Bayern Munich are 12 points clear at the top of the Bundesliga with five games remaining.
They will win the title easily, but that creates a problem for coach Pep Guardiola.
If the title is too simple – which given the superiority of Bayern's resources over the rest of the Bundesliga, it really ought to be – then there is little honour in it and the only thing worth fighting for is the Uefa Champions League.
That is why Tuesday’s quarter-final second leg against FC Porto is so important and it is why the 3-1 defeat in the away leg has had such repercussions.
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The pressure is increased by the circumstances in which Guardiola took the job, replacing Jupp Heynckes, who had just won the treble of Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal (German Cup) and Champions League.
It left no lands for Guardiola to conquer; all he could do was conquer them better.
Bayern have, at times, over the past two seasons, produced football of stunning quality, suggesting Guardiola is a visionary and his Bayern are in the avant garde of tactical thought.
But in the semi-final against Real Madrid last season and in the first leg against Porto last week, they were ripped apart by pace and lacked sharpness.
They looked a team grown complacent on their easy victories, unused to fighting against opponents prepared to fight against them.
Since the winter break the team has shown signs of vulnerability, even domestically in the defeats to Wolfsburg and Borussia Monchengladbach.
When Bayern devastate so many sides – they have scored four or more in 10 league games this season – it is understandable that some Bundesliga sides opt for damage limitation.
The best sides in Europe are not so cowed by their reputation and when Bayern are attacked, the evidence is that centre-backs who have forgotten how to defend are driven to basic errors.
It is true that Bayern had injuries before that first leg: no Arjen Robben, Franck Ribery, Bastian Schweinsteiger, David Alaba, Medhi Benatia or Javi Martinez.
The loss of Robben was a particular issue in that it denied them pace and attacking width, but no super club can expect much sympathy.
According to Forbes, Bayern are the fourth richest club in the world with an annual income 60 per cent greater than that of Borussia Dortmund, the second richest in Germany.
Injuries, though, have clearly become an issue for Guardiola, not helped by the fact his relationship with Hans-Wilhelm Muller-Wohlfahrt, the highly respected and long-serving Bayern doctor, has never been easy.
It still came as a surprise, though – even to the club – when Muller-Wohlfahrt and three of his staff resigned the day after the Porto defeat, saying Guardiola blamed them for the injuries.
When the centre-back Benatia went down with a muscular injury in the German Cup match against Bayer Leverkusen last week, Guardiola sarcastically applauded in the face of one of Muller-Wohlfahrt’s assistants.
He has become increasingly tetchy – an indication of the pressure he is under – and failing to overturn the 3-1 first-leg deficit would mean this season, whatever happens in the league and cup, will be perceived as a failure.
It may be absurd that so much should ride on one tie, but that is the reality of super-club economics. Domestic competition becomes all but worthless in nations, such as Germany, where there is only one super club.
Bayern may come back – they have the firepower – and Guardiola may devise a plan that overwhelms Porto. But Jackson Martinez and Ricardo Quaresma have the pace to trouble Bayern on the break and the capacity to pinch an away goal that would leave Bayern needing to score three just to force extra time.
At the least, this has been a chastening lesson into the problems of super-club economics.
sports@thenational.ae
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How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
- The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
- The 190g Maltesers Teasers egg contains 58g of sugar per 100g for the egg and 19.6g of sugar in each of the two Teasers bars that come with it
- The 188g Smarties egg has 113g of sugar per egg and 22.8g in the tube of Smarties it contains
- The Milky Bar white chocolate Egg Hunt Pack contains eight eggs at 7.7g of sugar per egg
- The Cadbury Creme Egg contains 26g of sugar per 40g egg
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Water waste
In the UAE’s arid climate, small shrubs, bushes and flower beds usually require about six litres of water per square metre, daily. That increases to 12 litres per square metre a day for small trees, and 300 litres for palm trees.
Horticulturists suggest the best time for watering is before 8am or after 6pm, when water won't be dried up by the sun.
A global report published by the Water Resources Institute in August, ranked the UAE 10th out of 164 nations where water supplies are most stretched.
The Emirates is the world’s third largest per capita water consumer after the US and Canada.
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
Meydan race card
6.30pm: Baniyas (PA) Group 2 Dh125,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
7.05pm: Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 (D) 1,200m
7.40pm: Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 (D) 1,400m
8.15pm: Handicap (TB) Dh170,000 (D) 1,900m
8.50pm: Rated Conditions (TB) Dh240,000 (D) 1,600m
9.25pm: Handicap (TB) Dh175,000 (D)1,200m
10pm: Handicap (TB) Dh165,000 (D) 1,400m
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Read more from Kareem Shaheen
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
The Cockroach
(Vintage)
Ian McEwan
The specs
Engine: 1.6-litre 4-cyl turbo and dual electric motors
Power: 300hp at 6,000rpm
Torque: 520Nm at 1,500-3,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.0L/100km
Price: from Dh199,900
On sale: now
Schedule
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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.
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
UAE v Zimbabwe A
Results
Match 1 – UAE won by 4 wickets
Match 2 – UAE won by 5 wickets
Match 3 – UAE won by 25 runs
Match 4 – UAE won by 77 runs
Fixture
Match 5, Saturday, 9.30am start, ICC Academy, Dubai
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