Liverpool’s bid to snatch the Premier League title on the final day of the season ended in frustration despite a 2-1 win over nine-man Newcastle on Sunday.
Brendan Rodgers’ side needed to beat the Magpies at Anfield and hope West Ham could upset leaders Manchester City at Eastlands if they were to land the English league crown for the first time since 1990.
But, although they came from behind to win, Liverpool were left with an empty feeling as City cruised to a 2-0 victory that guaranteed they would finish two points ahead of the second placed Reds.
In the end, Liverpool were left to rue the costly mistakes that realistically meant their fate had already been sealed by a defeat against Chelsea and a draw at Crystal Palace in their previous two games.
When Newcastle deservedly led with more than an hour gone through Martin Skrtel’s first half own-goal it looked as though Liverpool’s challenge would end in even further anti-climax.
But Rodgers insisted his team should feel nothing but pride from a campaign in which he described their progress as “nothing short of outstanding”.
And Liverpool responded one more time to score twice in as many minutes to sign off with a 16th home win as Newcastle finished in disarray following the double sending-off of Shola Ameobi and Paul Dummett.
Daniel Agger forced home the equaliser and from another Steven Gerrard free-kick Daniel Sturridge tapped home the winner.
Under-fire Newcastle manager Alan Pardew is due to meet club owner Mike Ashley now the season has ended to discuss the future, but at least his troubled team did not follow the anticipated script by meekly surrendering on the final day.
Right from the start they made life difficult for a nervy Liverpool team with lone striker Ameobi carrying an aerial threat.
Liverpool showed none of the early spark that had epitomised many of their previous home successes and although Luis Suarez had the ball in the net after 18 minutes his effort, from a free-kick taken with the ball rolling before referee Phil Dowd had given the go-ahead, was never likely to stand.
And within moments Newcastle were in front as Liverpool’s faint title prospects appeared to recede even further.
Massadio Haidara and Yoan Gouffran combined well down the left and when Gouffran crossed, Skrtel, at full stretch, diverted the ball into his own net.
Things could have got worse as Gouffran then wasted two further chances to put Newcastle further ahead.
Ameobi created the openings on each occasion but Gouffran was first denied by Simon Mignolet and then failed to make clean contact when again in behind the Reds’ fragile defence.
Suarez cleverly made a chance for himself which wasn’t matched by the finish as he looked for his 32nd goal of the season to break the 38-game Premier League record shared by Cristiano Ronaldo and Alan Shearer.
News of City’s opening goal against West Ham filtered through and the mood remained gloomy when Sturridge then headed wide from Jordan Henderson’s cross.
But Rodgers’ team stayed the course in the title race better than many had expected and they found the reserves to finish on a high with two quick-fire goals to transform their afternoon as they went past a century of league goals for the season.
Both times Gerrard was the creator with superbly delivered free-kicks which proved undefendable for Newcastle.
The first was steered home on the volley by Denmark defender Agger in the 63rd minute and when Gerrard whipped the ball in again two minutes later, England striker Sturridge timed his run perfectly to side-foot home his 25th goal of the season.
Ameobi then spoiled all his good work by arguing with Dowd, who showed the striker two yellow cards in quick succession before giving Dummett a straight red for a foul on Suarez three minutes from the end.
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Company%20profile
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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.”
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Trump v Khan
2016: Feud begins after Khan criticised Trump’s proposed Muslim travel ban to US
2017: Trump criticises Khan’s ‘no reason to be alarmed’ response to London Bridge terror attacks
2019: Trump calls Khan a “stone cold loser” before first state visit
2019: Trump tweets about “Khan’s Londonistan”, calling him “a national disgrace”
2022: Khan’s office attributes rise in Islamophobic abuse against the major to hostility stoked during Trump’s presidency
July 2025 During a golfing trip to Scotland, Trump calls Khan “a nasty person”
Sept 2025 Trump blames Khan for London’s “stabbings and the dirt and the filth”.
Dec 2025 Trump suggests migrants got Khan elected, calls him a “horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor”
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The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
FA CUP FINAL
Manchester City 6
(D Silva 26', Sterling 38', 81', 87', De Bruyne 61', Jesus 68')
Watford 0
Man of the match: Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)
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UAE SQUAD
Mohammed Naveed (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Rameez Shahzad, Shaiman Anwar, Mohammed Usman, Mohammed Boota, Zawar Farid, Ghulam Shabber, Ahmed Raza, Sultan Ahmed, Imran Haider, Qadeer Ahmed, Chirag Suri , Zahoor Khan
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Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
match info
Southampton 2 (Ings 32' & pen 89') Tottenham Hotspur 5 (Son 45', 47', 64', & 73', Kane 82')
Man of the match Son Heung-min (Tottenham)
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THE BIO: Martin Van Almsick
Hometown: Cologne, Germany
Family: Wife Hanan Ahmed and their three children, Marrah (23), Tibijan (19), Amon (13)
Favourite dessert: Umm Ali with dark camel milk chocolate flakes
Favourite hobby: Football
Breakfast routine: a tall glass of camel milk
THE SPECS
Engine: six-litre W12 twin-turbo
Transmission: eight-speed dual clutch auto
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Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
Voices: How A Great Singer Can Change Your Life
Nick Coleman
Jonathan Cape
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
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Price: From Dh650,000
