Andres Iniesta will always be a hero to Barcelona and Spain fans but some had started to question whether the 30-year-old's best days were behind him.
The playmaker's outrageous skills were on full display again on Tuesday, however, as he cut through the Paris Saint-Germain midfield and released Neymar in front of goal to put Barca 1-0 ahead in the 14th minute of their Uefa Champions League quarter-final second leg.
Already leading 3-1 from last week’s first leg in Paris, Neymar’s goal, the first of a double in a 2-0 win for Barca on the night, effectively killed PSG’s chances of a comeback.
The Catalans eased through to the last four for the seventh time in eight seasons and a record 11th time in the Champions League era.
Iniesta’s skilled slalom in the build-up to the opening goal brought the home fans at Camp Nou to their feet.
Receiving the ball from centre-back Javier Mascherano deep in the Barca half with his back to the PSG goal, a clever feint took Iniesta past advancing midfielder Yohan Cabaye.
Forward Edinson Cavani attempted to rob the ball but Iniesta simply motored past him before a burst of pace took him away from midfielder Marco Verratti’s desperate lunge.
Advancing on the retreating PSG back line, Iniesta waited until the perfect moment before threading a pass between the defenders and Neymar took the ball around PSG goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu and poked it into the empty net.
It was only a third assist of the season for Iniesta in the Champions League, while he has made none in La Liga and two in the Copa del Rey as Barca chase a treble of trophies to match their historic haul from 2009 under Pep Guardiola.
“I was never away but some people see things one way and others another,” Iniesta told reporters.
“I always try to do things well. I am very happy with the way everything is working out. I think you can always improve everything.”
Barca will learn who their opponents in the last four are in Friday’s draw, with Bayern Munich already through after they crushed Porto on Tuesday.
Holders Real Madrid host Atletico Madrid later on Wednesday with the city rivals locked at 0-0, while Italian champions Juventus have a 1-0 advantage when they play at Ligue 1 side Monaco.
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Temple numbers
Expected completion: 2022
Height: 24 meters
Ground floor banquet hall: 370 square metres to accommodate about 750 people
Ground floor multipurpose hall: 92 square metres for up to 200 people
First floor main Prayer Hall: 465 square metres to hold 1,500 people at a time
First floor terrace areas: 2,30 square metres
Temple will be spread over 6,900 square metres
Structure includes two basements, ground and first floor
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Indika
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SERIE A FIXTURES
Saturday (All UAE kick-off times)
Lecce v SPAL (6pm)
Bologna v Genoa (9pm)
Atlanta v Roma (11.45pm)
Sunday
Udinese v Hellas Verona (3.30pm)
Juventus v Brescia (6pm)
Sampdoria v Fiorentina (6pm)
Sassuolo v Parma (6pm)
Cagliari v Napoli (9pm)
Lazio v Inter Milan (11.45pm)
Monday
AC Milan v Torino (11.45pm)
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
The biog
Siblings: five brothers and one sister
Education: Bachelors in Political Science at the University of Minnesota
Interests: Swimming, tennis and the gym
Favourite place: UAE
Favourite packet food on the trip: pasta primavera
What he did to pass the time during the trip: listen to audio books
GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Retirement funds heavily invested in equities at a risky time
Pension funds in growing economies in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East have a sharply higher percentage of assets parked in stocks, just at a time when trade tensions threaten to derail markets.
Retirement money managers in 14 geographies now allocate 40 per cent of their assets to equities, an 8 percentage-point climb over the past five years, according to a Mercer survey released last week that canvassed government, corporate and mandatory pension funds with almost $5 trillion in assets under management. That compares with about 25 per cent for pension funds in Europe.
The escalating trade spat between the US and China has heightened fears that stocks are ripe for a downturn. With tensions mounting and outcomes driven more by politics than economics, the S&P 500 Index will be on course for a “full-scale bear market” without Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts, Citigroup’s global macro strategy team said earlier this week.
The increased allocation to equities by growth-market pension funds has come at the expense of fixed-income investments, which declined 11 percentage points over the five years, according to the survey.
Hong Kong funds have the highest exposure to equities at 66 per cent, although that’s been relatively stable over the period. Japan’s equity allocation jumped 13 percentage points while South Korea’s increased 8 percentage points.
The money managers are also directing a higher portion of their funds to assets outside of their home countries. On average, foreign stocks now account for 49 per cent of respondents’ equity investments, 4 percentage points higher than five years ago, while foreign fixed-income exposure climbed 7 percentage points to 23 per cent. Funds in Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and Taiwan are among those seeking greater diversification in stocks and fixed income.
• Bloomberg
Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Tuesday's fixtures
Kyrgyzstan v Qatar, 5.45pm
Command%20Z
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