Twelve games into the Premier League season and Manchester City are 12 points ahead of Manchester United. City have never enjoyed such a gap over their crosstown rivals at the start of a season. Asked after Sunday’s 3-1 defeat at the Etihad Stadium about being closer to 18th place Cardiff than City, Jose Mourinho said: “We are not going to be relegated.”
He's right, of course, but if it carries on like this then City, who have excelled despite being without their best player, Kevin de Bruyne, still nursing his way back from injury, for much of the campaign, will finish 38 points ahead of United, with more than last season's 100 points and more than last season's record 18-point gap between first and second. City are on course to shatter last season's 106 goals – they might even get a 100 point goal difference if they keep up at the current rate.
It all makes grim reading for United fans. City kept up their average of three goals per game against United, condemning Mourinho's men to a fourth league defeat of the season. United, for all their exciting attacking talent, are the only team in the top 10 with a negative goal difference. “The way people that don’t understand football is analyse football with stats. I don’t go for stats,” Mourinho said.
He doesn't – unless he's listing his achievements and titles won. His strengths are his preparation, his attention to detail and his leadership. The Portuguese is still a formidable manager, and his double substitution in Turin last Wednesday as United came from a goal down to beat Juventus in a Uefa Champions League group match was inspired, but 10th place in the league and already out of one domestic cup competition at the first stage is no place for United.
Mourinho also maintains that the league table will look very different come the end of the year, but the title race is all but over for United. This will be the sixth consecutive season United have failed not only to win the league but to mount a decent challenge.
Teams as good as City won’t give up such a lead and Pep Guardiola is merely being magnanimous in stating that United are still in the battle at the top. It’s easy to be generous when you are miles ahead. City haven’t lost a game all season and not for nothing were United at their most unfancied to get a win there. Youth players seldom get a chance, Mancunians too, but wins are all that matter to the vast majority of football fans.
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Read more:
Premier League team of the week: Silva service in midfield after Manchester derby masterclass
Richard Jolly: David Silva highlights Manchester City's dominance in derby victory over United
Manchester derby: In the battle of adversaries, Pep Guardiola still holds the edge over Jose Mourinho
Andy Mitten: Remembering the players of Manchester's clubs who made the ultimate sacrifice
Jose Mourinho defends Juve taunts after Manchester United's 'fantastic victory'
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United had scored late, match-winning goals in recent weeks against Newcastle United, Bournemouth and Juventus. Those goals lifted the mood, but without Paul Pogba, who had been so influential in United's comeback win at City last season, and with the out-of-form Nemanja Matic – or Nemanja Static, as some fans have started calling him – it was always going to be tough against such an accomplished side who move the ball quickly in midfield.
The problem for United is not the way they finish games, but the way they start. Too many goals are conceded early and the team leave themselves with much to do. United have gone behind in seven Premier League games so far. Mourinho wanted a central defender over the summer and it's easy to see why: United have conceded more goals at this stage of the season than at any time in the past 50 years. More stats, Mr Mourinho, but they are all relevant.
The comebacks make for exciting finales, but distort the overall picture - you don't need any stats to see that Ilkay Gundogan was in more space for City’s third goal than the International Space Station.
Little attention will be paid to the United players talking about bouncing back and being positive. The sentiment is understandable, but talk is cheap. It’s what happens on the field that matters and Manchester United have shipped a point per game to Manchester City so far this season.
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THE BIO
Occupation: Specialised chief medical laboratory technologist
Age: 78
Favourite destination: Always Al Ain “Dar Al Zain”
Hobbies: his work - “ the thing which I am most passionate for and which occupied all my time in the morning and evening from 1963 to 2019”
Other hobbies: football
Favorite football club: Al Ain Sports Club
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
- Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
- Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
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- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Almouneer
Started: 2017
Founders: Dr Noha Khater and Rania Kadry
Based: Egypt
Number of staff: 120
Investment: Bootstrapped, with support from Insead and Egyptian government, seed round of
$3.6 million led by Global Ventures
Company profile
Name: One Good Thing
Founders: Bridgett Lau and Micheal Cooke
Based in: Dubai
Sector: e-commerce
Size: 5 employees
Stage: Looking for seed funding
Investors: Self-funded and seeking external investors
Ain Dubai in numbers
126: The length in metres of the legs supporting the structure
1 football pitch: The length of each permanent spoke is longer than a professional soccer pitch
16 A380 Airbuses: The equivalent weight of the wheel rim.
9,000 tonnes: The amount of steel used to construct the project.
5 tonnes: The weight of each permanent spoke that is holding the wheel rim in place
192: The amount of cable wires used to create the wheel. They measure a distance of 2,4000km in total, the equivalent of the distance between Dubai and Cairo.
10 tips for entry-level job seekers
- Have an up-to-date, professional LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, set one up today. Avoid poor-quality profile pictures with distracting backgrounds. Include a professional summary and begin to grow your network.
- Keep track of the job trends in your sector through the news. Apply for job alerts at your dream organisations and the types of jobs you want – LinkedIn uses AI to share similar relevant jobs based on your selections.
- Double check that you’ve highlighted relevant skills on your resume and LinkedIn profile.
- For most entry-level jobs, your resume will first be filtered by an applicant tracking system for keywords. Look closely at the description of the job you are applying for and mirror the language as much as possible (while being honest and accurate about your skills and experience).
- Keep your CV professional and in a simple format – make sure you tailor your cover letter and application to the company and role.
- Go online and look for details on job specifications for your target position. Make a list of skills required and set yourself some learning goals to tick off all the necessary skills one by one.
- Don’t be afraid to reach outside your immediate friends and family to other acquaintances and let them know you are looking for new opportunities.
- Make sure you’ve set your LinkedIn profile to signal that you are “open to opportunities”. Also be sure to use LinkedIn to search for people who are still actively hiring by searching for those that have the headline “I’m hiring” or “We’re hiring” in their profile.
- Prepare for online interviews using mock interview tools. Even before landing interviews, it can be useful to start practising.
- Be professional and patient. Always be professional with whoever you are interacting with throughout your search process, this will be remembered. You need to be patient, dedicated and not give up on your search. Candidates need to make sure they are following up appropriately for roles they have applied.
Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz
Quick pearls of wisdom
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
Dr Amal Khalid Alias revealed a recent case of a woman with daughters, who specifically wanted a boy.
A semen analysis of the father showed abnormal sperm so the couple required IVF.
Out of 21 eggs collected, six were unused leaving 15 suitable for IVF.
A specific procedure was used, called intracytoplasmic sperm injection where a single sperm cell is inserted into the egg.
On day three of the process, 14 embryos were biopsied for gender selection.
The next day, a pre-implantation genetic report revealed four normal male embryos, three female and seven abnormal samples.
Day five of the treatment saw two male embryos transferred to the patient.
The woman recorded a positive pregnancy test two weeks later.
'HIJRAH: IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF THE PROPHET'
Edited by: Idries Trevathan
Pages: 240
Publisher: Hirmer Publishers
Available: Now
Confirmed bouts (more to be added)
Cory Sandhagen v Umar Nurmagomedov
Nick Diaz v Vicente Luque
Michael Chiesa v Tony Ferguson
Deiveson Figueiredo v Marlon Vera
Mackenzie Dern v Loopy Godinez
Tickets for the August 3 Fight Night, held in partnership with the Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi, went on sale earlier this month, through www.etihadarena.ae and www.ticketmaster.ae.
