When Pep Guardiola described Marcelo Bielsa as “a joy for world football”, it is safe to say this was not what he had in mind. Not Leeds United camped behind the ball, all within 30 yards of their goal, having just 29 per cent of possession. Nor Stuart Dallas racing away to score his second goal and condemn Manchester City to defeat.
For Leeds, it was a stunning, spectacular result but there was little joy for Guardiola here. After 27 wins in 28, City lost to the 10 remaining men of a promoted team.
“Defeat sometimes is necessary to understand how difficult it is what we have done,” Guardiola said. His team still need 11 points to regain the title. He was beaten by one of his heroes.
The contrarian and the purist in Bielsa insisted: “We deserved to win but the just or fair thing would have been for City to win.”
His reputation was not built on rearguard actions but this was necessitated. The scoreline would have been proof of the progress he has overseen even without the circumstances. “From the adversity and effort of the players it was emotional for me. It was a rebellious team. They weren't resigned to lose.”
Leeds were depleted before the break, with captain Liam Cooper getting their first top-flight red card since 2004, but a triumph of spirit contained evidence of Bielsa’s alchemy as they recorded a first league win over big-six opponents in that time.
Dallas was a decent Championship winger before Bielsa’s appointment. Now he has become the Argentinian’s ultimate utility man, a multipurpose midfielder or full-back who can play anywhere and run all day. It felt fitting that he was still going in injury time, sprinting on to Gjanni Alioski’s outside-of-the-boot pass to slide a shot under Ederson, just as he had drilled Leeds ahead, via the inside of the post, after being teed up by Patrick Bamford.
Despite spending much of the season in defence, Dallas has seven league goals. “This year has allowed Dallas to show a part of himself that we didn’t know he had,” Bielsa said.
His brace was sandwiched by examples of Leeds’ organisation and concentration. Often deficient defensively, they excelled without Cooper. Bielsa, the inveterate attacker, said he had never trained for such a scenario.
“Nothing that happened today had any influence from my part,” he insisted, but he brought on two centre-backs, first sacrificing Bamford a couple of minutes after his assist. Cooper flew in at Gabriel Jesus, planting his studs in the striker’s knee. Referee Andre Marriner booked him; after reviewing it on the monitor, he changed the colour of the card and Cooper’s dangerous tackle got the punishment it deserved.
Yet Leeds adapted brilliantly. It took a high-class strike to unlock them, a slick move featuring a penetrative pass from Fernandinho before Bernardo Silva found Ferran Torres, who scored his first league goal of 2021.
The identity of the scorer was instructive. Guardiola signalled that Wednesday’s trip to Borussia Dortmund was the priority he gave Nathan Ake a first game of 2021 and Oleksandr Zinchenko a rare outing in midfield and made seven changes. “I don’t regret any of them,” he said. Along with John Stones and Fernandinho, the Ukrainian was one of City’s three best players, but they lacked their usual fluency.
Zinchenko’s set-pieces posed a threat. Even against 11 men, Stones and Fernandinho kept carrying the ball forward, each rationalising that if the Leeds players were all man-marking, there was space for them to surge into. Stones set up Zinchenko when he had a shot saved while Raheem Sterling dragged a shot wide after an inspired break into the box by Fernandinho, who rolled back the years by resembling the attacking midfielder he was for Shakhtar Donetsk.
Yet City were too reliant on that trio for too long as they missed some of their rested regulars. “We did not create enough for the forwards,” Guardiola said. In the final half hour, Silva, Fernandinho and Joao Cancelo all had efforts but City’s 29 shots yielded a lone goal.
“Sometimes Leeds create more chances and lose the game,” Guardiola said. “Football is the only game like that.” And Leeds had a threat. The outstanding Raphinha might have won it but for a brilliant tackle by Ederson. Dallas did.
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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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
The Beach Bum
Director: Harmony Korine
Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Isla Fisher, Snoop Dogg
Two stars
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD)
What is THAAD?
It is considered to be the US' most superior missile defence system.
Production:
It was first created in 2008.
Speed:
THAAD missiles can travel at over Mach 8, so fast that it is hypersonic.
Abilities:
THAAD is designed to take out projectiles, namely ballistic missiles, as they are on their downward trajectory towards their target, otherwise known as the "terminal phase".
Purpose:
To protect high-value strategic sites, such as airfields or population centres.
Range:
THAAD can target projectiles both inside and outside of the Earth's atmosphere, at an altitude of 93 miles above the Earth's surface.
Creators:
Lockheed Martin was originally granted the contract to develop the system in 1992. Defence company Raytheon sub-contracts to develop other major parts of the system, such as ground-based radar.
UAE and THAAD:
In 2011, the UAE became the first country outside of the US to buy two THAAD missile defence systems. It then deployed them in 2016, becoming the first Gulf country to do so.
Game Changer
Director: Shankar
Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram
Rating: 2/5
Haemoglobin disorders explained
Thalassaemia is part of a family of genetic conditions affecting the blood known as haemoglobin disorders.
Haemoglobin is a substance in the red blood cells that carries oxygen and a lack of it triggers anemia, leaving patients very weak, short of breath and pale.
The most severe type of the condition is typically inherited when both parents are carriers. Those patients often require regular blood transfusions - about 450 of the UAE's 2,000 thalassaemia patients - though frequent transfusions can lead to too much iron in the body and heart and liver problems.
The condition mainly affects people of Mediterranean, South Asian, South-East Asian and Middle Eastern origin. Saudi Arabia recorded 45,892 cases of carriers between 2004 and 2014.
A World Health Organisation study estimated that globally there are at least 950,000 'new carrier couples' every year and annually there are 1.33 million at-risk pregnancies.
Checks continue
A High Court judge issued an interim order on Friday suspending a decision by Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots to direct a stop to Brexit agri-food checks at Northern Ireland ports.
Mr Justice Colton said he was making the temporary direction until a judicial review of the minister's unilateral action this week to order a halt to port checks that are required under the Northern Ireland Protocol.
Civil servants have yet to implement the instruction, pending legal clarity on their obligations, and checks are continuing.
World ranking (at month’s end)
Jan - 257
Feb - 198
Mar - 159
Apr - 161
May - 159
Jun – 162
Currently: 88
Year-end rank since turning pro
2016 - 279
2015 - 185
2014 - 143
2013 - 63
2012 - 384
2011 - 883
Without Remorse
Directed by: Stefano Sollima
Starring: Michael B Jordan
4/5
Guide to intelligent investing
Investing success often hinges on discipline and perspective. As markets fluctuate, remember these guiding principles:
- Stay invested: Time in the market, not timing the market, is critical to long-term gains.
- Rational thinking: Breathe and avoid emotional decision-making; let logic and planning guide your actions.
- Strategic patience: Understand why you’re investing and allow time for your strategies to unfold.
MATCH INFO
Who: UAE v USA
What: first T20 international
When: Friday, 2pm
Where: ICC Academy in Dubai
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MO
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Tottenham v Ajax, Tuesday, 11pm (UAE).
Second leg
Ajax v Tottenham, Wednesday, May 8, 11pm
Games on BeIN Sports
TEAMS
US Team
Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth
Justin Thomas, Daniel Berger
Brooks Koepka, Rickie Fowler
Kevin Kisner, Patrick Reed
Matt Kuchar, Kevin Chappell
Charley Hoffman*, Phil Mickelson*
International Team
Hideki Matsuyama, Jason Day
Adam Scott, Louis Oosthuizen
Marc Leishman, Charl Schwartzel
Branden Grace, Si Woo Kim
Jhonattan Vegas, Adam Hadwin
Emiliano Grillo*, Anirban Lahiri*
* denotes captain's picks