Every goal that Carlos Tevez scores for Manchester City must feel like a dagger to the heart of Sir Alex Ferguson.
No matter how much the Manchester United manager tries to deny it, the decision not to sign the Argentine striker permanently after his two-year loan spell looks to be a costly mistake.
Tevez emphasised the point twice on Tuesday to leave the Blue half of the city celebrating a 2-1 victory in the first leg of their Carling Cup semi final showdown.
He also made sure Gary Neville got the message too. On the eve of the Eastlands encounter, the United captain had backed his manager over not keeping Tevez by saying he was not worth £25 million.
When he smashed home the penalty equaliser - after Ryan Giggs had tapped in a 17th minute opener - Tevez had an exchange with Neville, who was warming up on the touchline.
The United defender appeared to make a one-fingered gesture and Tevez responded with his own hand movements to suggest he should keep his mouth closed.
United were silenced in the 65th minute when Tevez headed home to give City the advantage for next Wednesday's second leg at Old Trafford.
Pablo Zabaleta revealed Neville's words had fired up his teammate and countryman more than ever.
"Some Manchester United players talked about him and he showed what a top-class player he was," said the City player.
"The United fans know he was a big loss because he was a great player for them. For him, it was a difficult decision to change a team in the same city, but everyone knows he gives 100 per cent. Every team wants Carlos Tevez, and we have a great opportunity to enjoy him at this club. I am sure that Carlos will try to take Manchester City right to the top. He can repeat this in the second game."
That second game, with a Wembley final at stake, has all the ingredients of being another classic. City could be strengthened too by the return of striker Emmanuel Adebayor.
He was given time off following the shootings that saw Togo pull out of the Africa Cup of Nations, but Roberto Mancini, the City manager, said: "I hope that Adebayor comes back in these [next few] days."
For all his pre-match mind games, Ferguson showed how much the game meant when he sent out his strongest side.
Of the youngsters and fringe players expected to figure, only Rafael da Silva did so. And it was the Brazilian right-back who was involved in the 40th minute incident that changed the match. Rafael could not keep up with Craig Bellamy when the Welshman roared into the box and halted him with a tug of the shirt.
The initial offence looked to be outside the box, but as Bellamy tumbled inside, the referee Mike Dean pointed to the spot. After two minutes of waiting, Tevez smashed the spot-kick past Edwin van der Sar.
Yet it had all started badly for City following a first derby goal since 1996 for Giggs.
A long raking pass from Patrice Evra saw the play shift quickly from left to right and Antonio Valencia nutmegged Bellamy, before sending over a dangerous low cross.
It was met by Wayne Rooney and Shay Given reacted well to push the ball out, but only into the path of Giggs, who could not miss from two yards.
But City did not wilt and with the exuberance of Bellamy and Tevez, there is always hope.
They were devlish and dynamic and combined again for the winner. Bellamy swung over a corner from the right that van der Sar failed to clear properly. It dropped for Zabaleta, whose header found Vincent Kompany in space and he hooked the ball across for the lurking Tevez to head home.
He might have been the home hero with his goals, but Given deserves an honourable mention for his brilliance to thwart United, who were rallied by Rooney.
A point-blank save denied Giggs a second before Rooney was frustrated three times. In the 77th minute, he linked up with Michael Owen - the matchwinner in United's 4-3 Premier League success in September - but Given spread himself to block and Nedum Onuoha cleared off the line from Owen's rebound attempt.
Rooney then worked another opening, but was stunned when Given tipped over his fierce finish.
Valencia somehow volleyed wide after flying in to meet Evra's left-wing cross and Given made another solid low stop to his right to push out Rooney's drive as City held out.
Ferguson, though, is confident his side can overturn the deficit - and he had "no issue" with Tevez.
"We have had a few players leave the club and score against us. There is no issue," he said.
"Football can be like that. It can bite you. I am happy with the players we have got. We played well and dominated the match. We were reasonably in control, but we had a mad five minutes before half-time that brought them back into the game. Everyone can see the penalty for themselves. It is the kind of decision that has gone against us, but could go for us on another day."
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
KINGDOM%20OF%20THE%20PLANET%20OF%20THE%20APES
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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
Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
'Gehraiyaan'
Director:Shakun Batra
Stars:Deepika Padukone, Siddhant Chaturvedi, Ananya Panday, Dhairya Karwa
Rating: 4/5
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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CABINET%20OF%20CURIOSITIES%20EPISODE%201%3A%20LOT%2036
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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hall of shame
SUNDERLAND 2002-03
No one has ended a Premier League season quite like Sunderland. They lost each of their final 15 games, taking no points after January. They ended up with 19 in total, sacking managers Peter Reid and Howard Wilkinson and losing 3-1 to Charlton when they scored three own goals in eight minutes.
SUNDERLAND 2005-06
Until Derby came along, Sunderland’s total of 15 points was the Premier League’s record low. They made it until May and their final home game before winning at the Stadium of Light while they lost a joint record 29 of their 38 league games.
HUDDERSFIELD 2018-19
Joined Derby as the only team to be relegated in March. No striker scored until January, while only two players got more assists than goalkeeper Jonas Lossl. The mid-season appointment Jan Siewert was to end his time as Huddersfield manager with a 5.3 per cent win rate.
ASTON VILLA 2015-16
Perhaps the most inexplicably bad season, considering they signed Idrissa Gueye and Adama Traore and still only got 17 points. Villa won their first league game, but none of the next 19. They ended an abominable campaign by taking one point from the last 39 available.
FULHAM 2018-19
Terrible in different ways. Fulham’s total of 26 points is not among the lowest ever but they contrived to get relegated after spending over £100 million (Dh457m) in the transfer market. Much of it went on defenders but they only kept two clean sheets in their first 33 games.
LA LIGA: Sporting Gijon, 13 points in 1997-98.
BUNDESLIGA: Tasmania Berlin, 10 points in 1965-66
Disclaimer
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville
Rating: 4/5
Company%20Profile
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10 tips for entry-level job seekers
- Have an up-to-date, professional LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, set one up today. Avoid poor-quality profile pictures with distracting backgrounds. Include a professional summary and begin to grow your network.
- Keep track of the job trends in your sector through the news. Apply for job alerts at your dream organisations and the types of jobs you want – LinkedIn uses AI to share similar relevant jobs based on your selections.
- Double check that you’ve highlighted relevant skills on your resume and LinkedIn profile.
- For most entry-level jobs, your resume will first be filtered by an applicant tracking system for keywords. Look closely at the description of the job you are applying for and mirror the language as much as possible (while being honest and accurate about your skills and experience).
- Keep your CV professional and in a simple format – make sure you tailor your cover letter and application to the company and role.
- Go online and look for details on job specifications for your target position. Make a list of skills required and set yourself some learning goals to tick off all the necessary skills one by one.
- Don’t be afraid to reach outside your immediate friends and family to other acquaintances and let them know you are looking for new opportunities.
- Make sure you’ve set your LinkedIn profile to signal that you are “open to opportunities”. Also be sure to use LinkedIn to search for people who are still actively hiring by searching for those that have the headline “I’m hiring” or “We’re hiring” in their profile.
- Prepare for online interviews using mock interview tools. Even before landing interviews, it can be useful to start practising.
- Be professional and patient. Always be professional with whoever you are interacting with throughout your search process, this will be remembered. You need to be patient, dedicated and not give up on your search. Candidates need to make sure they are following up appropriately for roles they have applied.
Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz
Family reunited
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was born and raised in Tehran and studied English literature before working as a translator in the relief effort for the Japanese International Co-operation Agency in 2003.
She moved to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies before moving to the World Health Organisation as a communications officer.
She came to the UK in 2007 after securing a scholarship at London Metropolitan University to study a master's in communication management and met her future husband through mutual friends a month later.
The couple were married in August 2009 in Winchester and their daughter was born in June 2014.
She was held in her native country a year later.
The National photo project
Chris Whiteoak, a photographer at The National, spent months taking some of Jacqui Allan's props around the UAE, positioning them perfectly in front of some of the country's most recognisable landmarks. He placed a pirate on Kite Beach, in front of the Burj Al Arab, the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland at the Burj Khalifa, and brought one of Allan's snails (Freddie, which represents her grandfather) to the Dubai Frame. In Abu Dhabi, a dinosaur went to Al Ain's Jebel Hafeet. And a flamingo was taken all the way to the Hatta Mountains. This special project suitably brings to life the quirky nature of Allan's prop shop (and Allan herself!).
Company%20Profile
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COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
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%20
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
Kill%20
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$1,000 award for 1,000 days on madrasa portal
Daily cash awards of $1,000 dollars will sweeten the Madrasa e-learning project by tempting more pupils to an education portal to deepen their understanding of math and sciences.
School children are required to watch an educational video each day and answer a question related to it. They then enter into a raffle draw for the $1,000 prize.
“We are targeting everyone who wants to learn. This will be $1,000 for 1,000 days so there will be a winner every day for 1,000 days,” said Sara Al Nuaimi, project manager of the Madrasa e-learning platform that was launched on Tuesday by the Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, to reach Arab pupils from kindergarten to grade 12 with educational videos.
“The objective of the Madrasa is to become the number one reference for all Arab students in the world. The 5,000 videos we have online is just the beginning, we have big ambitions. Today in the Arab world there are 50 million students. We want to reach everyone who is willing to learn.”
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
DIVINE%20INTERVENTOIN
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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.