Player ratings: Barcelona 2 Manchester United 0



VICTOR VALDES: Recovered well after spilling Cristiano Ronaldo's early free-kick, Valdes was always alert and made a brave close-range save from the same player at 2-0 up. 7/10 CARLES PUYOL: Calm, strong leadership from the veteran who should have well-deserved a goal but headed straight at Edwin van der Sar. 8 YAYA TOURE: Will have been shocked by the lack of hard work he was presented with, he nevertheless knuckled down and did the necessary. 7 GERARD PIQUE: Showed great awareness after only a minute and a half to block Ji-Sung Park's follow-up shot from Ronaldo's free-kick. Solid throughout. 7 SYLVINHO: Less influential towards the end but the Brazilian was a big influence in the first hour, providing plenty of dangerous overlaps and a constant outlet on the left flank. 8 XAVI: Superior performance from the cultured midfielder. Always excellent in possession, he curled a free-kick against the post and picked out Lionel Messi with an exquisite cross for the second. 9 SERGIO BUSQUETS: Unfussy and unflappable, made plenty of tackles and laid off possession astutely. 7 ANDRES INIESTA: Showed great close control, a wide range of passing and ensured the Premier League champions could barely get a look in in midfield. Always on hand in defence and attack. 9 LIONEL MESSI: Oozed stature throughout, he will draw satisfaction from outperforming Ronaldo and, after a dazzling run on the stroke of half-time was well worth his second-half goal. 8 SAMUEL ETO'O: The Cameroon forward fully deserves the plaudits for putting paid to United's promising start with a wonderfully-taken goal after 10 minutes. Not at his best from then on but still a match-winning contribution. 7 THIERRY HENRY: Delighted to get one over on his old adversaries, was just denied by Van der Sar after some fine close control in the box. 7 Substitutes: SEYDOU KEITA (for Henry, 71 mins): A leggy United already looked beaten by the time Keita arrived on the scene. 6 RODRIGUEZ PEDRITO (for Iniesta, 90 mins): Only time to celebrate. 5

EDWIN VAN DER SAR: Made some important stops and saves, not least from Henry and Puyol, but will be unhappy to be well beaten by Eto'o at his near post. 7 JOHN O'SHEA: A solid outing from the Irishman who held firm and could not be blamed for either goal. 6 RIO FERDINAND: Struggled with his distribution in the first period and never once looked on top of Barca's free-flowing forward line. 5 NEMANJA VIDIC: The Red Devils' player of the season avoided humiliation against an attacking trio who have shredded lesser defenders but, like his partner, made little impact. 6 PATRICE EVRA: Appeared redundant at times as his supposed task of keeping Messi quiet was rendered moot by the forward's constant drifting into central positions. AWOL going forward. 5 ANDERSON: Started well but faded to anonymity after Barca's opener and paid the price for his side's lethargy when he was replaced at half-time. 5 MICHAEL CARRICK: Symptomatic of United's general malaise in the middle of the park, Carrick failed to find his runners and had no answer to a superb opposition midfield. 5 RYAN GIGGS: Not one of the Welshman's most distinguished displays but he was cooler in possession than most of his teammates despite tiring. 6 PARK JI-SUNG: Park has a reputation as a big-game player but there were no magic moments from the South Korean despite bags of energy and a couple of near misses. 6 CRISTIANO RONALDO: The mercurial Portuguese looked set to have one of his special nights when he went close in only the second minute, but despite his constant energy he was bested almost every time when it mattered. 6 WAYNE ROONEY: Looked unhappy to be out on a limb instead of his favoured central position and spent 90 minutes trying - and conspicuously failing - to get involved. 5 Substitutes: CARLOS TEVEZ (on for Anderson, 45 mins): Anticipation from United's fans was tangible when the Argentina striker was sent on for the second period but it was an uninspired shift. 5 DIMITAR BERBATOV (for Park, 66 mins): Typically laconic cameo with little or no end product. 5 PAUL SCHOLES: (for Giggs, 75 mins): Handed a thankless task for the final quarter of an hour he merely succeeded in earning a booking for a trademark foul. 5

* PA Sport

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RedCrow Intelligence Company Profile

Started: 2016

Founders: Hussein Nasser Eddin, Laila Akel, Tayeb Akel 

Based: Ramallah, Palestine

Sector: Technology, Security

# of staff: 13

Investment: $745,000

Investors: Palestine’s Ibtikar Fund, Abu Dhabi’s Gothams and angel investors

ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA

Starring: Nader Abd Alhay, Majd Eid, Ramzi Maqdisi

Directors: Tarzan and Arab Nasser

Rating: 4.5/5

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
 
Started: 2021
 
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
 
Based: Tunisia 
 
Sector: Water technology 
 
Number of staff: 22 
 
Investment raised: $4 million 
The National's picks

4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young

Jawan
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAtlee%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Shah%20Rukh%20Khan%2C%20Nayanthara%2C%20Vijay%20Sethupathi%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E4%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
Virtuzone GCC Sixes

Date and venue Friday and Saturday, ICC Academy, Dubai Sports City

Time Matches start at 9am

Groups

A Blighty Ducks, Darjeeling Colts, Darjeeling Social, Dubai Wombats; B Darjeeling Veterans, Kuwait Casuals, Loose Cannons, Savannah Lions; Awali Taverners, Darjeeling, Dromedary, Darjeeling Good Eggs

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FINAL RECKONING

Director: Christopher McQuarrie

Starring: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg

Rating: 4/5

UK's plans to cut net migration

Under the UK government’s proposals, migrants will have to spend 10 years in the UK before being able to apply for citizenship.

Skilled worker visas will require a university degree, and there will be tighter restrictions on recruitment for jobs with skills shortages.

But what are described as "high-contributing" individuals such as doctors and nurses could be fast-tracked through the system.

Language requirements will be increased for all immigration routes to ensure a higher level of English.

Rules will also be laid out for adult dependants, meaning they will have to demonstrate a basic understanding of the language.

The plans also call for stricter tests for colleges and universities offering places to foreign students and a reduction in the time graduates can remain in the UK after their studies from two years to 18 months.

Who is Mohammed Al Halbousi?

The new speaker of Iraq’s parliament Mohammed Al Halbousi is the youngest person ever to serve in the role.

The 37-year-old was born in Al Garmah in Anbar and studied civil engineering in Baghdad before going into business. His development company Al Hadeed undertook reconstruction contracts rebuilding parts of Fallujah’s infrastructure.

He entered parliament in 2014 and served as a member of the human rights and finance committees until 2017. In August last year he was appointed governor of Anbar, a role in which he has struggled to secure funding to provide services in the war-damaged province and to secure the withdrawal of Shia militias. He relinquished the post when he was sworn in as a member of parliament on September 3.

He is a member of the Al Hal Sunni-based political party and the Sunni-led Coalition of Iraqi Forces, which is Iraq’s largest Sunni alliance with 37 seats from the May 12 election.

He maintains good relations with former Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki’s State of Law Coaliton, Hadi Al Amiri’s Badr Organisation and Iranian officials.

Other IPL batting records

Most sixes: 292 – Chris Gayle

Most fours: 491 – Gautam Gambhir

Highest individual score: 175 not out – Chris Gayle (for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Pune Warriors in 2013)

Highest strike-rate: 177.29 – Andre Russell

Highest strike-rate in an innings: 422.22 – Chris Morris (for Delhi Daredevils against Rising Pune Supergiant in 2017)

Highest average: 52.16 – Vijay Shankar

Most centuries: 6 – Chris Gayle

Most fifties: 36 – Gautam Gambhir

Fastest hundred (balls faced): 30 – Chris Gayle (for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Pune Warriors in 2013)

Fastest fifty (balls faced): 14 – Lokesh Rahul (for Kings XI Punjab against Delhi Daredevils in 2018)

 

War and the virus
THE SPECS

Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine 

Power: 420kW

Torque: 780Nm

Transmission: 8-speed automatic

Price: From Dh1,350,000

On sale: Available for preorder now

Ain Dubai in numbers

126: The length in metres of the legs supporting the structure

1 football pitch: The length of each permanent spoke is longer than a professional soccer pitch

16 A380 Airbuses: The equivalent weight of the wheel rim.

9,000 tonnes: The amount of steel used to construct the project.

5 tonnes: The weight of each permanent spoke that is holding the wheel rim in place

192: The amount of cable wires used to create the wheel. They measure a distance of 2,4000km in total, the equivalent of the distance between Dubai and Cairo.