Roberto Mancini is as ruthless as he is tactically astute. Sometimes he is both, evidenced by him hooking off Adam Johnson before half time of their Champions League home tie with Villarreal.
If the Italian spots a flaw in his system he wastes no time in rectifying it - as he successfully did that night by replacing Johnson with Gareth Barry to protect Manchester City against Villarreal's counter-attacking raids - or resolves to iron it out as quickly as he publicly jettisoned Carlos Tevez after his tantrum in Munich.
He rarely makes the same mistake twice. Take last season's trip to Anfield, for example.
He set City up in a classic 4-4-2 formation and witnessed an Andy Carroll-inspired Liverpool hand his side their most chastening experience of the season in a 3-0 defeat. Wind forward to the repeat fixture yesterday and City were far more fluid and flexible in terms of formation and style, lining up in a formation that oscillated between 4-2-3-1, 4-4-1 and 4-4-2.
The result? Albeit inspired by Joe Hart, City ended a run of two successive defeats on Merseyside - they lost 2-1 at Everton three weeks after the loss to Liverpool last season - with a 1-1 draw and extended their unbeaten league run to 16 matches, fuelling the belief they can win their first Premier League title without defeat.
"Who knows," James Milner said. "We'll just keep going. We won't set targets."
Paul Robinson, the combative Bolton Wanderers left-back, applauds City's general elan, yet expects it to prevent them emulating Arsene Wenger's "Invincibles", who went the entire 2003/04 season unbeaten with 26 wins and 12 draws.
"I don't think City will go the whole season unbeaten because they're so open," Robinson said.
Robinson was part of a then confident Bolton team who went toe-to-toe in a 3-2 defeat to a City side still integrating summer's recruits in the second week of the season.
"We created a lot of chances and found weak points," Robinson said. "But in attack they have so many options it's just impossible at times.
"During periods of that game you couldn't get near them because they were so fluid and sending through so many runners.
"It must have been amazing to watch but to play in it was a nightmare."
One month later City went to Fulham following 5-1 and 3-0 destructions of Tottenham Hotspur and Wigan Athletic. A Sergio Aguero brace down before the second half had properly begun, Fulham appeared to be heading the same way until Mancini attempted to padlock the victory by bringing on Pablo Zabaleta.
"I played with [Moussa] Dembele in a midfield three to pressure them in the middle of the pitch," Martin Jol, the Fulham manager, said.
"Mancini saw it and wanted to match us up there by taking David Silva and Aguero off. I know why he did that - it's worked for them in other games - but in hindsight it helped us."
The upshot was City's first dropped points of the season.
City are not without flaws. Every opposing team has been offered ample opportunity to score.
Hart has the division's second best save percentage, yet City have just five clean sheets to show from 21 competitive fixtures.
It is European competition, though, that has exposed City.
Bayern Munich's victory was not founded on any great strategic plan, but Napoli's tactics were drawn up with military precision and were built around pressing every City player in possession except Nigel de Jong and the two centre-backs, who Napoli hoped would pass forward into densely packed areas.
"We had to be focused, stay strong and have a precise idea of the game," said Walter Mazzarri, the Napoli coach.
"They would enjoy more possession because they have lots of quality and we would try to defend carefully and be ready to start the action suddenly.
"We needed to steal the ball and make things happen quickly. We needed to make the most of the spaces."
A couple of days later there was recognition from Mancini that "we can't score three or four goals in every game. In the Champions League we've conceded six goals in five games and this is too much, it's not good".
City have a shortage of reliable bodies in the centre of their defence and will lose both Kolo and Yaya Toure - "probably the best midfielder in the League," according to Jol - to African Cup of Nations duty in the New Year.
But, as Micah Richards said recently, City can "just go out and buy somebody else".
sports@thenational.ae
More on Coronavirus in France
Three tips from La Perle's performers
1 The kind of water athletes drink is important. Gwilym Hooson, a 28-year-old British performer who is currently recovering from knee surgery, found that out when the company was still in Studio City, training for 12 hours a day. “The physio team was like: ‘Why is everyone getting cramps?’ And then they realised we had to add salt and sugar to the water,” he says.
2 A little chocolate is a good thing. “It’s emergency energy,” says Craig Paul Smith, La Perle’s head coach and former Cirque du Soleil performer, gesturing to an almost-empty open box of mini chocolate bars on his desk backstage.
3 Take chances, says Young, who has worked all over the world, including most recently at Dragone’s show in China. “Every time we go out of our comfort zone, we learn a lot about ourselves,” she says.
FORSPOKEN
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Previous men's records
- 2:01:39: Eliud Kipchoge (KEN) on 16/9/19 in Berlin
- 2:02:57: Dennis Kimetto (KEN) on 28/09/2014 in Berlin
- 2:03:23: Wilson Kipsang (KEN) on 29/09/2013 in Berlin
- 2:03:38: Patrick Makau (KEN) on 25/09/2011 in Berlin
- 2:03:59: Haile Gebreselassie (ETH) on 28/09/2008 in Berlin
- 2:04:26: Haile Gebreselassie (ETH) on 30/09/2007 in Berlin
- 2:04:55: Paul Tergat (KEN) on 28/09/2003 in Berlin
- 2:05:38: Khalid Khannouchi (USA) 14/04/2002 in London
- 2:05:42: Khalid Khannouchi (USA) 24/10/1999 in Chicago
- 2:06:05: Ronaldo da Costa (BRA) 20/09/1998 in Berlin
Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
Disclaimer
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville
Rating: 4/5
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
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
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
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ACL Elite (West) - fixtures
Monday, Sept 30
Al Sadd v Esteghlal (8pm)
Persepolis v Pakhtakor (8pm)
Al Wasl v Al Ahli (8pm)
Al Nassr v Al Rayyan (10pm)
Tuesday, Oct 1
Al Hilal v Al Shorta (10pm)
Al Gharafa v Al Ain (10pm)
Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Real Madrid 1
Ronaldo (87')
Athletic Bilbao 1
Williams (14')
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
The specs: 2018 BMW X2 and X3
Price, as tested: Dh255,150 (X2); Dh383,250 (X3)
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged inline four-cylinder (X2); 3.0-litre twin-turbo inline six-cylinder (X3)
Power 192hp @ 5,000rpm (X2); 355hp @ 5,500rpm (X3)
Torque: 280Nm @ 1,350rpm (X2); 500Nm @ 1,520rpm (X3)
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic (X2); Eight-speed automatic (X3)
Fuel consumption, combined: 5.7L / 100km (X2); 8.3L / 100km (X3)
Company%C2%A0profile
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THE SPECS
Engine: 4.0L twin-turbo V8
Gearbox: eight-speed automatic
Power: 571hp at 6,000rpm
Torque: 800Nm from 2,000-4,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 11.4L/100km
Price, base: from Dh571,000
On sale: this week
The Outsider
Stephen King, Penguin
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed
if you go
The flights
Etihad and Emirates fly direct to Kolkata from Dh1,504 and Dh1,450 return including taxes, respectively. The flight takes four hours 30 minutes outbound and 5 hours 30 minute returning.
The trains
Numerous trains link Kolkata and Murshidabad but the daily early morning Hazarduari Express (3’ 52”) is the fastest and most convenient; this service also stops in Plassey. The return train departs Murshidabad late afternoon. Though just about feasible as a day trip, staying overnight is recommended.
The hotels
Mursidabad’s hotels are less than modest but Berhampore, 11km south, offers more accommodation and facilities (and the Hazarduari Express also pauses here). Try Hotel The Fame, with an array of rooms from doubles at Rs1,596/Dh90 to a ‘grand presidential suite’ at Rs7,854/Dh443.
The years Ramadan fell in May
The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
Company%20profile
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Washmen Profile
Date Started: May 2015
Founders: Rami Shaar and Jad Halaoui
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Laundry
Employees: 170
Funding: about $8m
Funders: Addventure, B&Y Partners, Clara Ventures, Cedar Mundi Partners, Henkel Ventures
Company profile
Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends
The%20specs
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