Pep Guardiola encouraged by Manchester City's comeback win over Chelsea, but admits Sergio Aguero injury 'doesn't look good'


Steve Luckings
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Manager Pep Guardiola praised his defence as Manchester City staged a come-from-behind victory over Chelsea that kept the champions nine points behind Liverpool in the Premier League title race.

With City having lost their previous game at Anfield, victory over an in-form Chelsea, who arrived at the Etihad on the back of a six-game winning streak, was essential if Guardiola's City were to keep Liverpool from pulling further away.

Chelsea midfielder N'Golo Kante had given Frank Lampard's enterprising side the lead but a deflected strike from Kevin de Bruyne and a fine Riyad Mahrez effort put City in front before the break.

"Chelsea are an incredible team, we knew it but we beat them," said Guardiola.

"It was a typical high-level game. Our back four played so good today. In the most difficult period of the game we scored on the counter. We created enough chances to score more goals."

It was a game where Chelsea showed, once again, that they are a team with huge potential but not yet the steel and defensive solidity to compete with the very best.

While City will be relieved to have emerged with the points, Guardiola will be concerned that his team still look substantially short of their top form.

The Catalan made five changes from the loss at Liverpool with, most significantly, keeper Ederson returning from injury.

Chelsea welcomed Jorginho back into their midfield and American winger Christian Pulisic was passed fit despite having struggled with a groin injury.

The visitors started brightly and were well worth their lead midway through the first half.

Mateo Kovacic picked out Kante's forward burst and the French midfielder held off compatriot Benjamin Mendy before smartly slipping the ball past the advancing Ederson.

But six minutes later Belgian midfielder De Bruyne got the champions level when the ball fell to him on the edge of the box and he wrongfooted the defence and unleashed a low drive which took two deflections before rattling past Kepa Arrizabalaga.

For all Chelsea's control on the ball, it was City who went into the break with their noses in front.

Mahrez cut in from the left and, with Chelsea's defence backing off, drove a left-foot shot into the far bottom corner.

Chelsea nearly put themselves out of the game two minutes before the break when Kepa gifted the ball to Sergio Aguero but the Argentine's shot from distance crashed off the bar.

A limping Aguero had to be replaced by Gabriel Jesus in the 77th minute and Guardiola said he appeared to have a muscle injury. "It doesn't look good," Guardiola said, with the former Atletico Madrid striker to undergo a scan on Sunday.

Inevitably there was some VAR controversy before the end, with Raheem Sterling's stoppage-time effort ruled out for what appeared to be a very tight offside call.

The possession stats showed City had just of 46.74 per cent of the ball, the lowest recorded by a side managed by Guardiola in any of his 381 top-flight matches in charge at his three clubs - Barcelona, Bayern Munich and City.

"We were controlling the game, we were playing some great stuff and we felt in control but you can’t be absolutely in control against Manchester City," said Lampard.

"It was bad luck for their first goal, and absolute quality from Riyad Mahrez for the second and that changed the game.

"Maybe we were a bit slow with our movement at the back, I know we were giving them a good game but I am disappointed with the small details."

How to get exposure to gold

Although you can buy gold easily on the Dubai markets, the problem with buying physical bars, coins or jewellery is that you then have storage, security and insurance issues.

A far easier option is to invest in a low-cost exchange traded fund (ETF) that invests in the precious metal instead, for example, ETFS Physical Gold (PHAU) and iShares Physical Gold (SGLN) both track physical gold. The VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF invests directly in mining companies.

Alternatively, BlackRock Gold & General seeks to achieve long-term capital growth primarily through an actively managed portfolio of gold mining, commodity and precious-metal related shares. Its largest portfolio holdings include gold miners Newcrest Mining, Barrick Gold Corp, Agnico Eagle Mines and the NewMont Goldcorp.

Brave investors could take on the added risk of buying individual gold mining stocks, many of which have performed wonderfully well lately.

London-listed Centamin is up more than 70 per cent in just three months, although in a sign of its volatility, it is down 5 per cent on two years ago. Trans-Siberian Gold, listed on London's alternative investment market (AIM) for small stocks, has seen its share price almost quadruple from 34p to 124p over the same period, but do not assume this kind of runaway growth can continue for long

However, buying individual equities like these is highly risky, as their share prices can crash just as quickly, which isn't what what you want from a supposedly safe haven.

Fight card

1. Bantamweight: Victor Nunes (BRA) v Siyovush Gulmamadov (TJK)

2. Featherweight: Hussein Salim (IRQ) v Shakhriyor Juraev (UZB)

3. Catchweight 80kg: Rashed Dawood (UAE) v Khamza Yamadaev (RUS)

4. Lightweight: Ho Taek-oh (KOR) v Ronald Girones (CUB)

5. Lightweight: Arthur Zaynukov (RUS) v Damien Lapilus (FRA)

6. Bantamweight: Vinicius de Oliveira (BRA) v Furkatbek Yokubov (RUS)

7. Featherweight: Movlid Khaybulaev (RUS) v Zaka Fatullazade (AZE)

8. Flyweight: Shannon Ross (TUR) v Donovon Freelow (USA)

9. Lightweight: Mohammad Yahya (UAE) v Dan Collins (GBR)

10. Catchweight 73kg: Islam Mamedov (RUS) v Martun Mezhulmyan (ARM)

11. Bantamweight World title: Jaures Dea (CAM) v Xavier Alaoui (MAR)

12. Flyweight World title: Manon Fiorot (FRA) v Gabriela Campo (ARG)

The Way It Was: My Life with Frank Sinatra by Eliot Weisman and Jennifer Valoppi
Hachette Books

Mercedes V250 Avantgarde specs

Engine: 2.0-litre in-line four-cylinder turbo

Gearbox: 7-speed automatic

Power: 211hp at 5,500rpm

Torque: 350Nm

Fuel economy, combined: 6.0 l/100 km

Price: Dh235,000

COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Mina Cup winners

Under 12 – Minerva Academy

Under 14 – Unam Pumas

Under 16 – Fursan Hispania

Under 18 – Madenat

Profile

Co-founders of the company: Vilhelm Hedberg and Ravi Bhusari

Launch year: In 2016 ekar launched and signed an agreement with Etihad Airways in Abu Dhabi. In January 2017 ekar launched in Dubai in a partnership with the RTA.

Number of employees: Over 50

Financing stage: Series B currently being finalised

Investors: Series A - Audacia Capital 

Sector of operation: Transport

Tax authority targets shisha levy evasion

The Federal Tax Authority will track shisha imports with electronic markers to protect customers and ensure levies have been paid.

Khalid Ali Al Bustani, director of the tax authority, on Sunday said the move is to "prevent tax evasion and support the authority’s tax collection efforts".

The scheme’s first phase, which came into effect on 1st January, 2019, covers all types of imported and domestically produced and distributed cigarettes. As of May 1, importing any type of cigarettes without the digital marks will be prohibited.

He said the latest phase will see imported and locally produced shisha tobacco tracked by the final quarter of this year.

"The FTA also maintains ongoing communication with concerned companies, to help them adapt their systems to meet our requirements and coordinate between all parties involved," he said.

As with cigarettes, shisha was hit with a 100 per cent tax in October 2017, though manufacturers and cafes absorbed some of the costs to prevent prices doubling.

England squad

Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Dominic Bess, James Bracey, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Sam Curran, Joe Denly, Ben Foakes, Lewis Gregory, Keaton Jennings, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Saqib Mahmood, Craig Overton, Jamie Overton, Matthew Parkinson, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Dom Sibley, Ben Stokes, Olly Stone, Amar Virdi, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood