When Al Nassr found out their fixture list for the 2023/24 season, the last week of November immediately stood out as one where they would need to navigate two tricky fixtures back-to-back. The hope at Al Awwal Park was that they would have already sealed qualification to the AFC Champions League round of 16 before having to play Persepolis in their penultimate match of the group, scheduled just a few days before they take on eternal rivals Al Hilal.
Luis Castro’s side found themselves nearly there, going into Monday’s home encounter against the Iranian giants who had two years earlier eliminated them in an Champions League semi-final. Al Nassr had picked up the maximum 12 points from their first four matches, but that was not yet enough to win the group, with Persepolis having picked up seven points, meaning the Saudi Pro League giants still needed at least a point from their remaining two games.
To further complicate things, Al Nassr lost their first two matches of the SPL season, leaving them to play catch-up on Al Hilal. They have roared back impressively, winning 11 of 12 league games.
With such calculations in mind, Castro had to make a decision about whether to rotate his squad for the game against Persepolis, potentially risking a defeat but preserving his best players for Friday's Riyadh derby, or to go full-strength, risk injuries, but ensure that even a defeat in Dushanbe on the final day of the continental group stage against Istiklol wouldn’t matter.
Eventually, the Portuguese tactician made five changes to the starting XI that beat Al Okhdood 3-0 last weekend, but still started key players such as his two compatriots, Cristiano Ronaldo and Otavio, as well as Abdulrahman Ghareeb and Sultan Al Ghannam.
On the pitch, Castro’s men played a compact game with the primary objective to walk away with the required point, while preserving their energy and staying injury-free for the upcoming derby. But his strategy received a setback as defender Ali Lajami was sent off after 17 minutes, leaving his side to play 10 v 11 for well over an hour.
Ronaldo threatened on multiple occasions, but left Al Nassr fans staring in horror as he fell to the ground holding his neck after an aerial duel with Persepolis goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand. The Portuguese continued for another 30 minutes after the incident before being taken off with 12 minutes remaining. Al Nassr picked up the necessary point to secure safe passage into the round of 16.
Speaking after the match, head coach Castro played down Ronaldo’s injury, saying: “The medical team is looking into the injury, but we expect him to recover and be ready for the next match.
“I only want to get better with every game,” continued the Portuguese boss. “We approached this game keeping in mind the opposition’s qualities and we wanted to remain in control and get the result we wanted, but unfortunately the red card meant we had to put in a lot more effort.”
And while the momentary scare of losing Ronaldo for the biggest match of their season so far could have left Castro regretting his decision to field his talisman, the final result and the subsequent diagnosis of a small neck bruise, served as validation. Al Nassr are now 20 matches unbeaten in all competitions.
“The players now understand that recovery is key to continued success across all competitions," added Castro. "To go 20 unbeaten with only two draws means we are always being brave and showing respect to all opponents.”
Castro has already proven to be an upgrade on his predecessor Rudi Garcia, but the progress of his early days at the club will come under scrutiny when they take on their arch-rivals on Friday at King Fahd Sports City/ Ronaldo's recovery from injury and others overcoming fatigue will be crucial.
Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
All about the Sevens
Cape Town Sevens on Saturday and Sunday: Pools A – South Africa, Kenya, France, Russia; B – New Zealand, Australia, Spain, United States; C – England, Scotland, Argentina, Uganda; D – Fiji, Samoa, Canada, Wales
HSBC World Sevens Series standing after first leg in Dubai 1 South Africa; 2 New Zealand; 3 England; 4 Fiji; 5 Australia; 6 Samoa; 7 Kenya; 8 Scotland; 9 France; 10 Spain; 11 Argentina; 12 Canada; 13 Wales; 14 Uganda; 15 United States; 16 Russia
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
What vitamins do we know are beneficial for living in the UAE
Vitamin D: Highly relevant in the UAE due to limited sun exposure; supports bone health, immunity and mood.
Vitamin B12: Important for nerve health and energy production, especially for vegetarians, vegans and individuals with absorption issues.
Iron: Useful only when deficiency or anaemia is confirmed; helps reduce fatigue and support immunity.
Omega-3 (EPA/DHA): Supports heart health and reduces inflammation, especially for those who consume little fish.
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
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Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi
Director: Kangana Ranaut, Krish Jagarlamudi
Producer: Zee Studios, Kamal Jain
Cast: Kangana Ranaut, Ankita Lokhande, Danny Denzongpa, Atul Kulkarni
Rating: 2.5/5
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Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The figures behind the event
1) More than 300 in-house cleaning crew
2) 165 staff assigned to sanitise public areas throughout the show
3) 1,000 social distancing stickers
4) 809 hand sanitiser dispensers placed throughout the venue
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The Greatest Royal Rumble card
50-man Royal Rumble - names entered so far include Braun Strowman, Daniel Bryan, Kurt Angle, Big Show, Kane, Chris Jericho, The New Day and Elias
Universal Championship Brock Lesnar (champion) v Roman Reigns in a steel cage match
WWE World Heavyweight ChampionshipAJ Styles (champion) v Shinsuke Nakamura
Intercontinental Championship Seth Rollins (champion) v The Miz v Finn Balor v Samoa Joe
United States Championship Jeff Hardy (champion) v Jinder Mahal
SmackDown Tag Team Championship The Bludgeon Brothers (champions) v The Usos
Raw Tag Team Championship (currently vacant) Cesaro and Sheamus v Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt
Casket match The Undertaker v Rusev
Singles match John Cena v Triple H
Cruiserweight Championship Cedric Alexander v Kalisto
New schools in Dubai
The drill
Recharge as needed, says Mat Dryden: “We try to make it a rule that every two to three months, even if it’s for four days, we get away, get some time together, recharge, refresh.” The couple take an hour a day to check into their businesses and that’s it.
Stick to the schedule, says Mike Addo: “We have an entire wall known as ‘The Lab,’ covered with colour-coded Post-it notes dedicated to our joint weekly planner, content board, marketing strategy, trends, ideas and upcoming meetings.”
Be a team, suggests Addo: “When training together, you have to trust in each other’s abilities. Otherwise working out together very quickly becomes one person training the other.”
Pull your weight, says Thuymi Do: “To do what we do, there definitely can be no lazy member of the team.”
French business
France has organised a delegation of leading businesses to travel to Syria. The group was led by French shipping giant CMA CGM, which struck a 30-year contract in May with the Syrian government to develop and run Latakia port. Also present were water and waste management company Suez, defence multinational Thales, and Ellipse Group, which is currently looking into rehabilitating Syrian hospitals.
Coal Black Mornings
Brett Anderson
Little Brown Book Group
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
- Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
- Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
- Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000
- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
Draw:
Group A: Egypt, DR Congo, Uganda, Zimbabwe
Group B: Nigeria, Guinea, Madagascar, Burundi
Group C: Senegal, Algeria, Kenya, Tanzania
Group D: Morocco, Ivory Coast, South Africa, Namibia
Group E: Tunisia, Mali, Mauritania, Angola
Group F: Cameroon, Ghana, Benin, Guinea-Bissau
The story in numbers
18
This is how many recognised sects Lebanon is home to, along with about four million citizens
450,000
More than this many Palestinian refugees are registered with UNRWA in Lebanon, with about 45 per cent of them living in the country’s 12 refugee camps
1.5 million
There are just under 1 million Syrian refugees registered with the UN, although the government puts the figure upwards of 1.5m
73
The percentage of stateless people in Lebanon, who are not of Palestinian origin, born to a Lebanese mother, according to a 2012-2013 study by human rights organisation Frontiers Ruwad Association
18,000
The number of marriages recorded between Lebanese women and foreigners between the years 1995 and 2008, according to a 2009 study backed by the UN Development Programme
77,400
The number of people believed to be affected by the current nationality law, according to the 2009 UN study
4,926
This is how many Lebanese-Palestinian households there were in Lebanon in 2016, according to a census by the Lebanese-Palestinian dialogue committee
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Farasan Boat: 128km Away from Anchorage
Director: Mowaffaq Alobaid
Stars: Abdulaziz Almadhi, Mohammed Al Akkasi, Ali Al Suhaibani
Rating: 4/5
