Pep Guardiola contemplated a landscape he has not seen before. “We have a big rival 22 points ahead,” he said. “And that’s not good.”
The Premier League table has been shaped by Liverpool’s extraordinary run, but also by his own side’s unforeseen difficulties. Manchester City were the team who disappeared into the distance. Now Liverpool are the dot on the horizon for everyone else. “We did something incredible and Liverpool is doing it now,” Guardiola added. “We cannot deny the distance is big: 22 points. We didn’t expect it but we have to respect it.”
Virtually everyone is affected by sporting cycles. “Except for [Roger] Federer, [Rafa] Nadal and [Novak] Djokovic,” Guardiola said. As he underlined ahead of Sunday's home game with West Ham, footballing fortunes can shift with sudden speed.
“Two years ago, we were 25 points ahead of them [Liverpool],” he said. In one sense, it has not been a problem of personnel. “This group of players won something unique,” Guardiola noted: five domestic titles out of six, a historic treble, a Premier League title with 100 points.
Only Vincent Kompany of the pivotal players has left and if the captain’s leadership has been missed, Guardiola also noted how, though his appearances were sporadic, his finest form was outstanding.
"During the season, Vinnie didn’t play much because of the injuries and always during the last two and a half months, he was always the best central defender in the world,” he said.
City lost a centre-back partnership in weeks. Aymeric Laporte’s knee problem has restricted him to one game since August and City have already conceded more league goals than in either of Guardiola’s two title-winning seasons.
John Stones, who has had a difficult campaign, did not even make the bench at Tottenham last Sunday. “It is not easy for him,” said Guardiola. Left-back Benjamin Mendy is another who has had a stop-start season with injuries part of his problem.
But Laporte is indispensable. City have only been beaten in four of the Frenchman’s 49 league games. They have lost six of the last 20 when he has not featured. Liverpool’s form is such that they probably would have been champions anyway but for City, the title has been lost in the penalty boxes. They have had the most shots and conceded the fewest. They have had the most possession with the highest pass completion rate. And yet there are times when statistical domination has brought defeats or draws.
“Of course, we drop points we should not drop,” added Guardiola. “We cannot win when we miss and they arrive once [in the box] and score.”
Two meetings with Tottenham this season have been cases in point: City had 48 shots in total, scored two and got one point. Spurs had six shots on target, ending up with four goals and four points. Wolves won 2-0 at the Etihad Stadium with two shots on target. Crystal Palace and Newcastle got 2-2 draws and Norwich won 3-2 with three attempts each on target.
It looks a statistical freak, especially given Ederson’s excellence, though Claudio Bravo’s save percentage this season is a lowly 53, but it does suggest opponents are getting chances of quality, though not in quantity.
There have been defensive issues further up the pitch: City have pressed less intensely as David Silva has declined and Ilkay Gundogan and Rodri do not always cut out counter-attacks in midfield in the way Fernandinho did. Wolves, Palace, Norwich and Liverpool have all caught City on the break to score.
But the fact City brought up a century of goals in all competitions in January shows how prolific they can be. What they have not been is consistently clinical. “We’ve scored a lot but I don’t know why we are missing chances,” reflected Guardiola. “I didn’t see one game where we were much worse.”
Instead, creativity has led to profligacy at times. It has not helped that City are scoring fewer of their trademark goals, close-range finishes from low crosses, or that Raheem Sterling had not scored in eight games before being injured.
Guardiola is reluctant to use Leroy Sane’s absence as an excuse, but his last two seasons produced 20 goals and 25 assists in the Premier League. Factor in a slight drop-off from David Silva and Bernardo Silva’s struggles to replicate last season’s brilliance and Kevin de Bruyne has shouldered a bigger burden
Guardiola has remained defiant, praising his players and defending his style of play. “I am proud,” he added. “I like what they do.” The challenge is to add ruthlessness if they are to regain the title next year.
Explainer: Tanween Design Programme
Non-profit arts studio Tashkeel launched this annual initiative with the intention of supporting budding designers in the UAE. This year, three talents were chosen from hundreds of applicants to be a part of the sixth creative development programme. These are architect Abdulla Al Mulla, interior designer Lana El Samman and graphic designer Yara Habib.
The trio have been guided by experts from the industry over the course of nine months, as they developed their own products that merge their unique styles with traditional elements of Emirati design. This includes laboratory sessions, experimental and collaborative practice, investigation of new business models and evaluation.
It is led by British contemporary design project specialist Helen Voce and mentor Kevin Badni, and offers participants access to experts from across the world, including the likes of UK designer Gareth Neal and multidisciplinary designer and entrepreneur, Sheikh Salem Al Qassimi.
The final pieces are being revealed in a worldwide limited-edition release on the first day of Downtown Designs at Dubai Design Week 2019. Tashkeel will be at stand E31 at the exhibition.
Lisa Ball-Lechgar, deputy director of Tashkeel, said: “The diversity and calibre of the applicants this year … is reflective of the dynamic change that the UAE art and design industry is witnessing, with young creators resolute in making their bold design ideas a reality.”
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
David Einhorn closed out 2018 with his biggest annual loss ever for the 22-year-old Greenlight Capital.
The firm’s main hedge fund fell 9 per cent in December, extending this year’s decline to 34 percent, according to an investor update viewed by Bloomberg.
Greenlight posted some of the industry’s best returns in its early years, but has stumbled since losing more than 20 per cent in 2015.
Other value-investing managers have also struggled, as a decade of historically low interest rates and the rise of passive investing and quant trading pushed growth stocks past their inexpensive brethren. Three Bays Capital and SPO Partners & Co., which sought to make wagers on undervalued stocks, closed in 2018. Mr Einhorn has repeatedly expressed his frustration with the poor performance this year, while remaining steadfast in his commitment to value investing.
Greenlight, which posted gains only in May and October, underperformed both the broader market and its peers in 2018. The S&P 500 Index dropped 4.4 per cent, including dividends, while the HFRX Global Hedge Fund Index, an early indicator of industry performance, fell 7 per cent through December. 28.
At the start of the year, Greenlight managed $6.3 billion in assets, according to a regulatory filing. By May, the firm was down to $5.5bn.
Clubs: 2015-2017 – Al Ahli Dubai; March-June 2018 – Paris FC; August – Al Wahda
Tamkeen's offering
Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
Option 2: 50% across three years
Option 3: 30% across five years
The Bio
Favourite holiday destination: Either Kazakhstan or Montenegro. I’ve been involved in events in both countries and they are just stunning.
Favourite book: I am a huge of Robin Cook’s medical thrillers, which I suppose is quite apt right now. My mother introduced me to them back home in New Zealand.
Favourite film or television programme: Forrest Gump is my favourite film, that’s never been up for debate. I love watching repeats of Mash as well.
Inspiration: My late father moulded me into the man I am today. I would also say disappointment and sadness are great motivators. There are times when events have brought me to my knees but it has also made me determined not to let them get the better of me.
Terror attacks in Paris, November 13, 2015
- At 9.16pm, three suicide attackers killed one person outside the Atade de France during a foootball match between France and Germany - At 9.25pm, three attackers opened fire on restaurants and cafes over 20 minutes, killing 39 people - Shortly after 9.40pm, three other attackers launched a three-hour raid on the Bataclan, in which 1,500 people had gathered to watch a rock concert. In total, 90 people were killed - Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the terrorists, did not directly participate in the attacks, thought to be due to a technical glitch in his suicide vest - He fled to Belgium and was involved in attacks on Brussels in March 2016. He is serving a life sentence in France
