Barcelona 6 Getafe 0
Barcelona Messi (pen) 9', 47', Suarez 25', 40', Neymar 28', Xavi 30'
Man of the match Luis Suarez (Barcelona)
Barcelona’s star front three of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar brought up a century of goals in all competitions as the Catalans moved five points clear at the top of Primera Liga with a 6-0 humbling of Getafe on Tuesday.
All three were on target inside 28 minutes as Messi opened the scoring from the penalty spot before teeing up Suarez to volley home and Neymar was left with the simple task of registering the 100th goal between the trio from Suarez’s pass.
Xavi Hernandez then curled home a stunning fourth before Suarez made it 5-0 with a similar finish into the far corner and Messi rounded off the scoring in typical style on his favoured left foot early in the second-half.
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Real Madrid can close the gap at the top back to two points when they host Almeria on Wednesday.
Barca boss Luis Enrique had resisted the temptation to rest any of his front three despite making four changes from the side that won 2-0 at Espanyol on Saturday with one eye on next week’s Champions League semi-final, first-leg against Bayern Munich.
That decision was richly rewarded in a stunning first-half display that tore the helpless visitors to shreds.
Messi put his recent yips from the penalty spot behind him as he opened the scoring by chipping the ball straight down the middle of the goal in the style made famous by Czech legend Antonin Panenka in the 1976 European Championships after Suarez had been felled by Alvaro Arroyo.
Getafe nearly drew level moments later when Claudio Bravo made a brilliant recovery save to claw Fredy Hinestroza’s lob to safety to make up for his original poor positioning.
Suarez put the result beyond doubt with a sumptuous volley from Messi’s inviting cross and the Uruguayan then turned provider for Neymar to bring up the century.
Moments later Xavi scored what could well be his final goal at the Camp Nou with the veteran expected to move to Qatar at the end of the season by curling the ball high into the far corner.
Xavi’s flick then set up Suarez to finish in similar style to register his 21st goal of the season before the break.
Despite the upcoming date with former coach Pep Guardiola and Bayern in eight days time there was little let up from the hosts after the break.
However, the goals did dry up after Messi had curled home his 38th league goal of the campaign to move within one of Cristiano Ronaldo in the race to be La Liga’s top goalscorer two minutes into the second period.
The four-time World Player of the Year came close to a seventh hat-trick of the season six minutes from time, but Vicente Guaita made a fine save to turn his free-kick to safety.
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ENGLAND TEAM
England (15-1)
George Furbank; Jonny May, Manu Tuilagi, Owen Farrell (capt), Elliot Daly; George Ford, Ben Youngs; Tom Curry, Sam Underhill, Courtney Lawes; Charlie Ewels, Maro Itoje; Kyle Sinckler, Jamie George, Joe Marler
Replacements: Luke Cowan-Dickie, Ellis Genge, Will Stuart, George Kruis, Lewis Ludlam, Willi Heinz, Ollie Devoto, Jonathan Joseph
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ACL Elite (West) - fixtures
Monday, Sept 30
Al Sadd v Esteghlal (8pm)
Persepolis v Pakhtakor (8pm)
Al Wasl v Al Ahli (8pm)
Al Nassr v Al Rayyan (10pm)
Tuesday, Oct 1
Al Hilal v Al Shorta (10pm)
Al Gharafa v Al Ain (10pm)
Picture of Joumblatt and Hariri breaking bread sets Twitter alight
Mr Joumblatt’s pessimism regarding the Lebanese political situation didn’t stop him from enjoying a cheerful dinner on Tuesday with several politicians including Mr Hariri.
Caretaker Culture Minister Ghattas Khoury tweeted a picture of the group sitting around a table at a discrete fish restaurant in Beirut’s upscale Sodeco area.
Mr Joumblatt told The National that the fish served at Kelly’s Fish lounge had been very good.
“They really enjoyed their time”, remembers the restaurant owner. “Mr Hariri was taking selfies with everybody”.
Mr Hariri and Mr Joumblatt often have dinner together to discuss recent political developments.
Mr Joumblatt was a close ally of Mr Hariri’s assassinated father, former prime minister Rafik Hariri. The pair were leading figures in the political grouping against the 15-year Syrian occupation of Lebanon that ended after mass protests in 2005 in the wake of Rafik Hariri’s murder. After the younger Hariri took over his father’s mantle in 2004, the relationship with Mr Joumblatt endured.
However, the pair have not always been so close. In the run-up to the election last year, Messrs Hariri and Joumblatt went months without speaking over an argument regarding the new proportional electoral law to be used for the first time. Mr Joumblatt worried that a proportional system, which Mr Hariri backed, would see the influence of his small sect diminished.
With so much of Lebanese politics agreed in late-night meetings behind closed doors, the media and pundits put significant weight on how regularly, where and with who senior politicians meet.
In the picture, alongside Messrs Khoury and Hariri were Mr Joumbatt and his wife Nora, PSP politician Wael Abou Faour and Egyptian ambassador to Lebanon Nazih el Nagari.
The picture of the dinner led to a flurry of excitement on Twitter that it signified an imminent government formation. “God willing, white smoke will rise soon and Walid Beik [a nickname for Walid Joumblatt] will accept to give up the minister of industry”, one user replied to the tweet. “Blessings to you…We would like you to form a cabinet”, wrote another.
The next few days will be crucial in determining whether these wishes come true.
Biography
Favourite Meal: Chicken Caesar salad
Hobbies: Travelling, going to the gym
Inspiration: Father, who was a captain in the UAE army
Favourite read: Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter
Favourite film: The Founder, about the establishment of McDonald's
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
The Travel Diaries of Albert Einstein The Far East, Palestine, and Spain, 1922 – 1923
Editor Ze’ev Rosenkranz
Princeton
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