MADRID // Barcelona manager Luis Enrique lamented what he described as the worst display of his time in charge as the Catalan giants escaped with a 1-1 draw at Real Sociedad on Sunday.
Barcelona have now failed to win in their last eight visits to San Sebastian, but for once the slip-up felt like a victory as Sociedad dominated from start to finish.
“The draw is positive because we take a point from a match in which it was practically impossible to take a point,” Enrique told BeIN Sports Spain
“Real Sociedad were infinitely better than us with and without the ball. They won all the battles.
“It is almost a miracle that we took a point.”
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Barca avoided defeat at Anoeta for the first time in five seasons, but fall six points adrift of Primera Liga leaders Real Madrid ahead of their meeting next weekend.
“As almost always happens here Real got the better of us and if someone was watching the game without seeing the colour of the shirts they would think the other team was Barca,” added Enrique.
Barca failed to muster a shot on target in the first half and did not even make it into the Sociedad area until the 41st minute.
However, it took 53 minutes for Sociedad to go ahead when a hobbling Gerard Pique, playing with a heavily strapped ankle, failed to clear Willian Jose’s weak header off the line.
Yet, just six minutes later, in Barca's only move of real quality in the 90 minutes, Neymar sprinted clear on the left and his cross was buried into the bottom corner by Lionel Messi.
“Playing like this it will be very difficult to win the league,” Pique said.
However, Enrique said Barca’s league challenge is far from over with just 13 games played and two meetings with Madrid to come.
“That performance has happened I think once in my time at Barca,” added the man who has steered Barca to back-to-back La Liga titles.
“It is the first time I have the seen the team clearly inferior to the opponents.
“The positive thing is we will fight for this league until the end and we have to improve on this display without doubt because it is impossible to play worse.”
Barca should at least be able to count on Pique for the clasico with the Spanish international confident he can shrug off the ankle injury first picked up in a 0-0 stalemate with Malaga last weekend.
“I think so,” he replied when asked if he will be fit to start.
“In the first half I felt the ankle again, but hopefully I will be OK for Saturday.”
* Agence France-Presse
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May 9, v Malaysia
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May 15, v Qatar
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May 20, final
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It then dropped to an estimated 111,000 in the year to June 2020 when restrictions introduced during the pandemic limited travel and movement.
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These portfolios are made up of exchange traded funds (ETFs) with exposure to indices such as US and global equities, fixed-income products like bonds, though exposure to real estate, commodity ETFs or gold is also possible.
Investing in ETFs allows robo-advisers to offer fees far lower than traditional investments, such as actively managed mutual funds bought through a bank or broker. Investors can buy ETFs directly via a brokerage, but with robo-advisers they benefit from investment portfolios matched to their risk tolerance as well as being user friendly.
Many robo-advisers charge what are called wrap fees, meaning there are no additional fees such as subscription or withdrawal fees, success fees or fees for rebalancing.
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Under the UK government’s proposals, migrants will have to spend 10 years in the UK before being able to apply for citizenship.
Skilled worker visas will require a university degree, and there will be tighter restrictions on recruitment for jobs with skills shortages.
But what are described as "high-contributing" individuals such as doctors and nurses could be fast-tracked through the system.
Language requirements will be increased for all immigration routes to ensure a higher level of English.
Rules will also be laid out for adult dependants, meaning they will have to demonstrate a basic understanding of the language.
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The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
COMPANY PROFILE
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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.
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His favourite book - 1984 by George Orwell
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