Atletico Madrid and Chelsea will have it all to play for when they meet in the second leg of their Champions League semi-final in London next Wednesday after a 0-0 draw in the first leg at the Vicente Calderon on Tuesday.
Chances were few as Chelsea set up to stifle the hosts, with two late headers from Raul Garcia the closest Atletico came to breaking the deadlock.
The English side did suffer two significant injuries, however, as both goalkeeper Petr Cech and captain John Terry were forced off, ruling them out of the second leg.
Frank Lampard and John Obi Mikel will also be missing for Chelsea, along with Atletico captain Gabi, because they all received yellow cards that means they are suspended for the second leg, at Stamford Bridge.
“Petr Cech’s season is over,” said Mourinho of an injury later described as a separated shoulder. “Don’t ask me technically, but his season is over. For John, we’ll have to make the final for him to play again.”
Mourinho hailed his players’ defensive efforts which allows them to play “the game of their life” when they host Atletico on April 30. “This result means even more that the game will be decided by fine details in the second leg,” he said. “We had problems before the game and during the game, we lost four players; two with injuries and two with yellow cards, but we will fight.
“We were speaking about playing the game of our lives before and now the game of the lives is at Stamford Bridge.”
Diego Simeone, Atletic’s manager, remains confident his side can reach their second Champions League final next week.
“It was a classic example of a Champions League semi-final with both teams playing with their own objectives,” he said. “Ours was to score, but they have a very good defence and defended very well.
“The tie is completely open. They are playing at home and will feel better after tonight, but we will see what happens.”
Fernando Torres started in his first game back at the Calderon as a visiting player since leaving to join Liverpool in 2007, but he was an isolated figure as Chelsea were happy to stick 10 men behind the ball.
The visitors suffered a big blow after just 17 minutes, when Garcia upended Cech in his attempt to reach an Atletico corner from the left and the Czech goalkeeper was unable to continue.
Veteran Australian goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer was forced into action to replace Cech, becoming the oldest player to appear in the knockout stages of the Champions League, at the age of 41.
“It happened very quickly, but I’m getting used to it,” Schwarzer told ITV. “I just tried to do my job but like all the others I was up for it.
“We knew if we could match their determination our quality would shine through.”
Mario Suarez shot just wide and Diego Costa had an effort brilliantly blocked by Cesar Azpilicueta as Atletico began to build up some semblance of pressure towards the end of the half.
However, Diego Ribas’s tame low effort that was easily gathered by Schwarzer was their only effort on target before the break.
Chelsea finally registered a shot on target three minutes after the restart when Lampard’s volley was well held by Thibaut Courtois.
Schwarzer nearly gifted Atletico the opener as his poor punch landed at the feet of Diego Ribas, but the Brazilian delayed his shot and the Chelsea stopper got back to make a comfortable save.
Chelsea suffered another injury blow when Terry was forced off 18 minutes from time and his absence allowed Atletico to have more joy with balls into the box in the closing stages.
A low free-kick from Gabi nearly caught out Schwarzer as he scrambled across goal to make a low save to his right.
Atletico’s aerial onslaught then arrived as Garcia sent two headers sailing just over the bar, whilst Arda Turan also saw a headed effort sneak past the post.
Chelsea had a late chance to snatch a vital away goal when Torres was felled on the edge of the area by Miranda, but David Luiz sent the resulting free-kick over the bar.
Follow us on Twitter @SprtNationalUAE
From Europe to the Middle East, economic success brings wealth - and lifestyle diseases
A rise in obesity figures and the need for more public spending is a familiar trend in the developing world as western lifestyles are adopted.
One in five deaths around the world is now caused by bad diet, with obesity the fastest growing global risk. A high body mass index is also the top cause of metabolic diseases relating to death and disability in Kuwait, Qatar and Oman – and second on the list in Bahrain.
In Britain, heart disease, lung cancer and Alzheimer’s remain among the leading causes of death, and people there are spending more time suffering from health problems.
The UK is expected to spend $421.4 billion on healthcare by 2040, up from $239.3 billion in 2014.
And development assistance for health is talking about the financial aid given to governments to support social, environmental development of developing countries.
Company Profile
Company name: Hoopla
Date started: March 2023
Founder: Jacqueline Perrottet
Based: Dubai
Number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Investment required: $500,000
Why are you, you?
Why are you, you?
From this question, a new beginning.
From this question, a new destiny.
For you are a world, and a meeting of worlds.
Our dream is to unite that which has been
separated by history.
To return the many to the one.
A great story unites us all,
beyond colour and creed and gender.
The lightning flash of art
And the music of the heart.
We reflect all cultures, all ways.
We are a twenty first century wonder.
Universal ideals, visions of art and truth.
Now is the turning point of cultures and hopes.
Come with questions, leave with visions.
We are the link between the past and the future.
Here, through art, new possibilities are born. And
new answers are given wings.
Why are you, you?
Because we are mirrors of each other.
Because together we create new worlds.
Together we are more powerful than we know.
We connect, we inspire, we multiply illuminations
with the unique light of art.
Ben Okri,
The five pillars of Islam
How to play the stock market recovery in 2021?
If you are looking to build your long-term wealth in 2021 and beyond, the stock market is still the best place to do it as equities powered on despite the pandemic.
Investing in individual stocks is not for everyone and most private investors should stick to mutual funds and ETFs, but there are some thrilling opportunities for those who understand the risks.
Peter Garnry, head of equity strategy at Saxo Bank, says the 20 best-performing US and European stocks have delivered an average return year-to-date of 148 per cent, measured in local currency terms.
Online marketplace Etsy was the best performer with a return of 330.6 per cent, followed by communications software company Sinch (315.4 per cent), online supermarket HelloFresh (232.8 per cent) and fuel cells specialist NEL (191.7 per cent).
Mr Garnry says digital companies benefited from the lockdown, while green energy firms flew as efforts to combat climate change were ramped up, helped in part by the European Union’s green deal.
Electric car company Tesla would be on the list if it had been part of the S&P 500 Index, but it only joined on December 21. “Tesla has become one of the most valuable companies in the world this year as demand for electric vehicles has grown dramatically,” Mr Garnry says.
By contrast, the 20 worst-performing European stocks fell 54 per cent on average, with European banks hit by the economic fallout from the pandemic, while cruise liners and airline stocks suffered due to travel restrictions.
As demand for energy fell, the oil and gas industry had a tough year, too.
Mr Garnry says the biggest story this year was the “absolute crunch” in so-called value stocks, companies that trade at low valuations compared to their earnings and growth potential.
He says they are “heavily tilted towards financials, miners, energy, utilities and industrials, which have all been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic”. “The last year saw these cheap stocks become cheaper and expensive stocks have become more expensive.”
This has triggered excited talk about the “great value rotation” but Mr Garnry remains sceptical. “We need to see a breakout of interest rates combined with higher inflation before we join the crowd.”
Always remember that past performance is not a guarantee of future returns. Last year’s winners often turn out to be this year’s losers, and vice-versa.
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League, last-16, second leg (first-leg scores in brackets):
PSG (2) v Manchester United (0)
Midnight (Thursday), BeIN Sports
Washmen Profile
Date Started: May 2015
Founders: Rami Shaar and Jad Halaoui
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Laundry
Employees: 170
Funding: about $8m
Funders: Addventure, B&Y Partners, Clara Ventures, Cedar Mundi Partners, Henkel Ventures
Brief scoreline:
Manchester United 0
Manchester City 2
Bernardo Silva 54', Sane 66'
Fight card
Bantamweight
Siyovush Gulmamadov (TJK) v Rey Nacionales (PHI)
Lightweight
Alexandru Chitoran (ROM) v Hussein Fakhir Abed (SYR)
Catch 74kg
Tohir Zhuraev (TJK) v Omar Hussein (JOR)
Strawweight (Female)
Weronika Zygmunt (POL) v Seo Ye-dam (KOR)
Featherweight
Kaan Ofli (TUR) v Walid Laidi (ALG)
Lightweight
Leandro Martins (BRA) v Abdulla Al Bousheiri (KUW)
Welterweight
Ahmad Labban (LEB) v Sofiane Benchohra (ALG)
Bantamweight
Jaures Dea (CAM) v Nawras Abzakh (JOR)
Lightweight
Mohammed Yahya (UAE) v Glen Ranillo (PHI)
Lightweight
Alan Omer (GER) v Aidan Aguilera (AUS)
Welterweight
Mounir Lazzez (TUN) Sasha Palatnikov (HKG)
Featherweight title bout
Romando Dy (PHI) v Lee Do-gyeom (KOR)
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
ROUTE TO TITLE
Round 1: Beat Leolia Jeanjean 6-1, 6-2
Round 2: Beat Naomi Osaka 7-6, 1-6, 7-5
Round 3: Beat Marie Bouzkova 6-4, 6-2
Round 4: Beat Anastasia Potapova 6-0, 6-0
Quarter-final: Beat Marketa Vondrousova 6-0, 6-2
Semi-final: Beat Coco Gauff 6-2, 6-4
Final: Beat Jasmine Paolini 6-2, 6-2
