Champions Juventus overcame conceding a first-minute goal at home to AC Milan to stun their bitter rivals 3-2 and move to within two points of Serie A leaders Roma on Sunday.
Title contenders Napoli had heaped the pressure on Juventus after a 4-0 rout of Livorno which moved Rafael Benitez’s men up to second place in the table.
But after being stunned by Sulley Muntari’s first-minute opener in Turin, Antonio Conte’s men were soon level thanks to Andrea Pirlo’s sublime free kick.
In a pulsating encounter played in torrential rain, Juve upped the pace after the interval when Sebastian Giovinco gave the hosts a 2-1 lead and Giorgio Chiellini added a third following the expulsion of Milan defender Phillip Mexes.
The shine was taken off a convincing win, however, when Muntari struck his second of the match and Juve escaped dropping two precious points when Cristian Zapata saw a bullet header go just over at the death.
It was a combative and at times bad tempered affair and after Mexes was red-carded for manhandling Chiellini in the box at a corner, the Italy defender called for the Frenchman to be harshly sanctioned.
“This kind of thing needs a heavy sanction,” said the Italy defender.
“Some people just won’t learn. When you’re tough and determined, that’s fair enough because at the end of the day you get up from a hard tackle and shake hands. But that is just not football.”
With Roma comfortably on top with 21 points from seven games, Napoli and Juventus are both two points adrift in second and third respectively Inter in fourth.
Roma host Napoli in two weeks’ time following a break for World Cup qualifiers, and Benitez was clearly buoyant with his side’s performance following a 2-0 Champions League defeat to Arsenal last week.
“It was important to get back to winning ways,” said the Spaniard.
“Roma have won seven out of seven but we’ve won six and drawn one, so we’re on a level playing field.”
Inter, stunned 3-0 at home by Roma on Saturday, are seven points off the lead, five shy of Napoli and Juventus and only one ahead of Verona, who won 4-1 win away to struggling Bologna.
Francesco Totti scored a double in Roma’s rout, and while he was careful not to make mention of the word scudetto, he admitted: “This squad can go far and although the season is long and we will come up against teams that are stronger than us we have to fight for a Champions League place.
“That is our objective.”
Mazzarri, meanwhile, was philosophical after a defeat which he put down to Inter’s failure to take their chances.
“Sometimes things don’t your way,” said Mazzarri, who led Napoli to a second-place finish last season.
“I’m trying to improve the team and instill belief and I saw signs of that tonight. We weren’t inferior to Roma, they just made the most of the chances they had.”
Verona’s suprise presence among the top five after thumping Bologna 4-1 away, was partly down to the goalless draw between Lazio and Fiorentina at the Olympic Stadium, which left them seventh and sixth respectively.
Injury-ravaged Milan, who are still without playmaker Kaka and suspended striker Mario Balotelli, are now languishing in 12th place with a 13-point deficit to Roma.
Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri said he did not agree with Mexes’ sending-off, and tried to limit the damage by telling Sky Sport Italia: “It wasn’t a punch, that is sure.
“What we have to do now is go game by game to try and get ourselves back up the table, and hopefully have some players back (from injury) soon.”
Napoli, meanwhile, seized their chance against league new boys Livorno.
With Gonzalo Higuain still sidelined, Benitez handed Goran Pandev a place in his starting line-up and the Macedonian needed only three minutes to repay the Spaniard by putting the hosts in front.
After Livorno had threatened through Nigerian-born Swiss Innocent Emeghara, Pandev missed doubling the hosts’ lead when he fired over Francesco Bardi’s crossbar.
Napoli had the momentum but when Gokhan Inler scored the hosts’ second on 26 minutes he got a helping hand, quite literally, from Bardi, who after getting his hands to the long-range drive allowed it to bounce over him and into the net.
Emeghara spurned the chance to reduce the arrears when he hit a stunning volley on the stroke of half-time which came off the Napoli woodwork.
It was a miss Livorno lamented barely 10 minutes after the restart when Jose Callejon collected Pandev’s through ball to beat Bardi with an angled drive which appeared to take a slight deflection.
Bardi kept out a curling free kick by Belgian international Dries Mertens and another long-range strike by Inler.
But in the dying minutes the Italy under-21 goalkeeper could only parry a shot by Lorenzo Insigne into the path of Marek Hamsik, who promptly netted to claim his fifth goal of the campaign.
Udinese climbed into the top half of the table thanks to a 2-0 home win over Cagliari with goals coming courtesy of Danilo and Antonio Di Natale.
Former Inter Milan striker Antonio Cassano scored Parma’s third in a 3-1 home win over promoted strugglers Sassuolo.
Hosts Sampdoria snatched a point from Torino when Eder scored an injury-time penalty at the death for a 2-2 draw, after Alessio Cerci had given the visitors a 76th minute lead from the spot.
Cerci’s sixth strike in seven games leaves the Italian leading the Serie A scoring charts.
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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.”
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Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
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
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
ACC 2019: The winners in full
Best Actress Maha Alemi, Sofia
Best Actor Mohamed Dhrif, Weldi
Best Screenplay Meryem Benm’Barek, Sofia
Best Documentary Of Fathers and Sons by Talal Derki
Best Film Yomeddine by Abu Bakr Shawky
Best Director Nadine Labaki, Capernaum
