ball appeared to hit the veteran's arm before he fired home – but a VAR check decided otherwise.
Brighton manager Graham Potter said: "Glenn is adamant it didn’t touch his arm and when we watched it back we didn’t think it has. He's shown his quality and his professionalism. He's consistently helped us from the side and the bench and you can see how he helped us today."
Theo Walcott hit a last-minute winner as 10-man Everton came from two goals down to secure a 3-2 win at Watford.
The Hornets were flying at 2-0 thanks to goals from Adam Masina and Roberto Pereyra only for Yerry Mina to score twice in first-half stoppage time.
Watford looked the more likely winners after the break – especially after Fabian Delph was sent-off for two yelow cards – only to be caught on the counter-attack late on with Theo Walcott scoring an injury-time winner for Carlo Ancelotti's side.
"Football is so unpredictable," said the Italian manager. "We were looking to go home with a draw because we had 10 men but we did a fantastic counter-attack."
Watford manager Nigel Pearson admitted the defeat was painful for his team. "This is certainly a lesson for us," he said. "It hurts for sure but we will continue to work through it. It's not the end of the world but it's certainly frustrating and annoying."
Bournemouth climbed out of the relegation zone after they held on for a 2-1 win over Aston Villa at the Vitality Stadium.
Two first-half goals in six minutes from Philip Billing and Nathan Ake proved enough to secure all three points, although Bournemouth were reduced to ten men just after half-time when Jefferson Lerma was shown a second yellow card.
Villa pulled one back through with 20 minuteds to go when £8.5m (Dh41.2m) signing Mbwana Samatta became the first Tanzanian to score in the Premier League.
Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe said: "I'm very pleased with today’s effort. It was a great start and 11v11 we were excellent. The sending off changed the game but we did enough to get over the line."
At St James' Park, Newcastle United were held to a goalless draw by bottom club Norwich City, who are now seven points away from safety.
It could have been worse for Steve Bruce's Magpies but for several smart saves from goalkeeper Martin Dubravka who denied Teemu Pukki, twice, and Sam Byram.
Newcastle manager Steve Bruce said: "The most important thing is we haven't played well again, but we haven't been beaten. That's not a bad trait to have in the Premier League."
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.”
Miss Granny
Director: Joyce Bernal
Starring: Sarah Geronimo, James Reid, Xian Lim, Nova Villa
3/5
(Tagalog with Eng/Ar subtitles)
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
German intelligence warnings
- 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
- 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
- 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250
Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
LA LIGA FIXTURES
Thursday (All UAE kick-off times)
Sevilla v Real Betis (midnight)
Friday
Granada v Real Betis (9.30pm)
Valencia v Levante (midnight)
Saturday
Espanyol v Alaves (4pm)
Celta Vigo v Villarreal (7pm)
Leganes v Real Valladolid (9.30pm)
Mallorca v Barcelona (midnight)
Sunday
Atletic Bilbao v Atletico Madrid (4pm)
Real Madrid v Eibar (9.30pm)
Real Sociedad v Osasuna (midnight)
The biog
Most memorable achievement: Leading my first city-wide charity campaign in Toronto holds a special place in my heart. It was for Amnesty International’s Stop Violence Against Women program and showed me the power of how communities can come together in the smallest ways to have such wide impact.
Favourite film: Childhood favourite would be Disney’s Jungle Book and classic favourite Gone With The Wind.
Favourite book: To Kill A Mockingbird for a timeless story on justice and courage and Harry Potters for my love of all things magical.
Favourite quote: “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” — Winston Churchill
Favourite food: Dim sum
Favourite place to travel to: Anywhere with natural beauty, wildlife and awe-inspiring sunsets.
