Louis van Gaal says Manchester United have no 20-goal strikers


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Agence France-Presse

LONDON // Despite having Wayne Rooney, Robin van Persie and Radamel Falcao at his disposal, Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal has claimed there are no 20-goal strikers in his squad.

United have been far from prolific this season and their average return of 1.69 goals per game pales by comparison with Premier League pace-setters Chelsea and Manchester City (2.15).

Rooney (nine goals), Van Persie (10) and, in particular, Falcao (four) have struggled to find the net.

Van Gaal says he believes that is one of the reasons why his side are vying for a top-four finish, rather than the title.

“It is true because I cannot deny it,” said the Dutchman in comments published by several British newspapers on Saturday.

“Robin van Persie cannot deny it, Falcao cannot deny it and Rooney – but he is not playing there [up front] so much any more. But we cannot deny that at this moment we don’t have a striker who scores 20 goals in the season.”

Despite Van Gaal’s complaint, all three of his senior strikers have previously surpassed the 20-goal mark in a league season – Van Persie twice, Rooney twice and Falcao three times.

With Van Persie sidelined by an ankle injury, on-loan Monaco striker Falcao was expected to start up front in United’s home game with Sunderland on Saturday.

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Day 2, Abu Dhabi Test: At a glance

Moment of the day Dinesh Chandimal has inherited a challenging job, after being made Sri Lanka’s Test captain. He responded in perfect fashion, with an easy-natured century against Pakistan. He brought up three figures with a majestic cover drive, which he just stood and admired.

Stat of the day – 33 It took 33 balls for Dilruwan Perera to get off the mark. His time on zero was eventful enough. The Sri Lankan No 7 was given out LBW twice, but managed to have both decisions overturned on review. The TV replays showed both times that he had inside edged the ball onto his pad.

The verdict In the two previous times these two sides have met in Abu Dhabi, the Tests have been drawn. The docile nature of proceedings so far makes that the likely outcome again this time, but both sides will be harbouring thoughts that they can force their way into a winning position.

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Series info

Test series schedule 1st Test, Abu Dhabi: Sri Lanka won by 21 runs; 2nd Test, Dubai: Play starts at 2pm, Friday-Tuesday

ODI series schedule 1st ODI, Dubai: October 13; 2nd ODI, Abu Dhabi: October 16; 3rd ODI, Abu Dhabi: October 18; 4th ODI, Sharjah: October 20; 5th ODI, Sharjah: October 23

T20 series schedule 1st T20, Abu Dhabi: October 26; 2nd T20, Abu Dhabi: October 27; 3rd T20, Lahore: October 29

Tickets Available at www.q-tickets.com

Stat Fourteen Fourteen of the past 15 Test matches in the UAE have been decided on the final day. Both of the previous two Tests at Dubai International Stadium have been settled in the last session. Pakistan won with less than an hour to go against West Indies last year. Against England in 2015, there were just three balls left.

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Semi-final, first leg

Barcelona 1 (Malcom 57')
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What: 2006 World Cup quarter-final
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7.05pm Meydan Classic Listed (TB) $175,000 (Turf) 1,600m, ​​​​​​​Winner Well Of Wisdom, William Buick, Charlie Appleby.

7.40pm Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 2,000m, ​​​​​​​Winner Star Safari, Mickael Barzalona, Charlie Appleby.

8.15pm Handicap (TB) $135,000 (D) 1,600m, Winner Moqarrar, Fabrice Veron, Erwan Charpy.

8.50pm Nad Al Sheba Trophy Group 2 (TB) $300,000 (T) 2,810m, Winner Secret Advisor, William Buick, Charlie Appleby.

9.25pm Curlin Stakes Listed (TB) $175,000 (D) 2,000m, ​​​​​​​Winner Parsimony, William Buick, Doug O’Neill.

10pm Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 2,000m, Winner Simsir, Ronan Whelan, Michael Halford.

10.35pm Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 1,400m, ​​​​​​​Winner Velorum, Mickael Barzalona, Charlie Appleby.

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Director: Christian Carion

Starring: James McAvoy, Claire Foy, Tom Cullen, Gary Lewis

Rating: 2/5

CONCRETE COWBOY

Directed by: Ricky Staub

Starring: Idris Elba, Caleb McLaughlin, Jharrel Jerome

3.5/5 stars

Tickets

Tickets for the 2019 Asian Cup are available online, via www.asiancup2019.com

SM Town Live is on Friday, April 6 at Autism Rocks Arena, Dubai. Tickets are Dh375 at www.platinumlist.net

About Proto21

Date started: May 2018
Founder: Pir Arkam
Based: Dubai
Sector: Additive manufacturing (aka, 3D printing)
Staff: 18
Funding: Invested, supported and partnered by Joseph Group

MATCH INFO

What: India v Afghanistan, first Test
When: Starts Thursday
Where: M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengalaru

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Selected fixtures

All times UAE

Wednesday
Poland v Portugal 10.45pm
Russia v Sweden 10.45pm

Friday
Belgium v Switzerland 10.45pm
Croatia v England 10.45pm

Saturday
Netherlands v Germany 10.45pm
Rep of Ireland v Denmark 10.45pm

Sunday
Poland v Italy 10.45pm

Monday
Spain v England 10.45pm

Tuesday
France v Germany 10.45pm
Rep of Ireland v Wales 10.45pm

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Name: Mamo 

 Year it started: 2019 Founders: Imad Gharazeddine, Asim Janjua

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