MADRID // Valencia manager Gary Neville is hopeful his first win in 10 La Liga games in charge of the club will be the confidence boost his young side needed to turn their season around.
The hosts came from behind to beat Espanyol 2-1 on Saturday thanks to goals in the final 20 minutes from Alvaro Negredo and Denis Cheryshev to ease Valencia’s fears of being dragged into a relegation battle and the pressure on Neville’s job.
“Hopefully we’ll push on from this. That is what I want, what I hope for,” Neville said.
“It’s not a night for any celebration whatsoever, not a night to get carried away. We need to gain some confidence from the result.
“There is a good feeling in the dressing room and we need to take that forward.”
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Neville has been severely criticised by some quarters of the Spanish media with many suggesting his friendship with Valencia’s Singaporean owner Peter Lim as the only reason he had not been sacked before this weekend.
However, he thanked the club’s famously demanding fans for sticking with the side after they fell behind for the 10th time in as many league games since he took over early in the second-half to Oscar Duarte’s header.
“The most incredible bit was the fans stayed with us, every single player stayed with me,” he added.
“It’s not down to tactics. It’s not down to the coach. It’s down to the fans and the way they responded after the goal. We’ve had to come back so many times in league games: Getafe, Rayo [Vallecano], [Real] Madrid, Deportivo [La Coruna]. It’s not new for them to come back. They’ve showed spirit many times and tonight they showed it again.”
Neville also announced that former Liverpool assistant manager Pako Ayestaran will join his coaching staff from next week.
And despite the relief of a first league win, Neville acknowledged he still has a long way to go to prove he is worthy of staying on at the Mestalla beyond the end of the season.
“The media and fans are well within their rights to say what they want, I’d be saying them as a journalist or as a fan,” he said.
“I’m not expecting to be shielded or protected, I thrive on it. From my point of view I know I’m in a fight”
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Like a Fading Shadow
Antonio Muñoz Molina
Translated from the Spanish by Camilo A. Ramirez
Tuskar Rock Press (pp. 310)
The lowdown
Badla
Rating: 2.5/5
Produced by: Red Chillies, Azure Entertainment
Director: Sujoy Ghosh
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu, Amrita Singh, Tony Luke
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Favourite things
Luxury: Enjoys window shopping for high-end bags and jewellery
Discount: She works in luxury retail, but is careful about spending, waits for sales, festivals and only buys on discount
University: The only person in her family to go to college, Jiang secured a bachelor’s degree in business management in China
Masters: Studying part-time for a master’s degree in international business marketing in Dubai
Vacation: Heads back home to see family in China
Community work: Member of the Chinese Business Women’s Association of the UAE to encourage other women entrepreneurs
More coverage from the Future Forum
KYLIAN MBAPPE 2016/17 STATS
Ligue 1: Appearances - 29, Goals - 15, Assists - 8
UCL: Appearances - 9, Goals - 6
French Cup: Appearances - 3, Goals - 3
France U19: Appearances - 5, Goals - 5, Assists - 1
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Zakat definitions
Zakat: an Arabic word meaning ‘to cleanse’ or ‘purification’.
Nisab: the minimum amount that a Muslim must have before being obliged to pay zakat. Traditionally, the nisab threshold was 87.48 grams of gold, or 612.36 grams of silver. The monetary value of the nisab therefore varies by current prices and currencies.
Zakat Al Mal: the ‘cleansing’ of wealth, as one of the five pillars of Islam; a spiritual duty for all Muslims meeting the ‘nisab’ wealth criteria in a lunar year, to pay 2.5 per cent of their wealth in alms to the deserving and needy.
Zakat Al Fitr: a donation to charity given during Ramadan, before Eid Al Fitr, in the form of food. Every adult Muslim who possesses food in excess of the needs of themselves and their family must pay two qadahs (an old measure just over 2 kilograms) of flour, wheat, barley or rice from each person in a household, as a minimum.
Takreem Awards winners 2021
Corporate Leadership: Carl Bistany (Lebanon)
Cultural Excellence: Hoor Al Qasimi (UAE)
Environmental Development and Sustainability: Bkerzay (Lebanon)
Environmental Development and Sustainability: Raya Ani (Iraq)
Humanitarian and Civic Services: Women’s Programs Association (Lebanon)
Humanitarian and Civic Services: Osamah Al Thini (Libya)
Excellence in Education: World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) (Qatar)
Outstanding Arab Woman: Balghis Badri (Sudan)
Scientific and Technological Achievement: Mohamed Slim Alouini (KSA)
Young Entrepreneur: Omar Itani (Lebanon)
Lifetime Achievement: Suad Al Amiry (Palestine)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Brief scores:
Toss: Pakhtunkhwa Zalmi, chose to field
Environment Agency: 193-3 (20 ov)
Ikhlaq 76 not out, Khaliya 58, Ahsan 55
Pakhtunkhwa Zalmi: 194-2 (18.3 ov)
Afridi 95 not out, Sajid 55, Rizwan 36 not out
Result: Pakhtunkhwa won by 8 wickets
More Expo 2020 Dubai pavilions:
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