Manuel Pellegrini, the Manchester City manager, accused his players of complacency after their surprising 2-1 home FA Cup quarter-final defeat to holders Wigan.
City’s dreams of an unprecedented quadruple – or at least a domestic treble – were buoyed by collecting the League Cup title at Wembley against Sunderland last week.
But against Championship side Wigan, managed by former City player Uwe Rosler and who beat them in last year’s final, City found themselves 2-0 after an hour to goals from Jordi Gomez and James Perch before a Samir Nasri consolation gave them hope of forcing a replay.
“I think maybe it was the worst we have played here in a year,” said Pellegrini.
“We didn’t have the pace to play against a team that is in a very good moment.
“We knew before the match we were going to play against a difficult team and maybe we thought it was not so difficult and when we reacted it was too late.
“We finished one trophy and we won that. Now we have to continue playing in the Champions League and the Premier League, we have a lot of things to fight for between now and the end of the season.
“First we must try to win in Barcelona then we try to continue and reach the top of the table with the three games we have in hand.”
City visit Spain on Wednesday in the return leg of the Champions League last 16 although the 2-0 home deficit they carry with them makes advancement look a tall order, regardless of the poor showing against Wigan.
“It’s a game we are losing 2-0 so it’s a difficult game,” said the City manager.
“We must react tomorrow morning with the responsibility for what happened today but with a lot of trust about what we can do in the future. We will try and play a good game there and see what happens.”
Pellegrini denied that he left first-choice regulars Joe Hart, Vincent Kompany and Aleksandar Kolarov on the bench against Wigan with one eye on the Barcelona game, although that was an obvious conclusion to reach.
“No, I didn’t leave them on the bench because we have to play Barcelona,” said Pellegrini.
“They didn’t play today because we are always making rotation in the cup and Premier League and also because they played for 90 minutes for their national teams on Wednesday. It was important for them to have a rest.”
However, despite the appalling display over the first hour, Pellegrini denied that he felt the players had let him down in such a vital contest.
“No, we all work together, we all have responsibility to win,” he said. “It was a special week after winning the League Cup and some international games but I think all of us have some responsibility.”
Not surprisingly, Rosler, who earned cult hero status at City during a four-year career that featured over 150 appearances, ranked the victory as his greatest achievement in management as he looked ahead to a Wembley semi-final meeting with Arsenal.
“Since I’ve been in the UK, I’ve had very good results with Brentford, building up a club that’s winning promotion,” he said.
“I have had some highs and lows in general but I think coming here against one of the best teams in the world and to win in the way we did, yes, that’s my biggest achievement as manager.
“This club has been very respectful to me, in the reception I got, it was tremendous. I also felt I was very respectful and didn’t celebrate after the win. I shook hands and walked in.
“If you ask any young manager who wants to climb up the ladder if he wants to manage against Arsenal at Wembley, of course you take it.”
Follow us on Twitter @SprtNationalUAE
Turning%20waste%20into%20fuel
%3Cp%3EAverage%20amount%20of%20biofuel%20produced%20at%20DIC%20factory%20every%20month%3A%20%3Cstrong%3EApproximately%20106%2C000%20litres%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EAmount%20of%20biofuel%20produced%20from%201%20litre%20of%20used%20cooking%20oil%3A%20%3Cstrong%3E920ml%20(92%25)%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ETime%20required%20for%20one%20full%20cycle%20of%20production%20from%20used%20cooking%20oil%20to%20biofuel%3A%20%3Cstrong%3EOne%20day%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EEnergy%20requirements%20for%20one%20cycle%20of%20production%20from%201%2C000%20litres%20of%20used%20cooking%20oil%3A%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E%E2%96%AA%20Electricity%20-%201.1904%20units%3Cbr%3E%E2%96%AA%20Water-%2031%20litres%3Cbr%3E%E2%96%AA%20Diesel%20%E2%80%93%2026.275%20litres%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre supercharged V8
Power: 712hp at 6,100rpm
Torque: 881Nm at 4,800rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 19.6 l/100km
Price: Dh380,000
On sale: now
Read more about the coronavirus
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.”
