Alexis Sanchez has his penalty saved before tapping in the rebound to score his first goal for Manchester United. Rui Vieira / EPA
Alexis Sanchez has his penalty saved before tapping in the rebound to score his first goal for Manchester United. Rui Vieira / EPA

Sanchez stars on home debut as 'kid' McTominay impresses in Man United win over Huddersfield



Alexis Sanchez scored and provided Manchester United’s spark as Jose Mourinho’s side bounced back from a midweek defeat to beat Huddersfield Town 2-0 on Saturday.

The Chilean was all over the pitch on his home debut; he also lost the ball more times than any other player in a Premier League game this season. He was regularly fouled too and picked up a yellow card himself, but he was – and by some distance – the best player on the field on a day when Old Trafford remembered the victims of the Munich Air Disaster as Tuesday’s 60th anniversary approaches.

With Paul Pogba and Anthony Martial dropped to the bench after Wednesday’s defeat to Tottenham Hotspur, 21-year-old midfielder Scott McTominay was given only his second Premier League start.

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Read more:

Guardiola insists Burnley draw was 'one of our best performances this season'

Premier League round-up: Sanchez off the mark as Man United reduce gap on Man City

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“I changed a few players but the intention was not to punish anyone,” Mourinho said. “I made a few changes thinking about the characteristics of this game.”

The United manager denied it was bold move to drop Pogba for an inexperienced 21-year-old and he was vindicated as McTominay survived a bruising first half of heavy challenges to play the full match.

“I prefer to look at it in a beautiful way of a little kid that arrives here aged nine with his mum for the first training session,” Mourinho said. “Ten or 11 years after, he’s playing in a Manchester United shirt in an important match.”

Mourinho has regularly given young homegrown players opportunities and McTominay barely put a foot wrong beyond being disposed at the start of the game.

The promoted Terriers, who inflicted United’s first league defeat of the season in October, were as tenacious as their nickname. McTominay was clattered by Philip Billing after 14 minutes, while referee Stuart Atwell overlooked Terence Kongolo smashing into the slight midfielder after 33 minutes. Old Trafford winced at the challenge, but Atwell incredibly awarded a drop-ball.

United’s No 39 passed an impromptu test on his vision, dusted himself down and continued intercepting, making simple passes and always wanting the ball. His positioning was faultless and he had the confidence to ask Antonio Valencia why he hadn’t given him the ball.

“The kid (McTominay) started a little bit nervous but he grew up with the game,” Mourinho said. “He was fundamental for us in the way he gave us the desire to recover the ball. We were solid and by being solid all the time we could play.

“This kid has a great desire to recover the ball. When the team is not in possession, he’s a kid that chases the ball and tries to recover high on the pitch. When he has the ball he plays always simple and sometimes against opponents like Huddersfield (who are) so close with so many bodies behind the ball, simplicity is genius.”

Huddersfield were hard to break down.

“It was difficult at half time because it was 0-0,” Mourinho said. “We were in control from the first minute, but no goals. The second half was important to be calm and to play. At 1-0 I felt the game was ours.”

Romelu Lukaku put United ahead, flicking in a 54th minute Juan Mata cross at the near post in a move started by Sanchez. The former Arsenal forward won a penalty 12 minutes later, one he took and saw saved by Jonas Lossl before he scored with a follow up shot.

Sanchez was exhausted when he returned the dressing room, but his constant running and creativity was appreciated by the home crowd, one criticised by Mourinho for being "quiet". It was overall, but Sanchez often brought it to life as his side kept yet another clean sheet to stay second.

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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Game Changer

Director: Shankar 

Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram

Rating: 2/5

if you go

The flights

Air France offer flights from Dubai and Abu Dhabi to Cayenne, connecting in Paris from Dh7,300.

The tour

Cox & Kings (coxandkings.com) has a 14-night Hidden Guianas tour of Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana. It includes accommodation, domestic flights, transfers, a local tour manager and guided sightseeing. Contact for price.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
 
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Europa League group stage draw

Group A: Villarreal, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Astana, Slavia Prague.
Group B: Dynamo Kiev, Young Boys, Partizan Belgrade, Skenderbeu.
Group C: Sporting Braga, Ludogorets, Hoffenheim, Istanbul Basaksehir.
Group D: AC Milan, Austria Vienna , Rijeka, AEK Athens.
Group E: Lyon, Everton, Atalanta, Apollon Limassol.
Group F: FC Copenhagen, Lokomotiv Moscow, Sheriff Tiraspol, FC Zlin.
Group G: Vitoria Plzen, Steaua Bucarest, Hapoel Beer-Sheva, FC Lugano.
Group H: Arsenal, BATE Borisov, Cologne, Red Star Belgrade.
Group I: Salzburg, Marseille, Vitoria Guimaraes, Konyaspor.
Group J: Athletic Bilbao, Hertha Berlin, Zorya Luhansk, Ostersund.
Group K: Lazio, Nice, Zulte Waregem, Vitesse Arnhem.
Group L: Zenit St Petersburg, Real Sociedad, Rosenborg, Vardar

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
War and the virus
Dubai Bling season three

Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed 

Rating: 1/5

THE SPECS

Jaguar F-Pace SVR

Engine: 5-litre supercharged V8​​​​​​​

Transmission: 8-speed automatic

Power: 542bhp​​​​​​​

Torque: 680Nm​​​​​​​

Price: Dh465,071

The%20specs
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAlmouneer%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202017%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dr%20Noha%20Khater%20and%20Rania%20Kadry%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EEgypt%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E120%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EBootstrapped%2C%20with%20support%20from%20Insead%20and%20Egyptian%20government%2C%20seed%20round%20of%20%3Cbr%3E%243.6%20million%20led%20by%20Global%20Ventures%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong

Rating: 4.5/5

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Engine: Direct injection 4-cylinder 1.4-litre
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MATCH INFO

Champions League quarter-final, first leg

Ajax v Juventus, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)

Match on BeIN Sports

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5pm: Handicap (TB) Dh100,000, 2,400m
Winner: Recordman, Richard Mullen (jockey), Satish Seemar (trainer)

5.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh 70,000, 2,200m​​​​​​​
Winner: AF Taraha, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel

6pm: Abu Dhabi Fillies Classic Prestige (PA) Dh110,000, 1,400m​​​​​​​
Winner: Dhafra, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinel

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7.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000, 1,600m​​​​​​​
Winner: Optimizm, Patrick Cosgrave, Abdallah Al Hammadi

The Details

Article 15
Produced by: Carnival Cinemas, Zee Studios
Directed by: Anubhav Sinha
Starring: Ayushmann Khurrana, Kumud Mishra, Manoj Pahwa, Sayani Gupta, Zeeshan Ayyub
Our rating: 4/5 

UAE - India ties

The UAE is India’s third-largest trade partner after the US and China

Annual bilateral trade between India and the UAE has crossed US$ 60 billion

The UAE is the fourth-largest exporter of crude oil for India

Indians comprise the largest community with 3.3 million residents in the UAE

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi first visited the UAE in August 2015

His visit on August 23-24 will be the third in four years

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, visited India in February 2016

Sheikh Mohamed was the chief guest at India’s Republic Day celebrations in January 2017

Modi will visit Bahrain on August 24-25

If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.

When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.

How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.