■ Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester United, Sunday at 7.30pm UAE time
It does not make for good reading, whichever way you look at it.
Manchester United’s trip to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday is their last remaining chance to score a goal against a fellow top-six side away from home this season.
They are the only club in the Premier League — including relegated Middlesbrough and Sunderland — who have not yet done so.
Last weekend’s 2-0 defeat by Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium was the fourth time they have failed to find the net in such a crunch clash on the road.
While there were mitigating factors involved for Sunday, at least — for starters, Jose Mourinho made eight changes ahead of Thursday’s Europa League semi-final second leg against Celta Vigo, which was negotiated unconvincingly — United’s approach in this type of encounter poses serious questions about the Portuguese’s suitability for the job in the long term.
Mourinho has won eight league titles, two Uefa Champions Leagues and eight domestic cup competitions in a managerial career which must be the envy of the vast majority of coaches.
It is likely that United supporters will not be overly concerned with the team’s style of play if he is able to significantly add to his trophy haul at Old Trafford, but it is difficult to ignore the fact that the fans’ deep-rooted preference for attacking football is rather at odds with the modus operandi Mourinho has tended to employ elsewhere.
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Read more
■ Diego Forlan: Juventus v Real Madrid the perfect Champions League final
■ Predictions: Chelsea win title at West Brom as Arsenal keep hopes of top four alive
■ Richard Jolly: Chelsea's season turned when Antonio Conte turned to Marcos Alonso
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United may have managed only 51 goals so far this campaign, comfortably the lowest of the top six in the Premier League, but at Porto, Chelsea, Inter and Real Madrid, Mourinho’s sides were frequently either the highest or second-highest goal-getters in their respective divisions.
Deco, Cristiano Ronaldo, Frank Lampard, Eden Hazard and Wesley Sneijder are just some of the attacking players who have thrived under his guidance, and it would be a mistake to attach such a reductive label as a negative coach to a man who has always sought balance.
At the same time, though, Mourinho’s forte clearly lies in the defensive side of the game and, specifically, setting up his team to nullify the strengths of an opponent.
His crowning moment was Inter’s backs-to-the-wall 1-0 loss to Barcelona in 2010, a result that was enough for the Italians to advance to the Champions League final on aggregate despite completing only 67 passes to their opponents’ 555, and having only 14 per cent possession.
While undoubtedly an exaggerated example of his favoured methodology, it is no coincidence that it remains the match Mourinho is most remembered for.
There have been similar instances this term, too. The blunting of Chelsea as an attacking force last month featured a masterful man-marking job from Ander Herrera on Hazard, while United were also able to impressively contain an in-form Liverpool outfit at Anfield in October.
Such tactics can be tolerated — and even appreciated — when they bring positive results, but 6-3-1 formations are much harder to swallow after a 4-0 reverse at Chelsea in October or a 2-0 defeat at Arsenal on Sunday. Sir Alex Ferguson was certainly no stranger to reactive game plans at times, but defence-minded football was not his default approach in big matches in the same way as it seems to be Mourinho’s.
All of which is not intended as a criticism of the Portuguese, whose achievements speak for themselves. Yet if United fans’ commitment to attacking football is as non-negotiable as is often made out, something will ultimately have to give.
“When I arrived here … I knew that I needed to go in a certain direction,” Mourinho told France Football in March.
“To be attacking, to be dominant, to have the ball, chances, to not be fearful of conceding goals, to bring intensity, not to play with five defenders … to at least try to play positively.”
Against United’s rivals, though, that has not really been the case.
It was hardly the headline of the weekend, but Bournemouth’s 2-2 draw with Stoke City last time out was enough for Eddie Howe’s side to guarantee Premier League survival and extend their present stay in the top tier to a third season.
It is a tremendous achievement. Bournemouth, of course, were languishing in penultimate place in League Two when Howe first assumed his place in the dugout on New Year’s Eve 2008.
Their subsequent rise through the divisions was spectacular, culminating in promotion to the Premier League two years ago, but a top-half finish this term would surely rank as their greatest achievement yet.
Howe has probably already earned a job for life at the Vitality Stadium, although there will come a point when he decides he has taken the club as far as he can and seeks a new challenge.
Any potential suitors will be aware of the work he has done on the south coast so far, but Howe may need to improve his success in the transfer market if he wants to one day be employed by one of Europe’s biggest clubs.
Head coaches are rarely solely responsible for recruitment at such sides these days, although they still have a say in which players are signed and sold — and Howe’s history reveals a hit-and-miss record at best.
None of the five permanent acquisitions made last summer have really worked out, with the £15 million (Dh70.8m) spent on Jordon Ibe a particular disappointment.
Joshua King, a £1m signing in 2015, has proved to be a bargain, but many of the deals made in that transfer window — including Max Gradel, Lewis Grabban and Lee Tomlin for a combined £18m — were not particularly impressive.
For both Bournemouth and Howe himself, it will be important to secure some sounder investments this summer.
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Empires%20of%20the%20Steppes%3A%20A%20History%20of%20the%20Nomadic%20Tribes%20Who%20Shaped%20Civilization
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Company profile
Name: Steppi
Founders: Joe Franklin and Milos Savic
Launched: February 2020
Size: 10,000 users by the end of July and a goal of 200,000 users by the end of the year
Employees: Five
Based: Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Dubai
Financing stage: Two seed rounds – the first sourced from angel investors and the founders' personal savings
Second round raised Dh720,000 from silent investors in June this year
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%3Cp%3EAverage%20amount%20of%20biofuel%20produced%20at%20DIC%20factory%20every%20month%3A%20%3Cstrong%3EApproximately%20106%2C000%20litres%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EAmount%20of%20biofuel%20produced%20from%201%20litre%20of%20used%20cooking%20oil%3A%20%3Cstrong%3E920ml%20(92%25)%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ETime%20required%20for%20one%20full%20cycle%20of%20production%20from%20used%20cooking%20oil%20to%20biofuel%3A%20%3Cstrong%3EOne%20day%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EEnergy%20requirements%20for%20one%20cycle%20of%20production%20from%201%2C000%20litres%20of%20used%20cooking%20oil%3A%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E%E2%96%AA%20Electricity%20-%201.1904%20units%3Cbr%3E%E2%96%AA%20Water-%2031%20litres%3Cbr%3E%E2%96%AA%20Diesel%20%E2%80%93%2026.275%20litres%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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ILT20%20UAE%20stars
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Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week
Company%20Profile
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Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
Brief scores:
Day 2
England: 277 & 19-0
West Indies: 154
If you go
The flights
Etihad flies direct from Abu Dhabi to San Francisco from Dh5,760 return including taxes.
The car
Etihad Guest members get a 10 per cent worldwide discount when booking with Hertz, as well as earning miles on their rentals. A week's car hire costs from Dh1,500 including taxes.
The hotels
Along the route, Motel 6 (www.motel6.com) offers good value and comfort, with rooms from $55 (Dh202) per night including taxes. In Portland, the Jupiter Hotel (https://jupiterhotel.com/) has rooms from $165 (Dh606) per night including taxes. The Society Hotel https://thesocietyhotel.com/ has rooms from $130 (Dh478) per night including taxes.
More info
To keep up with constant developments in Portland, visit www.travelportland.com. Good guidebooks include the Lonely Planet guides to Northern California and Washington, Oregon & the Pacific Northwest.
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
The Library: A Catalogue of Wonders
Stuart Kells, Counterpoint Press
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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'Downton Abbey: A New Era'
Director: Simon Curtis
Cast: Hugh Bonneville, Elizabeth McGovern, Maggie Smith, Michelle Dockery, Laura Carmichael, Jim Carter and Phyllis Logan
Rating: 4/5
Jigra
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
The Farewell
Director: Lulu Wang
Stars: Awkwafina, Zhao Shuzhen, Diana Lin, Tzi Ma
Four stars
About Takalam
Date started: early 2020
Founders: Khawla Hammad and Inas Abu Shashieh
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: HealthTech and wellness
Number of staff: 4
Funding to date: Bootstrapped
Black Panther
Dir: Ryan Coogler
Starring: Chadwick Boseman, Michael B Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o
Five stars
FA CUP FINAL
Manchester City 6
(D Silva 26', Sterling 38', 81', 87', De Bruyne 61', Jesus 68')
Watford 0
Man of the match: Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)