Manchester City’s reward for reaching the knockout stage of the Champions League for the first time is a meeting with Barcelona, while holders Bayern Munich face Arsenal for the second year in a row following Monday’s last 16 draw.
City’s tally of 15 points is the most ever for a group-runner up but manager Manuel Pellegrini’s failure to realise that one more goal in their 3-2 win over Bayern would have given them top spot now looks even more damaging after they were drawn with four-times winners Barcelona.
“Very tough, we are happy because we are here and we will fight for the trophy, but it’s true that it could be maybe better,” City director of football Txiki Begiristain, who held the same position at Barcelona and spent seven years as a player at the Spanish club, told Sky Sports.
Bayern defeated Arsenal on away goals in last season’s round of 16, and their chief executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge was not looking forward to a rematch with the Premier League pace-setters.
“They are the leaders in the Premier League and so we have been warned,” he said.
“A few months ago we lost to them in Munich. They are a very tough team.”
Last season’s runners-up Borussia Dortmund will play Zenit St Petersburg, who scraped through with six pints after winning only one of their six group games while three-times champions Manchester United were paired with Olympiakos Piraeus.
Real Madrid, seeking a 10th title, play Germany’s Schalke, while high-flying Atletico Madrid take on AC Milan.
The other ties, to be played in February, feature Bayer Leverkusen v Paris St Germain and Galatasaray v Chelsea, where the Turkish club’s Didier Drogba will come face to face with his former employers whom he helped to the 2012 title.
The Ivorian left Chelsea after that victory, having scored the deciding penalty in the shoot-out success over Bayern, and the London side’s current manager Jose Mourinho spoke recently of his hope that the two teams would meet.
The final is at Lisbon’s Stadium of Light on May 24.
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Three ways to boost your credit score
Marwan Lutfi says the core fundamentals that drive better payment behaviour and can improve your credit score are:
1. Make sure you make your payments on time;
2. Limit the number of products you borrow on: the more loans and credit cards you have, the more it will affect your credit score;
3. Don't max out all your debts: how much you maximise those credit facilities will have an impact. If you have five credit cards and utilise 90 per cent of that credit, it will negatively affect your score.
MATCH INFO
What: 2006 World Cup quarter-final
When: July 1
Where: Gelsenkirchen Stadium, Gelsenkirchen, Germany
Result:
England 0 Portugal 0
(Portugal win 3-1 on penalties)
'Gold'
Director:Anthony Hayes
Stars:Zaf Efron, Anthony Hayes
Rating:3/5
Company Profile:
Name: The Protein Bakeshop
Date of start: 2013
Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani
Based: Dubai
Size, number of employees: 12
Funding/investors: $400,000 (2018)
Company profile
Name: Oulo.com
Founder: Kamal Nazha
Based: Dubai
Founded: 2020
Number of employees: 5
Sector: Technology
Funding: $450,000
EGYPT SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Ahmed El Shennawy, Mohamed El Shennawy, Mohamed Abou-Gabal, Mahmoud Abdel Rehem "Genesh"
Defenders: Ahmed Elmohamady, Ahmed Hegazi, Omar Gaber, Ali Gazal, Ayman Ahsraf, Mahmoud Hamdy, Baher Elmohamady, Ahmed Ayman Mansour, Mahmoud Alaa, Ahmed Abou-Elfotouh
Midfielders: Walid Soliman, Abdallah El Said, Mohamed Elneny, Tarek Hamed, Mahmoud “Trezeguet” Hassan, Amr Warda, Nabil Emad
Forwards: Ahmed Ali, Mohamed Salah, Marwan Mohsen, Ahmed "Kouka" Hassan.
The UAE squad for the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games
The jiu-jitsu men’s team: Faisal Al Ketbi, Zayed Al Kaabi, Yahia Al Hammadi, Taleb Al Kirbi, Obaid Al Nuaimi, Omar Al Fadhli, Zayed Al Mansoori, Saeed Al Mazroui, Ibrahim Al Hosani, Mohammed Al Qubaisi, Salem Al Suwaidi, Khalfan Belhol, Saood Al Hammadi.
Women’s team: Mouza Al Shamsi, Wadeema Al Yafei, Reem Al Hashmi, Mahra Al Hanaei, Bashayer Al Matrooshi, Hessa Thani, Salwa Al Ali.
Our legal advisor
Rasmi Ragy is a senior counsel at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.
Experience: Prosecutor in Egypt with more than 40 years experience across the GCC.
Education: Ain Shams University, Egypt, in 1978.
