Saudi Pro League champions Al Ittihad have ruthlessly sacked manager Laurent Blanc just four games into the new campaign.
Blanc had led the Jeddah club to an SPL title and King's Cup double but Ittihad started the new season by being knocked out of the Saudi Super Cup in the semi-final by Al Nassr.
They also lost their Asian Champions League Elite opener when they fell to a surprise 2-1 defeat away to UAE side Al Wahda in Abu Dhabi.
And on Friday, Ittihad were again beaten by their Riyadh rivals with Sadio Mane and Cristiano Ronaldo providing the goals in a 2-0 victory at the King Abdullah Sports City.
The victory maintained table-topping Nassr's perfect start with four wins from four leaving them two points clear of second-place Al Qadsiah with Ittihad third a point further point back.
“This is our first loss in a long time,” said French coach Blanc when asked about his position after the match. “We have achieved 17 wins and one draw in our last 18 home matches. So, I am surprised by this question, and we must review the results.”
He added: “I’m having defensive problems that I’ve discussed before. I don’t have many solutions, as they depend on the available players. Currently, I only have Ahmed Sharahili and Yassin [Al Jaber].
“Injuries are part of football, but the pressure of matches [every three days] has made the situation more difficult, and most of the injuries have been in the back line.”
But early on Sunday, the club announced on their social media channels that Blanc would be leaving, despite Ittihad having won their opening three SPL matches before Friday's loss – including a 5-2 thrashing of Al Okhdood in their opener that saw Karim Benzema grab a hat-trick.
“Al Ittihad announces the termination of its contractual relationship with the first team's head coach Mr Laurent Blanc and his coaching staff,” the club said.
“The club’s board of directors extends its sincere thanks and appreciation for their efforts during the past period and wishes them success in their future endeavours.”
The club added that they have placed Hassan Al Khalifa in temporary charge until they finalise an agreement with a “new technical staff that matches the club’s ambitions”.
It brought to an end Blanc's reign with an SPL record that reads 29 wins, five draws and four losses from 38 matches in charge.
The former Paris Saint-Germain and France national team coach took over last July guiding Ittihad to the title with three games to spare, ending the campaign eight points ahead of second-placed Al Hilal and was voted the SPL Manager of the Year.
At the end of May, the double was completed when Al Qadsiah were brushed aside 3-1 in the King's Cup final at a packed Alinma Stadium in Jeddah, with captain Benzema scoring twice.
“Seasons like this one, I’d love to experience again,” Blanc told SPL.com before the cup final. “I really would. You never know if you’ll get to live something like this again. But this one, this one needs to be appreciated for what it truly is.”
The 59-year-old also expressed his appreciation for Ittihad supporters in the interview. “As I told the Al Ittihad fans – and I see some of them around town – I told them, that this year, they were the best too,” Blanc said. “They really were the best. The team was the best in the league, of course, but the fans were the best in the stands.
“They made it feel almost like playing at home for nearly every match. And even in the [Al Raed] match, when we celebrated the title, it felt almost like playing at home. So, congratulations to them.”
Next up for Ittihad will be Matchday 2 in the Champions League which sees them take on another UAE Pro League side in Shabab AlAhli at home before the next international break kicks in. Ittihad's next SPL game is away to Al Feiha on October 17.
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
Three ways to limit your social media use
Clinical psychologist, Dr Saliha Afridi at The Lighthouse Arabia suggests three easy things you can do every day to cut back on the time you spend online.
1. Put the social media app in a folder on the second or third screen of your phone so it has to remain a conscious decision to open, rather than something your fingers gravitate towards without consideration.
2. Schedule a time to use social media instead of consistently throughout the day. I recommend setting aside certain times of the day or week when you upload pictures or share information.
3. Take a mental snapshot rather than a photo on your phone. Instead of sharing it with your social world, try to absorb the moment, connect with your feeling, experience the moment with all five of your senses. You will have a memory of that moment more vividly and for far longer than if you take a picture of it.
MATCH INFO
Al Jazira 3 (O Abdulrahman 43', Kenno 82', Mabkhout 90 4')
Al Ain 1 (Laba 39')
Red cards: Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain)
THE DETAILS
Director: Milan Jhaveri
Producer: Emmay Entertainment and T-Series
Cast: John Abraham, Manoj Bajpayee
Rating: 2/5
About Karol Nawrocki
• Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.
• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.
• Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.
• Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.
JAPAN SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Masaaki Higashiguchi, Shuichi Gonda, Daniel Schmidt
Defenders: Yuto Nagatomo, Tomoaki Makino, Maya Yoshida, Sho Sasaki, Hiroki Sakai, Sei Muroya, Genta Miura, Takehiro Tomiyasu
Midfielders: Toshihiro Aoyama, Genki Haraguchi, Gaku Shibasaki, Wataru Endo, Junya Ito, Shoya Nakajima, Takumi Minamino, Hidemasa Morita, Ritsu Doan
Forwards: Yuya Osako, Takuma Asano, Koya Kitagawa
Look%20Both%20Ways
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First Person
Richard Flanagan
Chatto & Windus
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Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
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White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Alaan%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202021%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Parthi%20Duraisamy%20and%20Karun%20Kurien%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20FinTech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%247%20million%20raised%20in%20total%20%E2%80%94%20%242.5%20million%20in%20a%20seed%20round%20and%20%244.5%20million%20in%20a%20pre-series%20A%20round%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Pari
Produced by: Clean Slate Films (Anushka Sharma, Karnesh Sharma) & KriArj Entertainment
Director: Prosit Roy
Starring: Anushka Sharma, Parambrata Chattopadhyay, Ritabhari Chakraborty, Rajat Kapoor, Mansi Multani
Three stars
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Simran
Director Hansal Mehta
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Soham Shah, Esha Tiwari Pandey
Three stars
Primera Liga fixtures (all times UAE: 4 GMT)
Friday
Real Sociedad v Villarreal (10.15pm)
Real Betis v Celta Vigo (midnight)
Saturday
Alaves v Barcelona (8.15pm)
Levante v Deportivo La Coruna (10.15pm)
Girona v Malaga (10.15pm)
Las Palmas v Atletico Madrid (12.15am)
Sunday
Espanyol v Leganes (8.15pm)
Eibar v Athletic Bilbao (8.15pm)
Getafe v Sevilla (10.15pm)
Real Madrid v Valencia (10.15pm)
As it stands in Pool A
1. Japan - Played 3, Won 3, Points 14
2. Ireland - Played 3, Won 2, Lost 1, Points 11
3. Scotland - Played 2, Won 1, Lost 1, Points 5
Remaining fixtures
Scotland v Russia – Wednesday, 11.15am
Ireland v Samoa – Saturday, 2.45pm
Japan v Scotland – Sunday, 2.45pm
The Book of Collateral Damage
Sinan Antoon
(Yale University Press)
What is Diwali?
The Hindu festival is at once a celebration of the autumn harvest and the triumph of good over evil, as outlined in the Ramayana.
According to the Sanskrit epic, penned by the sage Valmiki, Diwali marks the time that the exiled king Rama – a mortal with superhuman powers – returned home to the city of Ayodhya with his wife Sita and brother Lakshman, after vanquishing the 10-headed demon Ravana and conquering his kingdom of Lanka. The people of Ayodhya are believed to have lit thousands of earthen lamps to illuminate the city and to guide the royal family home.
In its current iteration, Diwali is celebrated with a puja to welcome the goodness of prosperity Lakshmi (an incarnation of Sita) into the home, which is decorated with diyas (oil lamps) or fairy lights and rangoli designs with coloured powder. Fireworks light up the sky in some parts of the word, and sweetmeats are made (or bought) by most households. It is customary to get new clothes stitched, and visit friends and family to exchange gifts and greetings.
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TOP 5 DRIVERS 2019
1 Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 10 wins 387 points
2 Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes, 4 wins, 314 points
3 Max Verstappen, Red Bull, 3 wins, 260 points
4 Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, 2 wins, 249 points
5 Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, 1 win, 230 points
THE SPECS
GMC Sierra Denali 1500
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Price: Dh232,500
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Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
Vikram%20Vedha
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