Thomas Woods reflects on Saturday’s Premier League matches and offers his thoughts on some of the biggest talking points.
Pedro getting a second chance
Pedro was in a situation at Barcelona where there were constant doubts of just how good he was.
He scored 99 goals in 321 games for the Spanish giants but he was also part of a team that contained Lionel Messi, Xavi and Andres Iniesta. Surely chances fell into his lap and he just had to finish them.
Last season’s move to Chelsea seemed to back up the theory that he would not amount to much away from Barca. A bright start, particularly on debut against West Bromwich Albion when he scored one and set up another in a 3-2 win at The Hawthorns, soon turned into mediocrity as Chelsea’s season descended into chaos.
But manager Antonio Conte has found a role for Pedro and, and as with fellow wide man Victor Moses, the Spain international is repaying the Italian’s faith.
Chelsea suddenly have plenty of attacking options and Pedro is one. He’s not flashy but has technique in abundance and the pace to terrorise defenders, as Manchester United discovered to their detriment after 30 seconds during the 4-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge.
Pedro is a player who, given the right conditions and support, can be very effective.
Those conditions are the 3-4-3 formation, the support of Eden Hazard and the freedom to make runs in behind the opposition back four.
It worked well on Saturday with his stunning goal just before half-time sparking the comeback in Chelsea’s 2-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur.
• Greg Lea from Stamford Bridge: Tottenham again come undone at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea cement title credentials
Llorente could be Swansea’s new Michu
Spanish striker Fernando Llorente came off the bench to great effect in Swansea City’s spectacular 5-4 win over Crystal Palace on Saturday.
It’s a result that could turn the Welsh side’s season and it may prompt manager Bob Bradley to have a re-think about his starting XI.
Bradley has been playing Gylfi Sigurdsson in a false nine position in a 4-3-3 formation, which is a fine idea in getting your best attacking player in the most prominent goalscoring positions.
Llorente is a very different player — 6ft 4ins tall, great in the air, and a huge physical presence. He’s also decent with his feet too and, at his peak, was banging goals in for Athletic Bilbao and being linked with big-money moves all around Europe.
In the end, a switch to Juventus was not a huge success but his quality hasn’t gone away. Swansea just need to get it out of him.
It seems obvious, but regular starts and a team playing to his strengths will only see Llorente improve. If he starts firing regularly he will be a handful for the best defences.
Swansea were inspired by a fine Spanish signing in goalscoring midfielder Michu four seasons ago and Llorente has the potential to have the same impact.
• PL results and round-up: Chelsea end Tottenham's unbeaten start, Swansea prevail in nine-goal thriller
Coutinho injury a nightmare for Liverpool
As well as Liverpool have performed this season, Philippe Coutinho is the one player whose mere presence on the pitch takes the team to another level and transforms them from top four hopefuls to title contenders.
The Brazilian was taken off on a stretcher during Saturday’s win 2-0 win over Sunderland and looks likely to face a lengthy spell on the sidelines.
This might be a knee-jerk reaction but here goes: Liverpool’s title challenge is over.
With such competition at the top of the table, there is a fine line separating Chelsea, Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool — the four main contenders.
Major injuries to Eden Hazard, Sergio Aguero and Alexis Sanchez would probably derail title challenges from their respective sides too.
Liverpool don’t have a player to replace Coutinho and this injury is going to be the difference between a top-four finish and winning the title.
• Richard Jolly at Anfield: Joy and despair for Liverpool as victory over Sunderland is marred by serious Coutinho injury
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The Specs
Price, base Dh379,000
Engine 2.9-litre, twin-turbo V6
Gearbox eight-speed automatic
Power 503bhp
Torque 443Nm
On sale now
Packages which the US Secret Service said contained possible explosive devices were sent to:
- Former first lady Hillary Clinton
- Former US president Barack Obama
- Philanthropist and businessman George Soros
- Former CIA director John Brennan at CNN's New York bureau
- Former Attorney General Eric Holder (delivered to former DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz)
- California Congresswoman Maxine Waters (two devices)
The biog
Born November 11, 1948
Education: BA, English Language and Literature, Cairo University
Family: Four brothers, seven sisters, two daughters, 42 and 39, two sons, 43 and 35, and 15 grandchildren
Hobbies: Reading and traveling
ABU DHABI CARD
5pm: UAE Martyrs Cup (TB) Conditions; Dh90,000; 2,200m
5.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup (PA) Handicap; Dh70,000; 1,400m
6pm: UAE Matyrs Trophy (PA) Maiden; Dh80,000; 1,600m
6.30pm: Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak (IFAHR) Apprentice Championship (PA) Prestige; Dh100,000; 1,600m
7pm: Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak (IFAHR) Ladies World Championship (PA) Prestige; Dh125,000; 1,600m
8pm: Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Jewel Crown (PA) Group 1; Dh5,000,000; 1,600m
Sreesanth's India bowling career
Tests 27, Wickets 87, Average 37.59, Best 5-40
ODIs 53, Wickets 75, Average 33.44, Best 6-55
T20Is 10, Wickets 7, Average 41.14, Best 2-12
Results:
5pm: Maiden (PA) | Dh80,000 | 1,200 metres
Winner: Jabalini, Szczepan Mazur (jockey), Younis Kalbani (trainer)
5.30pm: UAE Arabian Derby (PA) | Prestige | Dh150,000 | 2,200m
Winner: Octave, Gerald Avranche, Abdallah Al Hammadi
6pm: Arabian Triple Crown Round 3 (PA) | Group 3 Dh300,000 | 2,200m
Winner: Harrab, Richard Mullen, Mohamed Ali
6.30pm: Emirates Championship (PA) | Group 1 | Dh1million | 2,200m
Winner: BF Mughader, Szczepan Mazur, Younis Al Kalbani
7pm: Abu Dhabi Championship (TB) | Group 3 | Dh380,000 | 2,200m
Winner: GM Hopkins, Patrick Cosgrave, Jaber Ramadhan
7.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup (PA) | Conditions | Dh70,000 | 1,600m
Winner: AF La’Asae, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5
Bundesliga fixtures
Saturday, May 16 (kick-offs UAE time)
Borussia Dortmund v Schalke (4.30pm)
RB Leipzig v Freiburg (4.30pm)
Hoffenheim v Hertha Berlin (4.30pm)
Fortuna Dusseldorf v Paderborn (4.30pm)
Augsburg v Wolfsburg (4.30pm)
Eintracht Frankfurt v Borussia Monchengladbach (7.30pm)
Sunday, May 17
Cologne v Mainz (4.30pm),
Union Berlin v Bayern Munich (7pm)
Monday, May 18
Werder Bremen v Bayer Leverkusen (9.30pm)
T20 World Cup Qualifier fixtures
Tuesday, October 29
Qualifier one, 2.10pm – Netherlands v UAE
Qualifier two, 7.30pm – Namibia v Oman
Wednesday, October 30
Qualifier three, 2.10pm – Scotland v loser of qualifier one
Qualifier four, 7.30pm – Hong Kong v loser of qualifier two
Thursday, October 31
Fifth-place playoff, 2.10pm – winner of qualifier three v winner of qualifier four
Friday, November 1
Semi-final one, 2.10pm – Ireland v winner of qualifier one
Semi-final two, 7.30pm – PNG v winner of qualifier two
Saturday, November 2
Third-place playoff, 2.10pm
Final, 7.30pm
The specs: 2018 Nissan Altima
Price, base / as tested: Dh78,000 / Dh97,650
Engine: 2.5-litre in-line four-cylinder
Power: 182hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 244Nm @ 4,000rpm
Transmission: Continuously variable tranmission
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.6L / 100km
A Cat, A Man, and Two Women
Junichiro Tamizaki
Translated by Paul McCarthy
Daunt Books
Result
Tottenhan Hotspur 2 Roma 3
Tottenham: Winks 87', Janssen 90 1'
Roma 3
D Perotti 13' (pen), C Under 70', M Tumminello 90 2"
THE LIGHT
Director: Tom Tykwer
Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger
Rating: 3/5
England Test squad
Joe Root (captain), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow (wicketkeeper), Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler, Alastair Cook, Sam Curran, Keaton Jennings, Dawid Malan, Jamie Porter, Adil Rashid, Ben Stokes.
The Brutalist
Director: Brady Corbet
Stars: Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn
Rating: 3.5/5
HOW DO SIM CARD SCAMS WORK?
Sim swap frauds are a form of identity theft.
They involve criminals conning mobile phone operators into issuing them with replacement Sim cards, often by claiming their phone has been lost or stolen
They use the victim's personal details - obtained through criminal methods - to convince such companies of their identity.
The criminal can then access any online service that requires security codes to be sent to a user's mobile phone, such as banking services.
Tonight's Chat on The National
Tonight's Chat is a series of online conversations on The National. The series features a diverse range of celebrities, politicians and business leaders from around the Arab world.
Tonight’s Chat host Ricardo Karam is a renowned author and broadcaster who has previously interviewed Bill Gates, Carlos Ghosn, Andre Agassi and the late Zaha Hadid, among others.
Intellectually curious and thought-provoking, Tonight’s Chat moves the conversation forward.
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360Vuz PROFILE
Date started: January 2017
Founder: Khaled Zaatarah
Based: Dubai and Los Angeles
Sector: Technology
Size: 21 employees
Funding: $7 million
Investors: Shorooq Partners, KBW Ventures, Vision Ventures, Hala Ventures, 500Startups, Plug and Play, Magnus Olsson, Samih Toukan, Jonathan Labin
Opening Premier League fixtures, August 14
- Brentford v Arsenal
- Burnley v Brighton
- Chelsea v Crystal Palace
- Everton v Southampton
- Leicester City v Wolves
- Manchester United v Leeds United
- Newcastle United v West Ham United
- Norwich City v Liverpool
- Tottenham v Manchester City
- Watford v Aston Villa
