You know the game is not the best when the loudest cheers from a sell-out 75,000 crowd were to mark the progress of paper airplanes thrown onto the pitch from the third tier of Bayern Munich’s Allianz Arena.
One, in the 37th minute, sailed close to the half way line and that was about as interesting as the first half got of a forgettable pre-season friendly.
Bayern goalkeeper and captain Manuel Neuer would not have been missed had he, like thousands of others, gone for a swim in the city’s packed English Gardens to escape the high summer heat.
Bayern Munich beat Manchester United 1-0 with a 59th minute goal from a Javi Martinez header on a hot Bavarian night where two extra hydration breaks were required.
Bayern barely broke pace because they did not need to and concerns will continue for United.
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Only a convincing start to the season will remove fans’ worries about a lack of transfer activity so far this summer.
The club are still intending to buy their third big money central defender in three seasons before Thursday’s transfer window, but won't be held to ransom by excessive fees from clubs or players’ agents.
Pre-season results have little bearing on the season ahead, but an encouraging performance against Bayern would have helped shift the cloud which has hung over United all pre-season.
Instead, United did not manage a single shot on goal against a team who only returned to training 10 days ago. United were missing players but they also had plenty of experienced men on the field. They barely got out of their own half.
By the end of the second half, the 1,400 travelling fans who’d started the game reminding Bayern fans of the 1999 Uefa Champions League final, were singing about former players. It was not like they had much to sing about on the pitch.
Two strong teams were fielded, with United bringing back Marcus Rashford, and Victor Lindelof, a substitute for their first games of the pre-season, while Alexis Sanchez captained United for the first time.
Bayern spent almost the entire first forty-five minutes camped inside the United half, but the score remained goalless until Martinez’s strike.
United open the 2018-19 Premier League season with a home game against Leicester City on Friday night.
They’re likely to be missing Paul Pogba, Romelu Lukaku, Ashley Young, Marouanne Fellaini and Jesse Lingard, while Nemanja Matic and Antonio Valencia are injured.
Eric Bailly limped off at the start of the second half in Munich, as did Ander Herrera. The Spaniard later said that he wasn’t injured.
Mourinho gave his opposite Niko Kovac a hug and a smile at the end of the game, but if this is the side to start against Leicester, there will be numerous questions from United fans.
Those fans want to see Luke Shaw do well, but the left-back has not been one of the more impressive players pre-season. Right back Matteo Darmian, who wants to leave United, has, but both full-back positions remain a worry.
Asked how the game had gone, Mourinho looked to the positives, believing his youthful side had acquitted themselves well against more experienced opposition.
“Brilliant, they could not have done better than they did," Mourinho told MUTV. "It was a fantastic experience for the boys.
"There was a moment when I was looking to the area and it was Axel, centre-back on the left, Demetri, left wing-back, Garner midfield on the left and Chong. And, at the same time, it was Lewandowski on Axel. It was Robben on Mitchell. Absolutely fantastic.
“We were playing against their best team, their complete squad apart from Tolisso. So once more, fantastic experience but difficult to make transfers to what we want to do in the Premier League.
"We were just playing for this kind of pride. We don't want to come here and to lose badly, four or five. We have a certain image, we want to give a certain competition which we did.”
As for transfers, with the window closing on Thursday, Mourinho added: “My CEO knows what I want and I still have a few days to wait and see what happens.
"The other clubs who compete with us are really strong and already have fantastic teams. Or they are investing massively like Liverpool, who are buying everything and everybody. If we don’t make our team better it will be a difficult season for us.”
United have not impressed, but it is only pre-season. The time for judgement begins on Friday.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League final:
Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
MATCH INFO
Manchester United 6 (McTominay 2', 3'; Fernandes 20', 70' pen; Lindelof 37'; James 65')
Leeds United 2 (Cooper 41'; Dallas 73')
Man of the match: Scott McTominay (Manchester United)
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
HOW TO WATCH
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EA Sports FC 26
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3/5
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.”
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
Company profile
Company: Rent Your Wardrobe
Date started: May 2021
Founder: Mamta Arora
Based: Dubai
Sector: Clothes rental subscription
Stage: Bootstrapped, self-funded
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
The Greatest Royal Rumble card as it stands
50-man Royal Rumble - names entered so far include Braun Strowman, Daniel Bryan, Kurt Angle, Big Show, Kane, Chris Jericho, The New Day and Elias
Universal Championship Brock Lesnar (champion) v Roman Reigns in a steel cage match
WWE World Heavyweight Championship AJ Styles (champion) v Shinsuke Nakamura
Intercontinental Championship Seth Rollins (champion) v The Miz v Finn Balor v Samoa Joe
United States Championship Jeff Hardy (champion) v Jinder Mahal
SmackDown Tag Team Championship The Bludgeon Brothers (champions) v The Usos
Raw Tag Team Championship (currently vacant) Cesaro and Sheamus v Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt
Casket match The Undertaker v Chris Jericho
Singles match John Cena v Triple H
Cruiserweight Championship Cedric Alexander v tba
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
23-man shortlist for next six Hall of Fame inductees
Tony Adams, David Beckham, Dennis Bergkamp, Sol Campbell, Eric Cantona, Andrew Cole, Ashley Cole, Didier Drogba, Les Ferdinand, Rio Ferdinand, Robbie Fowler, Steven Gerrard, Roy Keane, Frank Lampard, Matt Le Tissier, Michael Owen, Peter Schmeichel, Paul Scholes, John Terry, Robin van Persie, Nemanja Vidic, Patrick Viera, Ian Wright.
