LIVERPOOL // "Torres, Torres gives us a wave" sang the Chelsea support. If Fernando was watching it might end up being a wave of refusal rather than welcome. One of the grand questions of the striker's now very public dalliance with Chelsea is whether Torres realises what he is letting himself in for.
Yes, Liverpool are a mess, in desperate need of at least "three or four quality transfers" that Torres had been petitioning for before formally requesting his own transfer from Anfield, which the club are reluctantly willing to grant as long as Chelsea meet their £50 million (Dh291.2m) asking price.
Yet take the kind of long hard look at Chelsea that this FA Cup tie deserves and the improvement in circumstances seems marginal.
Chelsea's is an ageing, unbalanced and disgruntled squad, their manager so callously undermined that few expect him to still be in charge in six months' time. Though the Premier League title remains theirs, the defence of it has all but disintegrated into a battle to retain a Champions League place.
At Goodison Park yesterday their grip on the FA Cup drawn encounter was sustained solely by what David Moyes accurately described as a misplaced pass and incorrectly hit shot.
With the possible exception of the injured centre-back Alex, this was Chelsea's strongest eleven - performing solidly if unspectacularly for the first 45 minutes before allowing themselves to be completely dominated by an Everton side unfortunate not to be soundly through to the fifth round.
Torres has spent long, miserable months bemoaning his fate on Merseyside. Sign on at the Bridge and the only alteration may be geographical.
Like the club's eternally self-destructive politics, Chelsea's football has become predictable. There can be demon speed on the counter-attack and Didier Drogba's brutal power at centre-forward, yet the back four is almost terminally unsure of itself.
John Terry's attempts to hide his fading pace in dropping deeper and deeper towards his own goal, invites opponents into danger areas, feeds them with set-piece opportunities, and increases their dependency on Petr Cech's studied brilliance.
That the goalkeeper retains his proud record of never losing an FA Cup tie came down to a brace of imperious stops. With a quarter of an hour to play and Everton already ahead through Louis Saha's finish at a corner kick, Cech twisted his body to turn away Seamus Coleman's powerful back-post header.
As the fourth official signalled three minutes added time, the Czech international arched his back to touch over Jermaine Beckford's close-range volley.
The importance of the first save was amplified when Michael Essien slid across the goalmouth to block Coleman's follow-up shot and Chelsea broke upfield to equalise through two moments of fortune.
Nicolas Anelka's pass to Ramires was struck behind the Brazilian, who stretched a leg back at the ball but failed to connect. It ran through to Salomon Kalou for an inelegantly struck shot that bobbled across Tim Howard's path before settling an inch inside the far post.
"I think we did enough to earn it," said Moyes. "But the goalkeeper makes a great save at 1-0 from Seamus Coleman's header and at the rebound Essien gets the ball. It's the difference between Everton being 2-0 up to one-each within 30 seconds.
"Anelka breaks and his pass is actually behind Ramires. It goes through his legs and because they're breaking, Kalou goes on and scores. And I don't think he actually connects that cleanly."
Everton's goal was a more predictable affair. Saha has scored nine times against Chelsea, claiming five from his last five encounters with them. On 62 minutes, Leighton Baines swung over a corner, Terry badly misjudged the flight, leaving Saha unmarked to convert.
Refusing to field questions on his employer's pursuit of Torres, Carlo Ancelotti talked of his team's mental strength in remaining in the competition.
"The result was good because we were 1-0 down and at that moment it was not easy to come back into the game," said the Chelsea manager. "It was a difficult game but we showed a good attitude, a good spirit, and good football in the first half."
sports@thenational.ae
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
Company%20Profile
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Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
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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.
The specs
Engine: 3-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 400hp
Torque: 475Nm
Transmission: 9-speed automatic
Price: From Dh215,900
On sale: Now
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Disclaimer
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville
Rating: 4/5
The Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index
The Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index
Mazen Abukhater, principal and actuary at global consultancy Mercer, Middle East, says the company’s Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index - which benchmarks 34 pension schemes across the globe to assess their adequacy, sustainability and integrity - included Saudi Arabia for the first time this year to offer a glimpse into the region.
The index highlighted fundamental issues for all 34 countries, such as a rapid ageing population and a low growth / low interest environment putting pressure on expected returns. It also highlighted the increasing popularity around the world of defined contribution schemes.
“Average life expectancy has been increasing by about three years every 10 years. Someone born in 1947 is expected to live until 85 whereas someone born in 2007 is expected to live to 103,” Mr Abukhater told the Mena Pensions Conference.
“Are our systems equipped to handle these kind of life expectancies in the future? If so many people retire at 60, they are going to be in retirement for 43 years – so we need to adapt our retirement age to our changing life expectancy.”
Saudi Arabia came in the middle of Mercer’s ranking with a score of 58.9. The report said the country's index could be raised by improving the minimum level of support for the poorest aged individuals and increasing the labour force participation rate at older ages as life expectancies rise.
Mr Abukhater said the challenges of an ageing population, increased life expectancy and some individuals relying solely on their government for financial support in their retirement years will put the system under strain.
“To relieve that pressure, governments need to consider whether it is time to switch to a defined contribution scheme so that individuals can supplement their own future with the help of government support,” he said.
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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.
Company%20Profile
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THE BIO
Family: I have three siblings, one older brother (age 25) and two younger sisters, 20 and 13
Favourite book: Asking for my favourite book has to be one of the hardest questions. However a current favourite would be Sidewalk by Mitchell Duneier
Favourite place to travel to: Any walkable city. I also love nature and wildlife
What do you love eating or cooking: I’m constantly in the kitchen. Ever since I changed the way I eat I enjoy choosing and creating what goes into my body. However, nothing can top home cooked food from my parents.
Favorite place to go in the UAE: A quiet beach.
More on Quran memorisation:
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
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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The National in Davos
We are bringing you the inside story from the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos, a gathering of hundreds of world leaders, top executives and billionaires.
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What is a robo-adviser?
Robo-advisers use an online sign-up process to gauge an investor’s risk tolerance by feeding information such as their age, income, saving goals and investment history into an algorithm, which then assigns them an investment portfolio, ranging from more conservative to higher risk ones.
These portfolios are made up of exchange traded funds (ETFs) with exposure to indices such as US and global equities, fixed-income products like bonds, though exposure to real estate, commodity ETFs or gold is also possible.
Investing in ETFs allows robo-advisers to offer fees far lower than traditional investments, such as actively managed mutual funds bought through a bank or broker. Investors can buy ETFs directly via a brokerage, but with robo-advisers they benefit from investment portfolios matched to their risk tolerance as well as being user friendly.
Many robo-advisers charge what are called wrap fees, meaning there are no additional fees such as subscription or withdrawal fees, success fees or fees for rebalancing.
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, second leg result:
Ajax 2-3 Tottenham
Tottenham advance on away goals rule after tie ends 3-3 on aggregate
Final: June 1, Madrid
Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
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)
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
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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.
THE BIO
Bio Box
Role Model: Sheikh Zayed, God bless his soul
Favorite book: Zayed Biography of the leader
Favorite quote: To be or not to be, that is the question, from William Shakespeare's Hamlet
Favorite food: seafood
Favorite place to travel: Lebanon
Favorite movie: Braveheart
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
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