Pep Guardiola believes Champions League semi-final second leg is the toughest game, 'more than the final'


Richard Jolly
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Pep Guardiola has prepared Manchester City for the task of trying to reach a first ever Champions League final by warning the second leg of the semi-final is always tougher than the showpiece event itself.

City earned a 2-1 lead against last season's runners-up Paris Saint-Germain and go into Tuesday's rematch with Guardiola declaring himself "privileged" to be in the position and urging his players to repeat the performances that have got them this far but wary of his past experiences.

Guardiola is in his eighth Champions League semi-final as a manager but has only progressed to the final twice, in 2009 and 2011.

In 2010 and 2012, his Barcelona team went out at home to 10-man Inter Milan and 10-man Chelsea while his Bayern Munich suffered a hat-trick of semi-final disappointments, with the 2016 exit to Atletico Madrid hurting the most.

He said: “Every single time is different. The first two we didn’t deserve it, the third we were so close, we were unlucky not to go the final. But the second leg of semi-final is always the toughest game, more than the final.

“From my experience, the semi-final is always difficult. You play with the result of the first leg, thinking of the final, and can forget what you have to do. Always in my experience, the final is completely different.

“I don’t have to tell anyone what we’ve lived through for 11 months. I know the desire to reach the final. Stick together and suffer together, try to impose our game and try to win the game, be patient, attack and try to score goals.”

The semi-final is always difficult. You play with the result of the first leg, thinking of the final

Guardiola shrugged off suggestions that PSG forward Kylian Mbappe will be ruled out by declaring: “He is going to play. I am looking forward that he is going to play.”

City’s last Champions League tie against a Mauricio Pochettino team brought heartbreak as they won the 2019 second leg against Tottenham 4-3, only to exit on away goals after having an injury-time decider disallowed. “It’s the past,” Guardiola said. “Different clubs, different players, different moments.”

But defender John Stones said: “All those things that have happened have made us a stronger team. The disappointment of getting knocked out in harsh circumstances is hard to take. It’s something we have had to use as fuel to go and motivate us get our goal which is to win the Champions League."

Stones took heart from City’s comeback in Paris, when Kevin de Bruyne and Riyad Mahrez scored second-half goals after they trailed 1-0, as he vowed to grasp a rare chance.

“A huge victory, and the resilience and belief and character we showed in Paris is something you can’t put a finger on why it happened,” he added. “It comes from within the players and us as a collective.”

Stones is adamant City will not just sit on their lead, explaining: “We have never gone into a game thinking we need to defend and just sit there and think the job is done. It is a downward spiral if we go in like that.

“I never thought I would play in the Champions League. I used to love watching it on television at home, it was probably me staying up too late to watch it as a kid. It was a really special occasion. I loved the whole atmosphere, the whole background before the game, the whole show.

“To be in the situation now, to have the opportunity, you just don’t want to let it go. It is down to us, 90 minutes of us showing our character and us being the Man City that everyone knows and having that passion to make history for this club.”

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
match info

Chelsea 2
Willian (13'), Ross Barkley (64')

Liverpool 0

Biog

Mr Kandhari is legally authorised to conduct marriages in the gurdwara

He has officiated weddings of Sikhs and people of different faiths from Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Russia, the US and Canada

Father of two sons, grandfather of six

Plays golf once a week

Enjoys trying new holiday destinations with his wife and family

Walks for an hour every morning

Completed a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Loyola College, Chennai, India

2019 is a milestone because he completes 50 years in business

 

Brave CF 27 fight card

Welterweight:
Abdoul Abdouraguimov (champion, FRA) v Jarrah Al Selawe (JOR)

Lightweight:
Anas Siraj Mounir (TUN) v Alex Martinez (CAN)

Welterweight:
Mzwandile Hlongwa (RSA) v Khamzat Chimaev (SWE)

Middleweight:
Tarek Suleiman (SYR) v Rustam Chsiev (RUS)
Mohammad Fakhreddine (LEB) v Christofer Silva (BRA)

Super lightweight:
Alex Nacfur (BRA) v Dwight Brooks (USA)

Bantamweight:
Jalal Al Daaja (JOR) v Tariq Ismail (CAN)
Chris Corton (PHI) v Zia Mashwani (PAK)

Featherweight:
Sulaiman (KUW) v Abdullatip (RUS)

Super lightweight:
Flavio Serafin (BRA) v Mohammad Al Katib (JOR)

While you're here
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The End of Loneliness
Benedict Wells
Translated from the German by Charlotte Collins
Sceptre

Country-size land deals

US interest in purchasing territory is not as outlandish as it sounds. Here's a look at some big land transactions between nations:

Louisiana Purchase

If Donald Trump is one who aims to broker "a deal of the century", then this was the "deal of the 19th Century". In 1803, the US nearly doubled in size when it bought 2,140,000 square kilometres from France for $15 million.

Florida Purchase Treaty

The US courted Spain for Florida for years. Spain eventually realised its burden in holding on to the territory and in 1819 effectively ceded it to America in a wider border treaty. 

Alaska purchase

America's spending spree continued in 1867 when it acquired 1,518,800 km2 of  Alaskan land from Russia for $7.2m. Critics panned the government for buying "useless land".

The Philippines

At the end of the Spanish-American War, a provision in the 1898 Treaty of Paris saw Spain surrender the Philippines for a payment of $20 million. 

US Virgin Islands

It's not like a US president has never reached a deal with Denmark before. In 1917 the US purchased the Danish West Indies for $25m and renamed them the US Virgin Islands.

Gwadar

The most recent sovereign land purchase was in 1958 when Pakistan bought the southwestern port of Gwadar from Oman for 5.5bn Pakistan rupees. 

Profile

Company: Justmop.com

Date started: December 2015

Founders: Kerem Kuyucu and Cagatay Ozcan

Sector: Technology and home services

Based: Jumeirah Lake Towers, Dubai

Size: 55 employees and 100,000 cleaning requests a month

Funding:  The company’s investors include Collective Spark, Faith Capital Holding, Oak Capital, VentureFriends, and 500 Startups. 

Know before you go
  • Jebel Akhdar is a two-hour drive from Muscat airport or a six-hour drive from Dubai. It’s impossible to visit by car unless you have a 4x4. Phone ahead to the hotel to arrange a transfer.
  • If you’re driving, make sure your insurance covers Oman.
  • By air: Budget airlines Air Arabia, Flydubai and SalamAir offer direct routes to Muscat from the UAE.
  • Tourists from the Emirates (UAE nationals not included) must apply for an Omani visa online before arrival at evisa.rop.gov.om. The process typically takes several days.
  • Flash floods are probable due to the terrain and a lack of drainage. Always check the weather before venturing into any canyons or other remote areas and identify a plan of escape that includes high ground, shelter and parking where your car won’t be overtaken by sudden downpours.

 

'Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore'

Rating: 3/5

Directed by: David Yates

Starring: Mads Mikkelson, Eddie Redmayne, Ezra Miller, Jude Law

ESSENTIALS

The flights 

Etihad (etihad.com) flies from Abu Dhabi to Mykonos, with a flight change to its partner airline Olympic Air in Athens. Return flights cost from Dh4,105 per person, including taxes. 

Where to stay 

The modern-art-filled Ambassador hotel (myconianambassador.gr) is 15 minutes outside Mykonos Town on a hillside 500 metres from the Platis Gialos Beach, with a bus into town every 30 minutes (a taxi costs €15 [Dh66]). The Nammos and Scorpios beach clubs are a 10- to 20-minute walk (or water-taxi ride) away. All 70 rooms have a large balcony, many with a Jacuzzi, and of the 15 suites, five have a plunge pool. There’s also a private eight-bedroom villa. Double rooms cost from €240 (Dh1,063) including breakfast, out of season, and from €595 (Dh2,636) in July/August.

Our family matters legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

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Indian origin executives leading top technology firms

Sundar Pichai

Chief executive, Google and Alphabet

Satya Nadella

Chief executive, Microsoft

Ajaypal Singh Banga

President and chief executive, Mastercard

Shantanu Narayen

Chief executive, chairman, and president, Adobe

Indra Nooyi  

Board of directors, Amazon and former chief executive, PepsiCo

 

 

EXPATS
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Duterte Harry: Fire and Fury in the Philippines
Jonathan Miller, Scribe Publications

T20 World Cup Qualifier, Muscat

UAE FIXTURES

Friday February 18: v Ireland

Saturday February 19: v Germany

Monday February 21: v Philippines

Tuesday February 22: semi-finals

Thursday February 24: final