Espanyol 0 Real Madrid 2
Real Madrid: Benzema (Rodriguez 45+2’), Benzema (71’)
Real Madrid brushed off the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale to beat Espanyol 2-0 away and maintain their 100 per cent start to the season while matching the Primera Liga record of 16 consecutive victories.
James Rodriguez scored his first Madrid goal in five months to give the visitors the lead in first half stoppage time before Karim Benzema sealed the points in the 71st minute with a close-range finish past former Madrid goalkeeper Diego Lopez.
Athletic Bilbao beat Valencia 2-1 to pile more pressure on the visitors’ beleaguered manager Pako Ayesteran, Villarreal downed Real Sociedad 2-1 thanks to a sensational 50-yard strike from Nicola Sansone, while Celta Vigo drew 0-0 at Osasuna.
Madrid stay top of the Primera Liga on 12 points, three above Barcelona and Las Palmas, having equalled Barca's record of 16 straight league wins achieved under Pep Guardiola in the 2010/11 season.
“We played a great game from the start with concentration and enthusiasm. The best way to get the points is to come out fired up like we did today,” Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane told Movistar Plus.
The Frenchman’s side also set a new club record for consecutive league wins, overtaking the 15-game winning streak under Miguel Munoz in the 1960/61 season.
“Of course, the record means a lot to us because it’s proof of the phenomenal work all the players are doing,” Zidane said. “Getting points is the most important thing but it’s also nice to have a record like this.”
SORE THROAT
Ronaldo missed the trip to Espanyol with a sore throat, having scored five goals in a 6-0 thrashing last season, while Bale is recovering from a hip injury sustained in Wednesday’s last-gasp 2-1 Uefa Champions League win over Sporting Lisbon.
The absence of the pair allowed Lucas Vazquez and Marco Asensio to face their former club, while Rodriguez came in for Germany international Toni Kroos in midfield.
Colombia’s 2014 World Cup Golden Boot winner has not enjoyed a consistent run in the side since Zidane took charge but seized the opportunity, nutmegging an Espanyol defender outside the area and stroking the ball into the bottom corner of the net.
Benzema had looked far from match fit against Sporting but was given another chance by Zidane and, after having an effort ruled out for offside in the first half, the Frenchman tapped in Asensio’s low cross to finish off a classy team move.
SENSATIONAL STRIKE
Villarreal forward Sansone scored from just over the halfway line as they beat Sociedad to move up to sixth in the table, level on eight points with Atletico Madrid and Sevilla.
The close-season signing from Serie A side Sassuolo let fly from the right hand side of the field to beat goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli in the 25th minute.
Italian Sansone had also given the hosts the lead three minutes earlier from inside the box after the Brazilian former Chelsea striker Alexandre Pato had missed a penalty.
Sociedad’s Yuri reduced the deficit in the 35th minute but they finished the game with 10 men after fellow defender Joseba Zaldua was sent off in the 89th minute for a second yellow card.
Athletic Bilbao came from behind to beat Valencia, who are bottom without a point or a goal from their four games.
“Now is the time to reflect on what we’re doing and make a real effort to turn things around on the pitch,” Valencia goalkeeper Diego Alves said. “We have a good enough team to improve on where we are at the moment.”
Alvaro Medran gave Valencia a dream start by scoring in the second minute but their former striker Aritz Aduriz turned the game in Athletic’s favour with two strikes before halftime.
Second-bottom Celta Vigo got their first point of the season in a goalless draw at promoted Osasuna, who are a point and a place above them in the standings.
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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.
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.”
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