Lionel Messi joked on Wednesday about Barcelona's highs and lows this season, saying he had gone from being a "disaster" to "the best form of his career" since the New Year.
Messi played a key role as Barca advanced past Manchester City in the Champions League with a 1-0 win that sealed a 3-1 aggregate triumph.
The Catalan club advanced to the quarter-finals with a realistic chance at capturing a treble. Barca lead La Liga, play Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey final on May 30 and find out their opponent for the last eight in the European Cup on Friday.
It’s a far cry from the hysteria that seemed to surround the club as 2015 began.
Despite being held scoreless, Messi is now commonly regarded to be in one of the hottest streaks of his career as Barca have won 17 of their past 18 games to put the trebel in their sights.
“I have gone from being a disaster to being in the best form of my career in a very short time,” Messi said, referring to the period surrounding a loss to Real Sociedad at the start of the year.
“I am just enjoying the moment like the rest of the team for the football we are playing and the results we are getting.”
Barca manager Luis Enrique repeated his belief that Messi is the finest player the game has seen, and urged the club’s fans not to take his brilliance for granted.
“He is the best player in the world without any doubt,” Enrique said. “Of this time and even for me in the history of the game. It is obvious and we are enchanted to have him among us.
“We have the luck to have Lionel Messi and shouldn’t take for granted having a player of his class. It is a great pleasure and joy for all Barca fans to have him.”
Messi was also in the unusual position of having to laud one of his opponents as Joe Hart produced a fine performance, albeit to no avail, for eliminated Manchester City.
Hart made 10 saves to restrict Barca to Ivan Rakitic’s solitary strike.
Messi teed up the Croatian with a skilful assist, but his quest to move ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo as the leading scorer in Champions League history was frustrated by the form of the English international goalkeeper.
“Hart is a phenomenon,” said the four-time World Player of the Year. “He saved everything today. I think we did everything to deserve a lot more, we had a lot of clear chances, but the keeper had a brilliant game.
“We can only congratulate him, but the important thing is we achieved our objective to get through.”
City manager Manuel Pellegrini said the presence of Messi gave Barca an advantage over the remaining sides in Friday’s draw for the last eight.
“Barca always have the added bonus of having Messi,” he said when asked to compare the Catalan club with competition favourites Bayern Munich, who City faced in the group stages.
The English champions played Bayern before being eliminated at the last-16 stage last season and Pellegrini said City’s tough draws over the past two seasons means their inability to reach the quarter-finals for the first time in the club’s history cannot be considered a failure.
“I don’t think it is a failure. It is disappointing,” the Chilean said. “Two years a row we have qualified for the last 16, which we didn’t in the previous years. Maybe if we had faced someone other than Barcelona we would be in the quarter-finals.”
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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
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
Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDirect%20Debit%20System%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Sept%202017%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20UAE%20with%20a%20subsidiary%20in%20the%20UK%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20FinTech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Undisclosed%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Elaine%20Jones%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%208%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
THE LIGHT
Director: Tom Tykwer
Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger
Rating: 3/5
The Brutalist
Director: Brady Corbet
Stars: Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn
Rating: 3.5/5
Three trading apps to try
Sharad Nair recommends three investment apps for UAE residents:
- For beginners or people who want to start investing with limited capital, Mr Nair suggests eToro. “The low fees and low minimum balance requirements make the platform more accessible,” he says. “The user interface is straightforward to understand and operate, while its social element may help ease beginners into the idea of investing money by looking to a virtual community.”
- If you’re an experienced investor, and have $10,000 or more to invest, consider Saxo Bank. “Saxo Bank offers a more comprehensive trading platform with advanced features and insight for more experienced users. It offers a more personalised approach to opening and operating an account on their platform,” he says.
- Finally, StashAway could work for those who want a hands-off approach to their investing. “It removes one of the biggest challenges for novice traders: picking the securities in their portfolio,” Mr Nair says. “A goal-based approach or view towards investing can help motivate residents who may usually shy away from investment platforms.”
What is Genes in Space?
Genes in Space is an annual competition first launched by the UAE Space Agency, The National and Boeing in 2015.
It challenges school pupils to design experiments to be conducted in space and it aims to encourage future talent for the UAE’s fledgling space industry. It is the first of its kind in the UAE and, as well as encouraging talent, it also aims to raise interest and awareness among the general population about space exploration.
The five stages of early child’s play
From Dubai-based clinical psychologist Daniella Salazar:
1. Solitary Play: This is where Infants and toddlers start to play on their own without seeming to notice the people around them. This is the beginning of play.
2. Onlooker play: This occurs where the toddler enjoys watching other people play. There doesn’t necessarily need to be any effort to begin play. They are learning how to imitate behaviours from others. This type of play may also appear in children who are more shy and introverted.
3. Parallel Play: This generally starts when children begin playing side-by-side without any interaction. Even though they aren’t physically interacting they are paying attention to each other. This is the beginning of the desire to be with other children.
4. Associative Play: At around age four or five, children become more interested in each other than in toys and begin to interact more. In this stage children start asking questions and talking about the different activities they are engaging in. They realise they have similar goals in play such as building a tower or playing with cars.
5. Social Play: In this stage children are starting to socialise more. They begin to share ideas and follow certain rules in a game. They slowly learn the definition of teamwork. They get to engage in basic social skills and interests begin to lead social interactions.
The specs
Engine: 3-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 400hp
Torque: 475Nm
Transmission: 9-speed automatic
Price: From Dh215,900
On sale: Now
Mia Man’s tips for fermentation
- Start with a simple recipe such as yogurt or sauerkraut
- Keep your hands and kitchen tools clean. Sanitize knives, cutting boards, tongs and storage jars with boiling water before you start.
- Mold is bad: the colour pink is a sign of mold. If yogurt turns pink as it ferments, you need to discard it and start again. For kraut, if you remove the top leaves and see any sign of mold, you should discard the batch.
- Always use clean, closed, airtight lids and containers such as mason jars when fermenting yogurt and kraut. Keep the lid closed to prevent insects and contaminants from getting in.
PFA Premier League team of 2018-19
Allison (Liverpool)
Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool)
Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Aymeric Laporte (Manchester City)
Andrew Robertson (Liverpool)
Paul Pogba (Manchester United)
Fernandinho (Manchester City)
Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)
Raheem Sterling (Manchester City)
Sergio Aguero (Manchester City)
Sadio Mane (Liverpool)
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
