In an instant, it was Wayne’s World once again, a reminder of the coruscating brilliance that first marked him out, but a moment that made an indelible impression in Manchester United’s record books.
Wayne Rooney 250, Bobby Charlton 249: the leaderboard has changed. History has been rewritten. Fittingly, it was done in glorious style.
Rooney, 31, had drawn level with Charlton in seemingly fortunate fashion, scoring with his knee against Reading. He overhauled the World Cup winner with a touch of class, an injury-time free kick that arrowed in from the left flank. Stoke City’s Lee Grant had no chance.
“A great goal,” United manager Jose Mourinho said. “A little bit of magic,” said Mark Hughes, his Stoke counterpart. “Wayne thoroughly deserves his place in the history books of this great club,” Alex Ferguson said, as the great and good of United’s past and present queued up to pay tribute.
“Wayne is a true great for club and country, and it is fitting that he is now the highest goalscorer for both United and England,” said Charlton, stripped of two distinctions in as many years by Rooney, but a great advocate of the younger man. “I must admit that I have become used to the honour of being the club’s all-time top goalscorer.”
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■ Diego Forlan: Offers his thoughts on the Dimitri Payet saga
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As a World Cup winner and a European Footballer of the Year, Charlton’s legacy is secure even as he sits in second place. Now Rooney has added another concrete achievement to go with the Uefa Champions League and five Premier League titles he has won at Old Trafford.
Yet Rooney had limped towards his place in history, slowed by the magnitude of the impending achievement. It affected him, Mourinho said, “for too long, since the beginning of the season.” Ever the pragmatist, he said: “You should talk about Wayne’s record for 24 hours and then finish and then let him be a normal guy.”
Rooney and normality parted company a decade-and-a-half ago, however. He was too precocious, signed by Ferguson at 18. His first United goal came in a match-winning hat-trick, his 250th as a declining player in a salvage act. A 16-game unbeaten run was ending until Joe Allen fouled Marcus Rashford and the substitute Rooney stepped up. Many a United grandee was delighted to see him score. As Stoke manager, Hughes’ appreciation was tinged with disappointment.
“It is unbelievable,” he said. “Sir Bobby’s record stood for 40-odd years. A lot of good strikers have come and gone in that time and not got anywhere near it.”
He was well-placed to testify. A United great in his own right, he mustered 163 goals in two spells at Old Trafford: enough to put him ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo, Eric Cantona and Ruud van Nistelrooy, but behind Denis Law, Charlton and Rooney.
Juan Mata is some 217 adrift of Rooney. The Spaniard opened his account for Stoke, albeit in unwanted fashion. The United midfielder applied a telling touch to Erik Pieters’ low cross, a mistake he compounded by missing an open goal.
“We risk losing the match by scoring in our own goal,” Mourinho said. “The opponent score without creating one single chance and for us to score we have to create six or seven. We lost two points.”
Even with Rooney’s rescue act, it was a chance spurned by United, a result that reduces their chances of Champions League qualification. They paid for a mediocre start; even Rooney’s pleasure was qualified, though.
“It is a huge honour,” he said. “It means a lot.”
The last word, however, should perhaps go to his predecessor.
“Now he’s the man to beat,” Charlton said. “And I can’t see anybody doing that for a long, long time.”
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Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha
Starring: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shantanu Maheshwari, Jimmy Shergill, Saiee Manjrekar
Director: Neeraj Pandey
Rating: 2.5/5
Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
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.
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
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RESULTS
Manchester United 2
Anthony Martial 30'
Scott McTominay 90 6'
Manchester City 0
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Match info
Uefa Nations League Group B:
England v Spain, Saturday, 11.45pm (UAE)