Fresh from vanquishing Atletico Madrid with his 39th Real Madrid hat-trick, Cristiano Ronaldo will be guaranteed a hero’s welcome when he returns to where his career began at Sporting in Lisbon on Tuesday.
Ronaldo has another landmark in his sights as he is just two goals short of 100 in European competitions and history suggests he will not go easy on the side that handed him his breakthrough.
The three-time World Player of the Year has scored on all five occasions he has faced his former clubs in the Uefa Champions League. He also netted twice against Sporting for Manchester United in 2007 and Real produced a stunning late fightback from 1-0 down with 89 minutes played to win 2-1 when the sides met back in September.
Despite that, Ronaldo is still loved by the Sporting faithful and leading Portugal to their first international tournament win at Euro 2016 has only embellished his hero status in his homeland.
“Divided heart,” ran the headline in Lisbon sports daily Record yesterday with a split picture of Ronaldo wearing a Sporting and Madrid jersey.
More Uefa Champions League:
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• Diego Forlan column: Manchester City fit well on Champions League stage thanks to Pep Guardiola
• Video: Luis Suarez, with Lionel Messi in support, controls ball dropped from 35m crane
While a point will be enough for Real to seal their place in the knockout stages of the Champions League for a record 20th consecutive season, anything other than victory will end Sporting’s chances of making the last 16.
A first league victory over Atletico in four seasons on Saturday also allowed Real to open up a four-point lead at the top of the Primera Liga and extend their unbeaten run in all competitions to 29 games.
“We know that we are facing the strongest team in the world right now, that is why they won the Champions League [last season],” Sporting manager Jorge Jesus told Spanish sports daily Marca.
“But Sporting have desire, confidence and we will play like in Madrid with a lot of quality and confidence.”
Had Sporting held on at the Bernabeu Group F would have a very different look, but Jesus says his young side will have learnt from the experience when a Ronaldo free-kick and Alvaro Morata’s stoppage-time header snatched victory for Madrid from the jaws of defeat.
“We lacked that little bit of experience you have to have in the last 10 minutes in the Champions League, like all the Real Madrid players have. We ought to have gotten a better result,” Jesus said.
“When you are winning 1-0 in the 83rd minute, you can fail to win but you can’t lose.
“Ronaldo’s free-kick is an example. He is an intelligent guy, with experience and he took this free-kick which was decisive. When we say he is the best in the world, it is because he has everything.”
The only debate over Ronaldo’s return is whether he starts in a centre-forward role as he did against Atletico or whether Zinedine Zidane recalls the fit-again Karim Benzema.
Borussia Dortmund have mixed news on the injury front as they seek to secure top spot in Group F having booked their place in the knockout stages of the Champions League. A win over Legia Warsaw tonight would be enough for Thomas Tuchel’s men to head into the last 16 as group winners, as long as Real fail to beat Sporting.
However, they will have to get that win without No 1 goalkeeper Roman Burki, who has been ruled out for eight weeks after breaking his hand in the 1-0 win over Bayern Munich at the weekend. His place will be taken by Roman Weidenfeller, Dortmund’s designated domestic cup goalkeeper.
On the positive side, Tuchel could welcome Marco Reus back since May. Reus was due to make his comeback from injury at the weekend, but a heel problem forced him out. “If everything goes great, then I hope to be involved on Tuesday,” Reus said on Dortmund’s website.
An under-strength Bayern Munich will be without goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, Arturo Vidal, Javi Martinez and Arjen Robben for the trip to Rostov tomorrow.
* Agencies
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Salah in numbers
€39 million: Liverpool agreed a fee, including add-ons, in the region of €39m (nearly Dh176m) to sign Salah from Roma last year. The exchange rate at the time meant that cost the Reds £34.3m - a bargain given his performances since.
13: The 25-year-old player was not a complete stranger to the Premier League when he arrived at Liverpool this summer. However, during his previous stint at Chelsea, he made just 13 Premier League appearances, seven of which were off the bench, and scored only twice.
57: It was in the 57th minute of his Liverpool bow when Salah opened his account for the Reds in the 3-3 draw with Watford back in August. The Egyptian prodded the ball over the line from close range after latching onto Roberto Firmino's attempted lob.
7: Salah's best scoring streak of the season occurred between an FA Cup tie against West Brom on January 27 and a Premier League win over Newcastle on March 3. He scored for seven games running in all competitions and struck twice against Tottenham.
3: This season Salah became the first player in Premier League history to win the player of the month award three times during a term. He was voted as the division's best player in November, February and March.
40: Salah joined Roger Hunt and Ian Rush as the only players in Liverpool's history to have scored 40 times in a single season when he headed home against Bournemouth at Anfield earlier this month.
30: The goal against Bournemouth ensured the Egyptian achieved another milestone in becoming the first African player to score 30 times across one Premier League campaign.
8: As well as his fine form in England, Salah has also scored eight times in the tournament phase of this season's Champions League. Only Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo, with 15 to his credit, has found the net more often in the group stages and knockout rounds of Europe's premier club competition.
MATCH INFO
Liverpool 4 (Salah (pen 4, 33', & pen 88', Van Dijk (20')
Leeds United 3 (Harrison 12', Bamford 30', Klich 66')
Man of the match Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
Naga
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%C2%A0%3C%2Fstrong%3EMeshal%20Al%20Jaser%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%C2%A0%3C%2Fstrong%3EAdwa%20Bader%2C%20Yazeed%20Almajyul%2C%20Khalid%20Bin%20Shaddad%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E4%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The Laughing Apple
Yusuf/Cat Stevens
(Verve Decca Crossover)
SHOW COURTS ORDER OF PLAY
Wimbledon order of play on Tuesday, July 11
All times UAE ( 4 GMT)
Centre Court
Adrian Mannarino v Novak Djokovic (2)
Venus Williams (10) v Jelena Ostapenko (13)
Johanna Konta (6) v Simona Halep (2)
Court 1
Garbine Muguruza (14) v
Svetlana Kuznetsova (7)
Magdalena Rybarikova v Coco Vandeweghe (24)
THE SPECS
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The specs
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UAE squad to face Ireland
Ahmed Raza (captain), Chirag Suri (vice-captain), Rohan Mustafa, Mohammed Usman, Mohammed Boota, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Waheed Ahmad, Zawar Farid, CP Rizwaan, Aryan Lakra, Karthik Meiyappan, Alishan Sharafu, Basil Hameed, Kashif Daud, Adithya Shetty, Vriitya Aravind
Company profile
Name: Infinite8
Based: Dubai
Launch year: 2017
Number of employees: 90
Sector: Online gaming industry
Funding: $1.2m from a UAE angel investor
Feeding the thousands for iftar
Six industrial scale vats of 500litres each are used to cook the kanji or broth
Each vat contains kanji or porridge to feed 1,000 people
The rice porridge is poured into a 500ml plastic box
350 plastic tubs are placed in one container trolley
Each aluminium container trolley weighing 300kg is unloaded by a small crane fitted on a truck
German intelligence warnings
- 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
- 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
- 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250
Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
If you go
- The nearest international airport to the start of the Chuysky Trakt is in Novosibirsk. Emirates (www.emirates.com) offer codeshare flights with S7 Airlines (www.s7.ru) via Moscow for US$5,300 (Dh19,467) return including taxes. Cheaper flights are available on Flydubai and Air Astana or Aeroflot combination, flying via Astana in Kazakhstan or Moscow. Economy class tickets are available for US$650 (Dh2,400).
- The Double Tree by Hilton in Novosibirsk ( 7 383 2230100,) has double rooms from US$60 (Dh220). You can rent cabins at camp grounds or rooms in guesthouses in the towns for around US$25 (Dh90).
- The transport Minibuses run along the Chuysky Trakt but if you want to stop for sightseeing, hire a taxi from Gorno-Altaisk for about US$100 (Dh360) a day. Take a Russian phrasebook or download a translation app. Tour companies such as Altair-Tour ( 7 383 2125115 ) offer hiking and adventure packages.
Tightening the screw on rogue recruiters
The UAE overhauled the procedure to recruit housemaids and domestic workers with a law in 2017 to protect low-income labour from being exploited.
Only recruitment companies authorised by the government are permitted as part of Tadbeer, a network of labour ministry-regulated centres.
A contract must be drawn up for domestic workers, the wages and job offer clearly stating the nature of work.
The contract stating the wages, work entailed and accommodation must be sent to the employee in their home country before they depart for the UAE.
The contract will be signed by the employer and employee when the domestic worker arrives in the UAE.
Only recruitment agencies registered with the ministry can undertake recruitment and employment applications for domestic workers.
Penalties for illegal recruitment in the UAE include fines of up to Dh100,000 and imprisonment
But agents not authorised by the government sidestep the law by illegally getting women into the country on visit visas.
