Aston Villa 0 Tottenham 2
Tottenham Kane 45', 48'
Birmingham, United Kingdom // Harry Kane reignited Tottenham Hotspur's Premier League title challenge with a well-taken double as his side heaped more misery on rock-bottom Aston Villa with a 2-0 win on Sunday.
The prolific England striker took his tally to 22 goals for the season by striking either side of half-time at Villa Park as Spurs moved to within two points of leaders Leicester City, who host Newcastle United on Monday.
It was the perfect answer for the doubters at the end of a week in which Mauricio Pochettino’s side had squandered a 2-1 lead to draw 2-2 with Arsenal in the north London derby before crashing 3-0 at Borussia Dortmund in the first leg of their Europa League last 16 tie.
“It was a good victory and three important points after a few games that have not been so good,” Spurs manager Pochettino told the BBC.
“We need to keep the pressure on and win games. You cannot stop the dream of the supporters and they are right to dream. But we need to work hard.”
Read more: Tottenham Hotspur players 'are not machines' says Pochettino, explaining dip
Kane’s England team-mate Dele Alli set up both of his goals, firstly with a quickly taken free-kick on the cusp of half-time and then with a burst down the left wing in the 48th minute.
Spurs exerted pressure on the Villa defence from the outset and should have gone ahead as early as the third minute.
Erik Lamela threaded a pass through to Kane, but while he timed his run perfectly, his chip over the advancing Brad Guzan was too heavy and he watched in anguish as it clipped the top of the bar.
The first threat from Villa came when Jordan Veretout produced a penetrating run down the right, but Rudy Gestede could not make clean contact with his cross.
That was only brief respite for the home side as wave upon wave of Spurs raids led to a succession of clear-cut opportunities to take the lead.
After Christian Eriksen had shot inches wide from distance, Guzan came to Villa’s rescue with an instinctive save to keep out a close-range effort from Kane following a cross by Danny Rose.
Tottenham were then left wondering how a goal did not arrive in the 32nd minute as Lamela’s first-time shot from a Kyle Walker cross was pushed onto the post by Guzan.
The rebound hit the Villa goalkeeper on the shoulder before Alan Hutton managed to clear the loose ball.
Spurs had been knocking at the door throughout the first half and right on the stroke of half-time, they got the all-important breakthrough.
Alli unlocked the Villa defence with a smart free-kick and Kane forced his way past Jores Okore before firing a low shot beyond the reach of Guzan.
Within three minutes of the restart, Tottenham had gained further reward for their dominance as the Alli-Kane partnership struck again.
The former Milton Keynes Dons teenager ventured forward down the left and his low cross was side-footed into the roof of the net by the ever-alert Kane.
It knocked the stuffing out of Villa and Spurs passed the ball around with relative ease as they probed for another opening.
It seemed almost too easy when Lamela broke to the edge of the box, but his eventual shot lacked the sting or direction to trouble Guzan.
A burst down the left by Rose teed up an opportunity for Eriksen to try his luck from long range again, but his left-foot volley was high and wide.
Villa’s torment was heightened by two glaring misses in the closing stages as Gestede hit the underside of the bar from point-blank range before Joleon Lescott somehow contrived to miss from a similar position moments later.
“The result is not positive, but for sure the attitude and commitment for the 90 minutes was better than in previous weeks,” said Villa manager Remi Garde, whose side are nine points adrift of safety.
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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
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
