A magical Lionel Messi and on-form Luis Suarez scored doubles apiece as champions Barcelona thrashed newly promoted Huesca 8-2 to join Real Madrid at the top of La Liga on Sunday.
Barcelona’s third win of the campaign in as many games saw Ernesto Valverde’s men go top thanks to superior goal difference over Real before the break for Nations League matches.
Celta Vigo, who stunned Atletico Madrid 2-0 on Saturday, sit in third place at two points adrift with Atletico now five points adrift of the top after a shaky start to the campaign.
Huesca travelled to the Camp Nou perhaps more in hope than belief, although it was the latter that dominated the Aragon-based minnows' thinking in the early stages after Cucho Hernandez headed past Barca goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen to hand them a surprise third-minute lead.
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Read more:
Bale and Benzema strike again to lead Real Madrid past Leganes - in pictures
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But reality soon kicked in, a slick Messi levelling in the 16th minute after leaving right-back Luisinho on the deck on his way to beating Argentine goalkeeper Axel Werner.
Eight minutes later VAR was called on to confirm an own goal from defender Jorge Pulido, who got his foot to Jordi Alba's cutback before it wriggled past Werner and into the net.
Alba, recently left out of Spain’s squad by former Barcelona coach Luis Enrique, was in the thick of it again on 39 minutes when he set up Suarez to put Barca 3-1 in front by the 39th minute with his maiden goal of the campaign.
Although Alex Gallar pulled one back for the visitors three minutes before the interval when he turned in Hernandez’s deflected cross to reduce arrears to 3-2, it merely delayed a second-half onslaught.
Barca emerged from the dressing room to hit five goals, Ousmane Dembele starting the rout with an angled drive that beat Werner on 48 minutes.
Four minutes later Ivan Rakitic’s superb half-volley from Messi’s delivery had the Camp Nou on its feet.
Messi doubled his tally for the night on the hour mark to make it four in three games and completed his night’s work by setting up Jordi Alba for a magnificent seventh nine minutes from the final whistle.
Barcelona made it eight in the final seconds of the game when Suarez stepped up to beat Werner from the spot.
“It’s always important to be top of the league but it’s barely started,” Suarez told beIN Sports.
“The championship is very long and the main thing is to keep on doing as we are.”
Messi’s haul of four goals means he is level with Real striker Karim Benzema, the Argentine star foregoing the opportunity to take the sole lead of the scoring charts when he allowed Suarez to hit the late penalty.
With a question mark still hanging over his international career, Messi is expected to return from the international break rested having decided not to play for Argentina during the break.
Company%20Profile
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Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Company%20Profile
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Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
Where can I submit a sample?
Volunteers can now submit DNA samples at a number of centres across Abu Dhabi. The programme is open to all ages.
Collection centres in Abu Dhabi include:
- Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC)
- Biogenix Labs in Masdar City
- Al Towayya in Al Ain
- NMC Royal Hospital in Khalifa City
- Bareen International Hospital
- NMC Specialty Hospital, Al Ain
- NMC Royal Medical Centre - Abu Dhabi
- NMC Royal Women’s Hospital.
Normal People
Sally Rooney, Faber & Faber
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match details
Wales v Hungary
Cardiff City Stadium, kick-off 11.45pm
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School counsellors on mental well-being
Schools counsellors in Abu Dhabi have put a number of provisions in place to help support pupils returning to the classroom next week.
Many children will resume in-person lessons for the first time in 10 months and parents previously raised concerns about the long-term effects of distance learning.
Schools leaders and counsellors said extra support will be offered to anyone that needs it. Additionally, heads of years will be on hand to offer advice or coping mechanisms to ease any concerns.
“Anxiety this time round has really spiralled, more so than from the first lockdown at the beginning of the pandemic,” said Priya Mitchell, counsellor at The British School Al Khubairat in Abu Dhabi.
“Some have got used to being at home don’t want to go back, while others are desperate to get back.
“We have seen an increase in depressive symptoms, especially with older pupils, and self-harm is starting younger.
“It is worrying and has taught us how important it is that we prioritise mental well-being.”
Ms Mitchell said she was liaising more with heads of year so they can support and offer advice to pupils if the demand is there.
The school will also carry out mental well-being checks so they can pick up on any behavioural patterns and put interventions in place to help pupils.
At Raha International School, the well-being team has provided parents with assessment surveys to see how they can support students at home to transition back to school.
“They have created a Well-being Resource Bank that parents have access to on information on various domains of mental health for students and families,” a team member said.
“Our pastoral team have been working with students to help ease the transition and reduce anxiety that [pupils] may experience after some have been nearly a year off campus.
"Special secondary tutorial classes have also focused on preparing students for their return; going over new guidelines, expectations and daily schedules.”
'The Sky is Everywhere'
Director:Josephine Decker
Stars:Grace Kaufman, Pico Alexander, Jacques Colimon
Rating:2/5
Tree of Hell
Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla
Director: Raed Zeno
Rating: 4/5
RESULT
Fifth ODI, at Headingley
England 351/9
Pakistan 297
England win by 54 runs (win series 4-0)
Results
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COMPANY PROFILE
● Company: Bidzi
● Started: 2024
● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid
● Based: Dubai, UAE
● Industry: M&A
● Funding size: Bootstrapped
● No of employees: Nine
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