Jurgen Klopp revelled in Daniel Sturridge's return to fitness and form after the striker inspired Liverpool into the League Cup semi-finals.
Sturridge started his first match since Klopp's appointment as manager almost two months ago and demonstrated the masterful finishing ability that Klopp and predecessor Brendan Rodgers so regularly went without in scoring Liverpool's first two goals in their exceptional 6-1 defeat of Southampton.
Read more: Andy Mitten writes Phil Neville still on coaching course at Valencia with their hire of Gary
Wednesday evening’s victory secured their place in the competition’s final four – they are to face Stoke City over two legs in January while Manchester City and Everton compete in the other semi-final – and also gave Sturridge his first goals since September 26, when he scored twice against Aston Villa.
Given much of Klopp’s considerable reputation was built upon his transformation of Robert Lewandowski into a world-class goalscorer at Borussia Dortmund, it says much that the German was so convinced by Sturridge’s performance, particularly so soon after suggesting the striker needed to “identify what is serious pain and what is only pain” and on an evening where Divock Origi also scored a hat-trick.
A fully-fit Sturridge could yet possess the potential to make the crucial difference in reaching the Premier League's top four, even at a club where Origi, Christian Benteke, Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino are among the alternative attacking options.
Despite watching his team improve significantly in the striker’s absence before Wednesday, Klopp revealed Sturridge’s performance made him understand why he was the subject of such regular attention and debate.
“I said to Sturridge after the game ‘now I know what everybody is talking about so thank you’,” said Klopp of the striker who, owing to injury, has scarcely featured since the conclusion of the 2013/14 season in which his 24 goals almost inspired Liverpool to the league title.
“Of course I knew all about his quality, this was not a problem, but I had not seen it live in a stadium in such an important game.
“How do I know if he can be better than a couple of seasons ago? I don’t know. You have known him longer than me.
“The problem with Daniel was we didn’t know how long he could play. He did not have the perfect pre-season.
“It was a good decision,” Klopp said of selecting him.
Klopp meanwhile also tempered the excitement of Origi’s big night, saying he is “still young and has to learn” without specifying what.
Origi, 20, had not scored in 10 previous appearances since joining up with Liverpool in the close season following his 2014 transfer from French side Lille, where he spent last season on loan.
He scored three times as Liverpool came from behind, but Klopp said that he was still some way from the finished article.
“It was really good from him, but he’s still young and has to learn.
“He has to be patient, that’s the truth. In 10, 15 years, when he looks back on his career, he’ll have no idea about the games he didn’t make in this moment. He can take the time to train.”
The 6-1 defeat represented Southampton’s worst at home for 56 years, since a 6-0 loss to Brentford in March 1959, and while criticising his team for making it “too easy” for Liverpool, their manager, Ronald Koeman, accepted responsibility for the attacking changes which he said ultimately increased their deficit.
“Great play of Liverpool,” he said. “They played a fantastic game. Very complete, defensively strong, good movement, and they killed the game with high quality, but too easy in my opinion.
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Batti Gul Meter Chalu
Producers: KRTI Productions, T-Series
Director: Sree Narayan Singh
Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor, Divyenndu Sharma, Yami Gautam
Rating: 2/5
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What is graphene?
Graphene is extracted from graphite and is made up of pure carbon.
It is 200 times more resistant than steel and five times lighter than aluminum.
It conducts electricity better than any other material at room temperature.
It is thought that graphene could boost the useful life of batteries by 10 per cent.
Graphene can also detect cancer cells in the early stages of the disease.
The material was first discovered when Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were 'playing' with graphite at the University of Manchester in 2004.
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BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
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Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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