An injury-time header from Spain striker Fernando Llorente rescued misfiring Juventus in a 1-0 win over Udinese that sent the champions three points clear of Roma in Italy’s Serie A on Sunday.
Early season pacesetters Roma had spurned the chance to regain top spot earlier when Rudi Garcia’s men had to settle for their fourth draw in succession, 1-1 away to Atalanta.
Juve seized the chance to widen the gap but missed an embarrassing amount of chances before Llorente secured the points after heading Stephan Lichsteiner’s shot past Zeljko Brkic in second-half injury time.
Juve’s 12th win of the season – their sixth consecutively, all with clean sheets – leaves them three points clear of Roma with Napoli in third, a further six points adrift, ahead of their trip to Lazio on Monday when Fiorentina, in fifth, also host Verona.
Conte told Sky Sport Italia: “Picking up a point or taking none would not have changed a thing for us, but taking three does.
“All games are important. If we hadn’t beat Livorno (last week) we wouldn’t have had the chance to pull ahead today. Let’s not forget, Roma had a five-point cushion not so long ago.”
Udinese coach Francesco Guidolin said: “Losing in the 91st minute is terrible, but that’s football.
“We’re disappointed and bitter and I’m really sorry for the players because they gave it everything out there.”
Juve suffered an early blow when midfielder Andrea Pirlo was forced off with an apparent knock to his knee, to be replaced by Paul Pogba, but the hosts should have gone in for the half-time interval several goals to the good.
Carlos Tevez was a constant threat and tested Brkic throughout although Juve survived a scare on the half hour when defender Leonardo Bonucci lost possession to Antonio Di Natale, who saw goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon halt his cheeky lob.
Juve’s frustrations continued throughout the second half, when Buffon also had to stop strikes from Di Natale and Andrea Lazzari, but the hosts turned up the pace when Conte introduced Lichsteiner, then Fabio Quagliarella.
Swiss international Lichsteiner made his long-awaited return from injury when he replaced Simone Padoin just before the hour and with 15 minutes remaining striker Quagliarella replaced wing back Paolo De Sceglie.
“There’s only a one-point difference between a draw and defeat, so I preferred to throw on another striker,” explained Conte.
Quagliarella and Llorente both came close in the final 10 minutes but as the match looked to be heading for a draw Llorente reacted quickly to Lichsteiner’s shot from the edge of the area to head past the wrong-footed Brkic.
Earlier, Inter Milan were stunneed by a late leveller from Brazilian Renan in a 1-1 draw at home to Sampdoria, after Fredy Guarin had given Inter an 18th minute lead at the San Siro.
Inter remained fourth but Walter Mazzarri’s men are just three points ahead of Fiorentina and now 10 points behind Juventus.
“It’s the worst game I’ve seen us play since I’ve been in charge,” blasted Mazzarri in comments to Sky Sport Italia.
Roma had Dutch midfielder Kevin Strootman to thank for a share of the points at the death after he levelled Davide Brivio’s earlier free kick as the visitors turned up the intensity in the last half hour.
Roma had been denied a late claim for a penalty when the ball appeared to come off Michele Canini’s arm and coach Rudi Garcia told Mediaset: “If we had played the whole match as we did in the final half hour, we wouldn’t need to rely on wrong decisions from the referee.”
Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
MOTHER%20OF%20STRANGERS
%3Cp%3EAuthor%3A%20Suad%20Amiry%3Cbr%3EPublisher%3A%20Pantheon%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EPages%3A%20304%3Cbr%3EAvailable%3A%20Now%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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.”
Real Madrid 1
Ronaldo (87')
Athletic Bilbao 1
Williams (14')
Tips for job-seekers
- Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
- Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.
David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East
Book%20Details
%3Cp%3E%3Cem%3EThree%20Centuries%20of%20Travel%20Writing%20by%20Muslim%20Women%3C%2Fem%3E%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EEditors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESiobhan%20Lambert-Hurley%2C%20Daniel%20Majchrowicz%2C%20Sunil%20Sharma%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EIndiana%20University%20Press%3B%20532%20pages%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
The specs
Engine: 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 540hp at 6,500rpm
Torque: 600Nm at 2,500rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Kerb weight: 1580kg
Price: From Dh750k
On sale: via special order
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Trolls World Tour
Directed by: Walt Dohrn, David Smith
Starring: Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake
Rating: 4 stars
Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Florida: The critical Sunshine State
Though mostly conservative, Florida is usually always “close” in presidential elections. In most elections, the candidate that wins the Sunshine State almost always wins the election, as evidenced in 2016 when Trump took Florida, a state which has not had a democratic governor since 1991.
Joe Biden’s campaign has spent $100 million there to turn things around, understandable given the state’s crucial 29 electoral votes.
In 2016, Mr Trump’s democratic rival Hillary Clinton paid frequent visits to Florida though analysts concluded that she failed to appeal towards middle-class voters, whom Barack Obama won over in the previous election.
