Let's begin with the football; it's been too little talked about of late. This was an afternoon in which Manchester United answered questions in a manner that has become their standard, the reason why momentum is with them in the title chase.
Confronted by a Liverpool side that evicted them from the FA Cup two weeks ago, United were dominant, deserving of a score line more comprehensive than the one-goal margin they finished with. Sir Alex Ferguson's men attacked from the off, ceaseless in their attempts to break down the visitors' sterile, counter-attacking strategy.
United's reward came shortly into the second half when Wayne Rooney completed two impressive finishes in a 167-second interval.
His first was a vicious right-foot volley of an attempted Jordan Henderson clearance that turned into a perfect near-post flick-on. The second, steered in with the left boot after Antonio Valencia picked Jay Spearing's pocket.
Though Liverpool recovered half the deficit when the man Old Trafford least wanted to score exploited Rio Ferdinand's penalty-box gaffe, three points remained with the only team that truly tried to win them, United's reward a return to the summit of the Premier League and another dose of pressure on a buckling Manchester City.
Before all this, though, came the afternoon's ugliness.
Starting his first match since serving an eight-match suspension for racially abusing Patrice Evra, the still-indignant Luis Suarez decided to ignore explicit instructions to shake his victim's hand before kick off.
Evra, who had offered his own hand as the Uruguayan approached, was understandably infuriated. United's captain, first in the line of opponents Suarez was expected to recognise, grabbed at an individual who had repeatedly insulted him at Anfield some four months previously, but did not manage to force a handshake.
Within a minute of kick off Evra charged into tackle as Suarez leaned into the back of Ferdinand, leaving the two defenders clashing painfully and creating an opportunity for Steven Gerrard to lay on a goal. Fortunately, for the referee, Liverpool's captain over hit his through ball. That was not to be the end of it.
On the half-time whistle, Suarez leathered a ball towards the dugouts, almost catching his own manager in the face. As United players petitioned Phil Dowd to take action, the Old Trafford tunnel turned into a conflict zone, police and stewards required to shepherd players into their dressing rooms some four minutes later.
To the stadium's disdain, it was to be Suarez that offered Liverpool hope of an equaliser with an 80th-minute goal - his finish calmly taken after Ferdinand had misread the flight of a Charlie Adam free kick. David de Gea then palmed away a swirling Glen Johnson strike, and Suarez, from an offside position, missed a free header, as United counted down to the final whistle.
When it came, Evra made the most of the moment. Dancing down his touchline, smile spread wide across his even features, the left-back leapt into Ferdinand's arms. He then threw his own to the sky, urging Old Trafford to celebrate louder.
Bouncing up and down the pitch, Evra's celebrating carried him across the bows of an exiting Suarez, drawing a warning from Dowd and the ire of several Liverpool players.
Suarez, to some belated credit, ignored the provocation and departed towards Liverpool's dressing room. Again, a Liverpool hierarchy who had brought censure upon the club in their sustained defence of Suarez's October actions, were placed in undesirable position.
Having promised that Suarez "will shake the hand of Patrice Evra and the other Manchester United players before the game" in its build-up, Kenny Dalglish was left protesting that he had not seen the snub to Evra and did not know what had happened during the interval. "We'll ask him and we'll take it from there," said Liverpool's manager.
Ferguson told his fellow Scot exactly where he should take the matter.
"I could not believe it, I just could not believe it," said Ferguson.
"He's a disgrace to Liverpool Football Club, that certain player should not be allowed to play for Liverpool again.
"The history that club's got and he does that, and in a situation like today could have caused a riot. I was really disappointed in that guy, it was terrible what he did. It created a tension, you've seen the referee didn't know what to do about it. It caught him off guard. It was a terrible start to the game, a terrible atmosphere it created."
Terrible, and unnecessary. Perhaps Liverpool had fostered Suarez's misguided sense of injustice by attempting to depict the English Football Association's stand against racism as a vilification of their club. It is definitely time for them to end it.
sports@thenational.ae
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: SmartCrowd
Started: 2018
Founder: Siddiq Farid and Musfique Ahmed
Based: Dubai
Sector: FinTech / PropTech
Initial investment: $650,000
Current number of staff: 35
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Various institutional investors and notable angel investors (500 MENA, Shurooq, Mada, Seedstar, Tricap)
Managing the separation process
- Choose your nursery carefully in the first place
- Relax – and hopefully your child will follow suit
- Inform the staff in advance of your child’s likes and dislikes.
- If you need some extra time to talk to the teachers, make an appointment a few days in advance, rather than attempting to chat on your child’s first day
- The longer you stay, the more upset your child will become. As difficult as it is, walk away. Say a proper goodbye and reassure your child that you will be back
- Be patient. Your child might love it one day and hate it the next
- Stick at it. Don’t give up after the first day or week. It takes time for children to settle into a new routine.And, finally, don’t feel guilty.
Small Things Like These
Director: Tim Mielants
Cast: Cillian Murphy, Emily Watson, Eileen Walsh
Rating: 4/5
ILT20 UAE stars
LEADING RUN SCORERS
1 Nicholas Pooran, 261
2 Muhammad Waseem (UAE), 248
3 Chris Lynn, 244
4 Johnson Charles, 232
5 Kusal Perera, 230
BEST BOWLING AVERAGE
(minimum 10 overs bowled)
1 Zuhaib Zubair (UAE), 9 wickets at 12.44
2 Mohammed Rohid (UAE), 7 at 13.00
3 Fazalhaq Farooqi, 17 at 13.05
4 Waqar Salamkheil, 10 at 14.08
5 Aayan Khan (UAE), 4 at 15.50
6 Wanindu Hasaranga, 12 at 16.25
7 Mohammed Jawadullah (UAE), 10 at 17.00
The five pillars of Islam
PLAY-OFF DRAW
Barcelona v Manchester United
Juventus v Nantes
Sporting Lisbon v Midtjylland
Shakhtar Donetsk v Rennes
Ajax v Union Berlin
Bayer Leverkusen v Monaco
Sevilla v PSV Eindhoven
Salzburg v Roma
Padmaavat
Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Starring: Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor, Jim Sarbh
3.5/5
EMIRATES'S REVISED A350 DEPLOYMENT SCHEDULE
Edinburgh: November 4 (unchanged)
Bahrain: November 15 (from September 15); second daily service from January 1
Kuwait: November 15 (from September 16)
Mumbai: January 1 (from October 27)
Ahmedabad: January 1 (from October 27)
Colombo: January 2 (from January 1)
Muscat: March 1 (from December 1)
Lyon: March 1 (from December 1)
Bologna: March 1 (from December 1)
Source: Emirates
The Energy Research Centre
Founded 50 years ago as a nuclear research institute, scientists at the centre believed nuclear would be the “solution for everything”.
Although they still do, they discovered in 1955 that the Netherlands had a lot of natural gas. “We still had the idea that, by 2000, it would all be nuclear,” said Harm Jeeninga, director of business and programme development at the centre.
"In the 1990s, we found out about global warming so we focused on energy savings and tackling the greenhouse gas effect.”
The energy centre’s research focuses on biomass, energy efficiency, the environment, wind and solar, as well as energy engineering and socio-economic research.
The Iron Claw
Director: Sean Durkin
Starring: Zac Efron, Jeremy Allen White, Harris Dickinson, Maura Tierney, Holt McCallany, Lily James
Rating: 4/5
THE SPECS
Engine: six-litre W12 twin-turbo
Transmission: eight-speed dual clutch auto
Power: 626bhp
Torque: 900Nm
Price: Dh940,160 (plus VAT)
On sale: Q1 2020
Friday's schedule at the Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
GP3 qualifying, 10:15am
Formula 2, practice 11:30am
Formula 1, first practice, 1pm
GP3 qualifying session, 3.10pm
Formula 1 second practice, 5pm
Formula 2 qualifying, 7pm
Rafael Nadal's record at the MWTC
2009 Finalist
2010 Champion
Jan 2011 Champion
Dec 2011 Semi-finalist
Dec 2012 Did not play
Dec 2013 Semi-finalist
2015 Semi-finalist
Jan 2016 Champion
Dec 2016 Champion
2017 Did not play
Women’s World T20, Asia Qualifier
UAE results
Beat China by 16 runs
Lost to Thailand by 10 wickets
Beat Nepal by five runs
Beat Hong Kong by eight wickets
Beat Malaysia by 34 runs
Standings (P, W, l, NR, points)
1. Thailand 5 4 0 1 9
2. UAE 5 4 1 0 8
3. Nepal 5 2 1 2 6
4. Hong Kong 5 2 2 1 5
5. Malaysia 5 1 4 0 2
6. China 5 0 5 0 0
Final
Thailand v UAE, Monday, 7am
How will Gen Alpha invest?
Mark Chahwan, co-founder and chief executive of robo-advisory firm Sarwa, forecasts that Generation Alpha (born between 2010 and 2024) will start investing in their teenage years and therefore benefit from compound interest.
“Technology and education should be the main drivers to make this happen, whether it’s investing in a few clicks or their schools/parents stepping up their personal finance education skills,” he adds.
Mr Chahwan says younger generations have a higher capacity to take on risk, but for some their appetite can be more cautious because they are investing for the first time. “Schools still do not teach personal finance and stock market investing, so a lot of the learning journey can feel daunting and intimidating,” he says.
He advises millennials to not always start with an aggressive portfolio even if they can afford to take risks. “We always advise to work your way up to your risk capacity, that way you experience volatility and get used to it. Given the higher risk capacity for the younger generations, stocks are a favourite,” says Mr Chahwan.
Highlighting the role technology has played in encouraging millennials and Gen Z to invest, he says: “They were often excluded, but with lower account minimums ... a customer with $1,000 [Dh3,672] in their account has their money working for them just as hard as the portfolio of a high get-worth individual.”