West Ham 2 Liverpool 0
LONDON // “The best playmaker there is,” Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp once said of gegenpressing, the tactic of attempting to win possession back as soon as it is lost that he has become synonymous with.
On the evidence of Saturday’s insipid 2-0 defeat to West Ham United, his side are still worryingly short of creativity from both individual and systemic sources.
Back-to-back 1-0 wins over Leicester City and Sunderland had seen Liverpool close the gap on the top four in recent days, but this loss leaves them closer to the bottom half of the table than the Uefa Champions League places.
For Klopp, the honeymoon period is not just over but consigned to distant memory.
“It was not enough from my team today. In decisive moments we were there but we were not there,” the German said in his post-match press conference. “I told my players after the game: ‘not enough’.”
This defeat was not just a standalone setback but part of a continuing pattern that has seen Liverpool struggle to overcome opponents who sit deep and hit with speed on the break.
Their most impressive and memorable Premier League triumphs under Klopp came away at Stamford Bridge and the Etihad Stadium, where Chelsea and Manchester City were obliged to take the initiative.
Liverpool looked in their element in such an environment. In the 4-1 thrashing of City in November, they hassled and harried the hosts into submission, pressing high up the pitch and countering with speed and incision.
When facing traditionally smaller sides, though, they have generally struggled.
Reaction: Jurgen Klopp 'really angry' after Liverpool's 'deserved' defeat to West Ham
Crystal Palace were the first team to inflict defeat upon Klopp by ceding possession and storming forward when the ball was turned over when they met at Anfield in November.
Newcastle United and Watford followed suit in subsequent weeks, and West Ham unsurprisingly replicated the approach at the Boleyn Ground too.
It is often viewed that the scoreline is the only statistic that matters, but none of the figures from the game made for particularly pretty reading for the visitors.
Of the 23 shots Liverpool mustered, 14 came from outside the box and only two were on target.
Despite having a 65 per cent share of the ball, Adrian was forced to make a save on only one occasion.
There was little sense of unity in forward areas or passing combinations that troubled the West Ham backline.
Liverpool lacked invention and imagination. Their possession was passive and their runs ponderous.
Hopeful crosses were flung into the box and received with delight by Angelo Ogbonna and James Collins, an old-fashioned centre-half who was magnificent in the heart of the defence.
As resolute as West Ham were, Liverpool’s attacking players failed to do enough to properly test them.
Poll: West Ham or Liverpool — which club will finish higher in Premier League?
Philippe Coutinho’s commitment to shooting from outside the box seems unconditional. Roberto Firmino produced a few nice flicks but again failed to stamp his mark on the game, while Jordon Ibe quickly faded after a lively start.
Christian Benteke was even more disappointing up top, too sloppy with his touch and too static with his movement.
He may have netted the winning goals against Leicester and Sunderland, but the £32.5 million (Dh176.3m) man did little here to suggest that the doubts over his compatibility with this Liverpool team have been quelled.
“It’s my responsibility. I’m angry with myself today,” Klopp said, attempting to deflect the pressure away from his players and onto himself.
It will likely take a full pre-season for the former Borussia Dortmund boss to fully implement his methods and get his ideas across, particularly in regards to the concerted and coordinated pressing game he champions.
Until then, Klopp needs more from the likes of Coutinho and Firmino on an individual basis.
The lack of creativity is concerning, and if Liverpool are to finish in the top four this term it is a problem that must be addressed soon.
sports@thenational.ae
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ADCC AFC Women’s Champions League Group A fixtures
October 3: v Wuhan Jiangda Women’s FC
October 6: v Hyundai Steel Red Angels Women’s FC
October 9: v Sabah FA
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The flights: You can fly from the UAE to Iceland with one stop in Europe with a variety of airlines. Return flights with Emirates from Dubai to Stockholm, then Icelandair to Reykjavik, cost from Dh4,153 return. The whole trip takes 11 hours. British Airways flies from Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Reykjavik, via London, with return flights taking 12 hours and costing from Dh2,490 return, including taxes.
The activities: A half-day Silfra snorkelling trip costs 14,990 Icelandic kronur (Dh544) with Dive.is. Inside the Volcano also takes half a day and costs 42,000 kronur (Dh1,524). The Jokulsarlon small-boat cruise lasts about an hour and costs 9,800 kronur (Dh356). Into the Glacier costs 19,500 kronur (Dh708). It lasts three to four hours.
The tours: It’s often better to book a tailor-made trip through a specialist operator. UK-based Discover the World offers seven nights, self-driving, across the island from £892 (Dh4,505) per person. This includes three nights’ accommodation at Hotel Husafell near Into the Glacier, two nights at Hotel Ranga and two nights at the Icelandair Hotel Klaustur. It includes car rental, plus an iPad with itinerary and tourist information pre-loaded onto it, while activities can be booked as optional extras. More information inspiredbyiceland.com
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KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
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Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
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'Young girls thinking of big ideas'
Words come easy for aspiring writer Afra Al Muhairb. The business side of books, on the other hand, is entirely foreign to the 16-year-old Emirati. So, she followed her father’s advice and enroled in the Abu Dhabi Education Council’s summer entrepreneurship course at Abu Dhabi University hoping to pick up a few new skills.
“Most of us have this dream of opening a business,” said Afra, referring to her peers are “young girls thinking of big ideas.”
In the three-week class, pupils are challenged to come up with a business and develop an operational and marketing plan to support their idea. But, the learning goes far beyond sales and branding, said teacher Sonia Elhaj.
“It’s not only about starting up a business, it’s all the meta skills that goes with it -- building self confidence, communication,” said Ms Elhaj. “It’s a way to coach them and to harness ideas and to allow them to be creative. They are really hungry to do this and be heard. They are so happy to be actually doing something, to be engaged in creating something new, not only sitting and listening and getting new information and new knowledge. Now they are applying that knowledge.”
Afra’s team decided to focus their business idea on a restaurant modelled after the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Each level would have a different international cuisine and all the meat would be halal. The pupils thought of this after discussing a common problem they face when travelling abroad.
“Sometimes we find the struggle of finding halal food, so we just eat fish and cheese, so it’s hard for us to spend 20 days with fish and cheese,” said Afra. “So we made this tower so every person who comes – from Africa, from America – they will find the right food to eat.”
rpennington@thenational.ae
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
THE DETAILS
Director: Milan Jhaveri
Producer: Emmay Entertainment and T-Series
Cast: John Abraham, Manoj Bajpayee
Rating: 2/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
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- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
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- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
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Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
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