Runaway Premier League leaders Liverpool were beaten for only the second time this season as they lost 3-2 in an error-strewn defensive display at Fulham on Sunday.
The Merseysiders, who started the game 11 points clear of second-placed Arsenal, took to the lead at Craven Cottage through a brilliant Alexis Mac Allister 25-yard finish in the 14th minute.
But Fulham hit back in style with three goals in 13 manic minutes to put the Cottagers 3-1 ahead before the break.
Ryan Sessegnon levelled with a smart first-time finish after stand-in right-back Curtis Jones had failed to clear a cross in the 23rd minute.
It was 2-1 nine minutes later following a series of errors from Liverpool full-back Andy Robertson, starting with a dreadful cross-field pass and ending with the Scotland captain deflecting Alex Iwobi's shot into the back of the net.
Rodrigo Muniz completed the turnaround, winning a second ball head of Virgil van Dijk by flicking the ball over his head before producing a quality finish through goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher's legs.
Conor Bradley set up a nervy finish when he played in fellow substitute Luis Diaz to poke home with nearly 20 minutes to play.
Another away substitute, Harvey Elliott, nearly fired the league leaders level but his curling effort bounced back off the bar and Fulham held on for the three points.
Liverpool, though, stay 11 points clear at the top with seven games remaining - after Arsenal could only draw with Everton on Saturday - and need a maximum of 11 more points to secure a record-equalling 20th English top-flight title.
The defeat in West London also ended Liverpool's hopes of going the entire Premier League campaign without an away defeat. Their other loss came at home to Nottingham Forest way back on September 14.
Liverpool manager Arne Slot bemoaned his team's defensive frailties in the first half that helped end their 26-matcxh unbeaten run.
“It's not often we concede three goals let alone in one game or 15 minutes,” the Dutchman said. “We could have prevented it.
“We scored a good goal but apart from that the second half performance was much more what we’re like.
“Conceding three goals like we did is not of the standards of Liverpool. We were creating chance after chance after chance [towards the end]. In the end we lacked time to make up for the three mistakes we made in the first half.”
Fulham moved up to eighth with 48 points, three behind Manchester City in fifth – who were taking on Manchester United in the derby later on Sunday – with a top-five spot likely to be enough to secure a Uefa Champions League place next term.
“It was a great, great performance from us, a big one [result],: said Fulham manager Marco Silva. “Not just because it’s Liverpool but because we needed to bounce back after the last two games.
“Our first half was very, very good played at a very high level. We showed great organisation and commitment. We were clearly the best team on the pitch in the first half.
“In the second half there was a good reaction from Liverpool which we expected and our energy went down a little bit which was to be expected because it was so high in the first half. Overall though we deserved the three points.”
Rock-bottom Southampton's catastrophic campaign goes on when they were beaten 3-1 at Tottenham Hotspur which mean they became the first team in Premier League history to be relegated with as many as seven games of the season remaining.
Ipswich and Derby were relegated with six games left in 1994-95 and 2007-08 respectively. Ivan Juric's side are also still one shy of matching Derby's 2007-08 record low Premier League total points of 11.
Brennan Johnson struck twice for Spurs in the first half and while Mateus Fernandes pulled one back in the 90th minute, Mathys Tel scored a penalty in added time, ensuring the Saints would be playing Championship football again next season.
“We want to get as many points as we can until the end of the season,” said goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale. “No one wants that record and we will do what we can but we will do what we can to get more points on the board.”
“We have to avoid that record,” added manager Juric. “Do our best. It cannot happen.”
Chelsea, meanwhile, were held to a 0-0 draw at their West London neighbours Brentford on Sunday, dealing a fresh setback to their push for a Champions League spot.
Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca made five changes to the team that beat Spurs 1-0 on Thursday with strikers Nicolas Jackson, Cole Palmer and Pedro Neto coming on only as second-half substitutes.
Their introduction gave Chelsea a bit more bite in attack after a flat first 45 minutes but they failed to really test Mark Flekken in the Brentford goal.
Bryan Mbeumo drew a good save from Robert Sanchez and Sepp Van Den Berg headed over from close range in the final 10 minutes before Palmer shot narrowly over with the last kick of the game.
Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
Founders: Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Albabtain.
Based: Riyadh
Offices: UAE, Vietnam and Germany
Founded: September, 2020
Number of employees: 70
Sector: FinTech, online payment solutions
Funding to date: $116m in two funding rounds
Investors: Checkout.com, Impact46, Vision Ventures, Wealth Well, Seedra, Khwarizmi, Hala Ventures, Nama Ventures and family offices
THE SPECS
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Power: 420kW
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Transmission: 8-speed automatic
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MATCH INFO
Osasuna 1 Real Madrid 4
Osasuna: García (14')
Real Madrid: Isco (33'), Ramos (38'), Vázquez (84'), Jovic (90' 2)
Ain Issa camp:
- Established in 2016
- Houses 13,309 people, 2,092 families, 62 per cent children
- Of the adult population, 49 per cent men, 51 per cent women (not including foreigners annexe)
- Most from Deir Ezzor and Raqqa
- 950 foreigners linked to ISIS and their families
- NGO Blumont runs camp management for the UN
- One of the nine official (UN recognised) camps in the region
PROFILE OF HALAN
Started: November 2017
Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport and logistics
Size: 150 employees
Investment: approximately $8 million
Investors include: Singapore’s Battery Road Digital Holdings, Egypt’s Algebra Ventures, Uber co-founder and former CTO Oscar Salazar
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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.”
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
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%3Cp%3EThe%20UAE%20flag%20was%20first%20unveiled%20on%20December%202%2C%201971%2C%20the%20day%20the%20UAE%20was%20formed.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EIt%20was%20designed%20by%20Abdullah%20Mohammed%20Al%20Maainah%2C%2019%2C%20an%20Emirati%20from%20Abu%20Dhabi.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EMr%20Al%20Maainah%20said%20in%20an%20interview%20with%20%3Cem%3EThe%20National%3C%2Fem%3E%20in%202011%20he%20chose%20the%20colours%20for%20local%20reasons.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EThe%20black%20represents%20the%20oil%20riches%20that%20transformed%20the%20UAE%2C%20green%20stands%20for%20fertility%20and%20the%20red%20and%20white%20colours%20were%20drawn%20from%20those%20found%20in%20existing%20emirate%20flags.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
