Real Madrid exorcised the ghosts of last season’s Clasico defeats with a spirited 2-1 victory over Barcelona at the Bernabeu on Sunday night.
It was a match that had everything: controversy, quality, and confrontation. Goals from Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham sealed Madrid’s 12th win in 13 matches this season and offered a powerful statement of intent in their pursuit of the La Liga title.
But the result was marred by a post-match altercation involving players from both sides that led to red cards, yellow cards, and angry exchanges long after the final whistle.
“Talk is cheap,” Bellingham posted later on Instagram, echoing the tone of a Madrid squad clearly intent on proving a point after being swept by their arch-rivals last season. The England midfielder, who was named man of the match, called it “a magnificent performance from the whole team.”
“This victory is also for the fans,” Bellingham told Real Madrid TV. “Last year we played badly in the big games and today this victory was for everyone.”
The final moments were chaotic. As players and staff shook hands, a scuffle broke out involving teenage Barcelona forward Lamine Yamal, Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, and full-back Dani Carvajal. Reserve goalkeeper Andriy Lunin was shown a red card for his role in the fracas, while Vinicius Jr and others were booked as tempers frayed.
Vinicius himself had endured a turbulent evening. Visibly frustrated after being substituted for Rodrygo in the 72nd minute, the Brazilian went straight down the tunnel before returning to the bench a few minutes later.
“All coaches know there are different personalities,” Madrid head coach Xabi Alonso said afterwards. “Now we’ll enjoy it, and when the time comes, we’ll talk about these things in the dressing room. But this was a great performance from the team.”
The match began at a frantic pace. Within two minutes, Madrid thought they had a penalty when Vinicius went down under minimal contact from Yamal, but the decision was overturned after a VAR review showed the Madrid forward had kicked the Barcelona youngster’s leg while attempting a shot.
VAR intervened again 10 minutes later to rule out what appeared to be a stunning opener from Mbappe for offside. The Frenchman would not be denied for long. In the 22nd minute, after a clever assist from Bellingham, Mbappe broke free on goal and finished calmly past Wojciech Szczesny to put Madrid ahead. It was his 16th goal in 13 matches for club and country.
Barcelona, struggling to cope with Madrid’s pace and movement, found a lifeline in the 38th minute. Arda Guler’s misplaced pass gifted possession to Marcus Rashford, who sprinted down the left and squared for Fermin Lopez to slot home from close range.
But just five minutes later, Madrid restored their advantage. A Vinicius cross was headed toward goal by Eder Militao, and when Szczesny parried, Bellingham was quickest to react, poking the ball over the line to make it 2-1.
The England star, who recently returned from a shoulder injury, followed up his midweek Uefa Champions League winner against Juventus with another decisive strike.
The defeat was Barcelona’s third in all competitions this month, following losses to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League and Sevilla in La Liga.
Defeat means Hansi Flick's Barca now trail leaders Real Madrid by five points in La Liga.
For Madrid, it was sweet redemption after last season’s humiliations, when they were outscored 16-7 across four meetings and lost all their Clasicos for the first time in history.
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.”
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Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
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So what is Spicy Chickenjoy?
Just as McDonald’s has the Big Mac, Jollibee has Spicy Chickenjoy – a piece of fried chicken that’s crispy and spicy on the outside and comes with a side of spaghetti, all covered in tomato sauce and topped with sausage slices and ground beef. It sounds like a recipe that a child would come up with, but perhaps that’s the point – a flavourbomb combination of cheap comfort foods. Chickenjoy is Jollibee’s best-selling product in every country in which it has a presence.
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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1.
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United States
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2.
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China
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3.
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UAE
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4.
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Japan
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5
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Norway
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6.
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Canada
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7.
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Singapore
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8.
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Australia
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9.
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Saudi Arabia
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10.
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South Korea
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Schedule:
Pakistan v Sri Lanka:
28 Sep-2 Oct, 1st Test, Abu Dhabi
6-10 Oct, 2nd Test (day-night), Dubai
13 Oct, 1st ODI, Dubai
16 Oct, 2nd ODI, Abu Dhabi
18 Oct, 3rd ODI, Abu Dhabi
20 Oct, 4th ODI, Sharjah
23 Oct, 5th ODI, Sharjah
26 Oct, 1st T20I, Abu Dhabi
27 Oct, 2nd T20I, Abu Dhabi
29 Oct, 3rd T20I, Lahore
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-finals, second leg:
Liverpool (0) v Barcelona (3), Tuesday, 11pm UAE
Game is on BeIN Sports
MATCH INFO
Fixture: Thailand v UAE, Tuesday, 4pm (UAE)
TV: Abu Dhabi Sports
MATCH RESULT
Liverpool 4 Brighton and Hove Albion 0
Liverpool: Salah (26'), Lovren (40'), Solanke (53'), Robertson (85')
