Bramall Lane has staged more Test cricket than European football and that is set to remain the case. Sheffield United have had a wonderful return to the Premier League but their chances of qualifying for the Europa League were dented by Everton.
It amounted to an anticlimactic end to a glorious campaign on their own turf. United’s run of five straight home league wins had included memorable victories over Tottenham and Chelsea, but the insufficiently sharp Blades could not sign off with a sixth.
Richarlison ended Everton’s recent wretched run and rewarded Carlo Ancelotti for a tactical rethink that addressed some of their problems.
But it will not go down as a Premier League classic. The Brazilian's second-half header was the first effort on target. United, the destroyers of Spurs and Chelsea, did not muster any.
As Ancelotti experimented, Richarlison was shifted to the left wing but he showed his striking instincts were still intact for the sole goal. Perhaps more surprisingly, Gylfi Sigurdsson registered an assist.
It was just a third of the season for a supposed set-piece specialist, whose free kick was met by the Brazilian with a brilliant header. It was only Everton’s sixth summer goal.
Sigurdsson had been restored to his preferred position as a No. 10 as Ancelotti tinkered and opted for Marco Silva’s favourite formation, 4-2-3-1. It gave them an extra body in midfield, the department where Everton were weakest when Ancelotti played 4-4-2, and Andre Gomes excelled at the heart of the team, coming close to adding a second goal, while Theo Walcott was influential on the right wing.
The systemic change meant Dominic Calvert-Lewin was left alone in attack and the former Blade, who played for Chris Wilder at Northampton, has not scored in summer and ought to have ended his wait on his return to Bramall Lane.
Calvert-Lewin met Walcott’s cross with a header but, with the goal gaping, he hit the post. Dean Henderson parried a later and deflected shot by Calvert-Lewin, while a poor touch cost him a shooting chance when Gomes picked him out, but his wait continues.
Calvert-Lewin’s header apart, it was a non-event of a first half but that suited the least experienced of a depleted Everton side. The 18-year-old Jarrad Branthwaite, whose season began in League Two, could savour the lack of goalmouth action as he helped record a shutout on his first Premier League start.
The absences of Yerry Mina and Mason Holgate gave him a chance alongside the impressive Michael Keane at centre-back and Branthwaite took it. It meant that, while it was billed as a battle for the England goalkeeping spot, Jordan Pickford hardly had the chance to advance his claims.
Perhaps Pickford’s finest save was when he clawed away Chris Basham’s misdirected cross, which highlighted United’s impotence. Wilder sent out the same 11 responsible for a disappointing display against Leicester but this scarcely qualified as an emphatic response. It has been a stunning season at Bramall Lane, but this certainly was not a fitting finale.
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
Globalization and its Discontents Revisited
Joseph E. Stiglitz
W. W. Norton & Company
Opening day UAE Premiership fixtures, Friday, September 22:
- Dubai Sports City Eagles v Dubai Exiles
- Dubai Hurricanes v Abu Dhabi Saracens
- Jebel Ali Dragons v Abu Dhabi Harlequins
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Akeed
Based: Muscat
Launch year: 2018
Number of employees: 40
Sector: Online food delivery
Funding: Raised $3.2m since inception
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Fireball
Moscow claimed it hit the largest military fuel storage facility in Ukraine, triggering a huge fireball at the site.
A plume of black smoke rose from a fuel storage facility in the village of Kalynivka outside Kyiv on Friday after Russia said it had destroyed the military site with Kalibr cruise missiles.
"On the evening of March 24, Kalibr high-precision sea-based cruise missiles attacked a fuel base in the village of Kalynivka near Kyiv," the Russian defence ministry said in a statement.
Ukraine confirmed the strike, saying the village some 40 kilometres south-west of Kyiv was targeted.
if you go
The flights
Fly direct to Kutaisi with Flydubai from Dh925 return, including taxes. The flight takes 3.5 hours. From there, Svaneti is a four-hour drive. The driving time from Tbilisi is eight hours.
The trip
The cost of the Svaneti trip is US$2,000 (Dh7,345) for 10 days, including food, guiding, accommodation and transfers from and to Tbilisi or Kutaisi. This summer the TCT is also offering a 5-day hike in Armenia for $1,200 (Dh4,407) per person. For further information, visit www.transcaucasiantrail.org/en/hike/
