Everything ends somewhere but even as Manchester City’s record-breaking run of 18 consecutive league victories came to an abrupt halt, they extended their unbeaten run to 29 games in dramatic fashion. A first domestic defeat of the campaign beckoned when Raheem Sterling was deemed to have fouled Wilfried Zaha inside the penalty box.
It was a contentious call by referee Jon Moss, but one that was rendered irrelevant when Ederson saved Luka Milivojevic’s poor injury-time penalty. Once again, the Brazilian illustrated why he ranks as one of the signings of the season and a day where he began by dicing with disaster, leaving his box and relying on Eliaquim Mangala to intercept a Christian Benteke shot that was headed for an unguarded net, ended in a personal triumph.
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For City, however, it amounted to a damaging draw. The loss of two points may not be crucial, especially as their advantage is still 14, but the loss of two players could have further consequences. Gabriel Jesus went off in tears, Kevin de Bruyne on a stretcher after a wild lunge by Jason Puncheon, who departed in similar fashion but ought to have been sent off as well.
The Belgian later told reporters he was fine and was seen walking unaided. City will be without Jesus for some time, however, with what looked a knee injury. “Hopefully it will not be tough, maybe one month or two months,” Guardiola said.
His resources are being stretched. Their players were tested by a dogged Palace side. They produced moments of defiance – a Wayne Hennessey save to thwart Leroy Sane and a Martin Kelly block to keep out De Bruyne’s goal-bound shot – and defended with great spirit. If they rode their luck when Sergio Aguero’s deflected effort hit the post, they merited their point. This was testament to the improvement implemented by Roy Hodgson.
To their credit, Palace eschewed the ultra-defensive tactics others have adopted against City. They were able to adopt direct tactics, with Benteke proving an effective target man. Zaha, whose high-speed duel with Kyle Walker made for compelling viewing, offered a further illustration that he has the talent to trouble anyone.
Andros Townsend could have won it but made a mess of his shot after Zaha found him, as could Benteke when he headed wide, and the usually reliable Milivojevic. “When you miss a penalty very late, there is always an element of sadness,” Hodgson said, “but I am very proud of the team’s performance.”
The draw meant that Guardiola’s Bayern Munich remain the only side to reel off 19 straight victories in any of Europe’s top five leagues. Records have never been the City manager’s priority and he was philosophical about the result.
But it produced an unfamiliar feeling, 132 days after City experienced anything except victory in a Premier League game and eight months after the last. That rare sense of frustration was reflected when Sane and Aguero picked up needless yellow cards, their annoyance apparent. There were moments where City looked disjointed, with the rarity value of an utterly misplaced pass from De Bruyne or when the Belgian and Sane appeared on different wavelengths altogether. Elsewhere, City were less fluent without some of their premier personnel. David Silva was again absent and Sterling was rested for almost an hour.
Palace were patched up, too, starting without six sidelined players and then losing Scott Dann, who injured himself in the process of fouling De Bruyne. While his replacement Kelly was excellent, it left Hodgson reflecting on the two players both sides lost.
“They look like they are not short-term injuries,” he said. “Both of us paid a high price for the point.”
Profile of Udrive
Date started: March 2016
Founder: Hasib Khan
Based: Dubai
Employees: 40
Amount raised (to date): $3.25m – $750,000 seed funding in 2017 and a Seed round of $2.5m last year. Raised $1.3m from Eureeca investors in January 2021 as part of a Series A round with a $5m target.
10 tips for entry-level job seekers
- Have an up-to-date, professional LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, set one up today. Avoid poor-quality profile pictures with distracting backgrounds. Include a professional summary and begin to grow your network.
- Keep track of the job trends in your sector through the news. Apply for job alerts at your dream organisations and the types of jobs you want – LinkedIn uses AI to share similar relevant jobs based on your selections.
- Double check that you’ve highlighted relevant skills on your resume and LinkedIn profile.
- For most entry-level jobs, your resume will first be filtered by an applicant tracking system for keywords. Look closely at the description of the job you are applying for and mirror the language as much as possible (while being honest and accurate about your skills and experience).
- Keep your CV professional and in a simple format – make sure you tailor your cover letter and application to the company and role.
- Go online and look for details on job specifications for your target position. Make a list of skills required and set yourself some learning goals to tick off all the necessary skills one by one.
- Don’t be afraid to reach outside your immediate friends and family to other acquaintances and let them know you are looking for new opportunities.
- Make sure you’ve set your LinkedIn profile to signal that you are “open to opportunities”. Also be sure to use LinkedIn to search for people who are still actively hiring by searching for those that have the headline “I’m hiring” or “We’re hiring” in their profile.
- Prepare for online interviews using mock interview tools. Even before landing interviews, it can be useful to start practising.
- Be professional and patient. Always be professional with whoever you are interacting with throughout your search process, this will be remembered. You need to be patient, dedicated and not give up on your search. Candidates need to make sure they are following up appropriately for roles they have applied.
Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
