PSG's Javier Pastore, center, celebrates with teammate after scoring, as Troyes' goalkeeper Matthieu Dreyer, right, reacts during their Ligue 1 match in Troyes, France, Sunday, March 13, 2016. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
PSG's Javier Pastore, center, celebrates with teammate after scoring, as Troyes' goalkeeper Matthieu Dreyer, right, reacts during their Ligue 1 match in Troyes, France, Sunday, March 13, 2016. (AP PhoShow more

Four-star Zlatan Ibrahimovic leads PSG to Ligue 1 crown in record fashion



Troyes 0 Paris Saint-Germain 9

PSG Cavani 13', 75', Pastore 17', Rabiot 19', Ibrahimovic 46', 52', 55', 88', Saunier 58' (og)

Along with the satisfaction of reaching the Uefa Champions League quarter-finals last midweek, Paris Saint-Germain may also have felt considerable relief at prolonging their European adventure.

After all, a failure to make it four consecutive appearances in the last eight of Europe’s elite club competition would have made for a rather anti-climactic end to the season.

PSG celebrated winning a fourth successive French Ligue 1 title on Sunday, their sixth overall, with a 9-0 victory at bottom side Troyes.

Laurent Blanc’s team are the earliest champions in the history of the French game, with eight matches and two months of the season remaining.

“We have been top right from the start. I don’t know if we’ll ever manage to repeat such a performance,” said Blanc this weekend.

Paris will now hope to go and complete a clean sweep of the domestic trophies for the second year running, with a French Cup semi-final at Lorient and the League Cup final against Lille to come in April.

That is certainly not to be sniffed at, but they measure themselves now against the continent’s best in the Champions League, and there will be no euphoria at winning a league in which their domination has become abysmal.

Before a 2-1 defeat at Lyon two weeks ago, they had gone a record 36 Ligue 1 games unbeaten since March 2015, and despite that solitary loss, PSG are on course to break their own record for the highest points total in France’s top flight.

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These are heady times to be a supporter of the French capital’s only top-flight side, and yet even they seem to regret the fact their team’s superiority is so emphatic.

A quick glance at the French league’s official attendance records suggests that PSG are the country’s best supported team, with average crowds of over 46,000 selling out the Parc des Princes.

The reality, though, is somewhat different. Many season ticket holders only turn up for the biggest games, leaving thousands of empty seats and little of the once raucous atmosphere the rest of the time.

That contrasts with the way things used to be, even in the last decade when PSG plunged the depths of mediocrity.

Players and officials alike have expressed frustration at a support who often only make themselves heard to whistle their team on the rare occasions when they are not winning, or not winning well enough.

“Sometimes the crowd at the Parc can be too calm, and some of the whistles...I don’t understand them,” Paris president Nasser al-Khelaifi told Le Figaro in December.

Blanc’s side deserve better, but there is not much they can do when opposition teams occasionally rest key players in Paris, accepting defeat before the game has begun.

PSG are not playing in the same league as the rest of France, such a monster have they become since the Qatari takeover of 2011.

Talisman Zlatan Ibrahimovic, in possibly his last season in France, has again gone past the 30-goal mark, while the arrival of Angel Di Maria and emergence of Lucas Moura have helped take PSG to another level at times.

But the rest of the continent looks down on the lack of competition in Ligue 1 and an appearance in the semi-finals of the Champions League for the first time since 1995 is necessary for PSG to be fully respected abroad.

However, Paris have been quick to stress that their domestic dominance is not all their fault, with the failings of their potential rivals also to blame.

Monaco did not take long to give up on competing with Paris and switch their focus to bringing through young talent to sell on for profit.

They have fewer points at this stage than any second-placed team since Lens in 2007, while Lyon and Marseille have had their own problems, allowing PSG to turn Ligue 1 into one of the most one-sided leagues in Europe.

“We have done our job. Our rivals have not done what they needed to do against the other teams in order to keep up,” Blanc said.

It may be some time yet before anyone else comes close to taking their crown away from them.

Recent French Leagie 1 champions

2015-16: Paris Saint-Germain

2014-15: Paris Saint-Germain

2013-14: Paris Saint-Germain

2012-13: Paris Saint-Germain

2011-12: Montpellier

2010-11: Lille

2009-10: Marseille

2008-09: Bordeaux

2007-08: Lyon

2006-07: Lyon

2005-06: Lyon

2004-05: Lyon

2003-04: Lyon

2002-03: Lyon

2001-02: Lyon

2000-01: Nantes

1999-00: Monaco

1998-99: Bordeaux

1997-98: Lens

1996-97: Monaco

Most overall titles

Saint-Etienne: 10 (1957, 1964, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1981)

Marseille: 9 (1937, 1948, 1971, 1972, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 2010)

Nantes: 8 (1965, 1966, 1973, 1977, 1980, 1983, 1995, 2001)

Monaco: 7 (1961, 1963, 1978, 1982, 1988, 1997, 2000)

Lyon: 7 (2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008)

Reims: 6 (1949, 1953, 1955, 1958, 1960, 1962)

Bordeaux: 6 (1950, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1999, 2009)

Paris Saint-Germain: 6 (1986, 1994, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016)

Nice: 4 (1951, 1952, 1956, 1959)

Lille: 3 (1946, 1954, 2011)

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'Worse than a prison sentence'

Marie Byrne, a counsellor who volunteers at the UAE government's mental health crisis helpline, said the ordeal the crew had been through would take time to overcome.

“It was worse than a prison sentence, where at least someone can deal with a set amount of time incarcerated," she said.

“They were living in perpetual mystery as to how their futures would pan out, and what that would be.

“Because of coronavirus, the world is very different now to the one they left, that will also have an impact.

“It will not fully register until they are on dry land. Some have not seen their young children grow up while others will have to rebuild relationships.

“It will be a challenge mentally, and to find other work to support their families as they have been out of circulation for so long. Hopefully they will get the care they need when they get home.”

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Price, base: Dh117,000 (estimate)

Engine: 1.6L four-cylinder, with 1.56kWh battery

Transmission: Six-speed automatic

Power: 105hp (engine), plus 43.5hp (battery)

Torque: 147Nm (engine), plus 170Nm (battery)

Fuel economy, combined: 3.4L / 100km

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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
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What: International friendly

When: 7pm kick off

Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City

Admission: Free

Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page

UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)

Squid Game season two

Director: Hwang Dong-hyuk 

Stars:  Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon and Lee Byung-hun

Rating: 4.5/5

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
What is blockchain?

Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.

The main difference between blockchain and other forms of DLT is the way data is stored as ‘blocks’ – new transactions are added to the existing ‘chain’ of past transactions, hence the name ‘blockchain’. It is impossible to delete or modify information on the chain due to the replication of blocks across various locations.

Blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Due to the inability to tamper with transactions, advocates say this makes the currency more secure and safer than traditional systems. It is maintained by a network of people referred to as ‘miners’, who receive rewards for solving complex mathematical equations that enable transactions to go through.

However, one of the major problems that has come to light has been the presence of illicit material buried in the Bitcoin blockchain, linking it to the dark web.

Other blockchain platforms can offer things like smart contracts, which are automatically implemented when specific conditions from all interested parties are reached, cutting the time involved and the risk of mistakes. Another use could be storing medical records, as patients can be confident their information cannot be changed. The technology can also be used in supply chains, voting and has the potential to used for storing property records.

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