MILAN // Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri slammed refereeing officials after seeing Miralem Pjanic's goal chalked off as the champions were stunned 1-0 by AC Milan in a San Siro sizzler Saturday.
The Turin giants had beaten Milan in the sides’ last nine meetings and, in front of 75,829 spectators, showed throughout a stirring encounter why they are being tipped to claim a record sixth consecutive scudetto title at the end of the season.
But Juve’s failure to find a way past Milan’s teenaged goalkeeping sensation Gianluigi Donnarumma proved costly, and the visitors were given few favours by referee Nicola Rizzoli on their way to a second successive San Siro setback just over a month after suffering a 2-1 reverse to Inter Milan.
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Pjanic looked to have finally broken the deadlock for the visitors when he spun away in delight to celebrate beating Donnarumma, 17, with a rasping free kick just after the half-hour.
But the Bosnia midfielder’s joy was short-lived.
Milan’s players surrounded Rizzoli claiming offside and after consultation with his touchline official he cancelled the goal.
Allegri said: “It’s clear that our goal was valid. I shouldn’t say it, but everyone will say it.”
He suggested Milan’s protests had influenced the officials’ decision.
“The first protests from Milan certainly put the pressure on, but we should focus on playing. Anyway, this result shouldn’t alter the path we’re on.
“People say we played badly, but I feel that, tonight, we played well technically, and lost.
“I can’t find fault with the lads, they controlled the game and created shots and goalscoring chances. We shouldn’t worry about this result.”
Juve remain top but their second loss of the league campaign has added a new, dramatic twist to this season’s fight for the Serie A title.
Milan moved up to second to sit only two points adrift to signal their return to the fray after several seasons struggling to keep pace and falling down the pecking order in Europe.
The defeat also brought Juve within reach of Roma, runners-up in 2014 and 2015 and who could reclaim second place from Milan, and sit two points behind, if they account for Palermo on Sunday.
Napoli, a further two points off the pace following defeat to Roma two weeks ago, will travel to basement side Crotone on Sunday looking for a morale-boosting result after a 3-2 Uefa Champions League reverse to Besiktas in midweek.
Milan fans, meanwhile, can look ahead with well-earned optimism.
Vincenzo Montella’s decision to inject his ageing side with former youth team players is paying dividends so far, and was given a further boost by Manuel Locatelli’s stunning second-half strike that beat Gianluigi Buffon in the 65th minute.
“I really don’t know how I did it, but I scored against the greatest goalkeeper in the world,” said Locatelli, who two weeks ago was practically inconsolable at the final whistle after a similarly impressive strike in a 4-3 home win over Sassuolo.
Montella, known as L’Aeroplanino (The Little Airplane) for the way he celebrated scoring goals while with Roma, had spent the past few seasons trying to hammer Fiorentina into title-contending shape.
He walked away from the club last year after a dispute with owner Andrea Della Valle, but has returned to Italy’s top flight on a mission.
After a bumpy start, the 42-year-old Italian has transformed the hopes and dreams of a club that has been on a roller-coaster ride since even before Allegri, who led Milan to their last league title in 2011, was sacked after a stunning defeat to Sassuolo in January 2014.
“Congratulations to the lads, they deserve it,” said Montella.
“They got this far thanks to a lot of hard work and sacrifice. They showed their soul tonight and that’s how I want to see them play from start to finish from now on.”
RESULTS
Saturday
• Sampdoria 2 Genoa 1
• AC Milan 1 Juventus 0
FIXTURES
Sunday (all times UAE)
• Udinese v Pescara, 2.30pm
• Atalanta v Inter Milan, 5pm
• Cagliari v Fiorentina, 5pm
• Crotone v Napoli, 5pm
• Empoli v Chievo, 5pm
• Torino v Lazio, 5pm
• Bologna v Sassuolo, 8pm
• Roma v Palermo, 10.45pm
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Sanju
Produced: Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Rajkumar Hirani
Director: Rajkumar Hirani
Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Vicky Kaushal, Paresh Rawal, Anushka Sharma, Manish’s Koirala, Dia Mirza, Sonam Kapoor, Jim Sarbh, Boman Irani
Rating: 3.5 stars
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Company profile
Company: Zywa
Started: 2021
Founders: Nuha Hashem and Alok Kumar
Based: UAE
Industry: FinTech
Funding size: $3m
Company valuation: $30m
ROUTE TO TITLE
Round 1: Beat Leolia Jeanjean 6-1, 6-2
Round 2: Beat Naomi Osaka 7-6, 1-6, 7-5
Round 3: Beat Marie Bouzkova 6-4, 6-2
Round 4: Beat Anastasia Potapova 6-0, 6-0
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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.”
Herc's Adventures
Developer: Big Ape Productions
Publisher: LucasArts
Console: PlayStation 1 & 5, Sega Saturn
Rating: 4/5
Company profile
Company name: Fasset
Started: 2019
Founders: Mohammad Raafi Hossain, Daniel Ahmed
Based: Dubai
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: $2.45 million
Current number of staff: 86
Investment stage: Pre-series B
Investors: Investcorp, Liberty City Ventures, Fatima Gobi Ventures, Primal Capital, Wealthwell Ventures, FHS Capital, VN2 Capital, local family offices
SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Teams
Pakistan: Sarfraz Ahmed (captain), Mohammad Hafeez, Sahibzada Farhan, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan Shanwari, Hasan Ali, Imad Wasim, Faheem Ashraf.
New Zealand: Kane Williamson (captain), Corey Anderson, Mark Chapman, Lockie Ferguson, Colin de Grandhomme, Adam Milne, Colin Munro, Ajaz Patel, Glenn Phillips, Seth Rance, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: DarDoc
Based: Abu Dhabi
Founders: Samer Masri, Keswin Suresh
Sector: HealthTech
Total funding: $800,000
Investors: Flat6Labs, angel investors + Incubated by Hub71, Abu Dhabi's Department of Health
Number of employees: 10
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Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
