MANCHESTER // Crazy and dysfunctional were the words an angry Sir Alex Ferguson had deployed on Friday. He was discussing the Football Association's disciplinary procedures and Steven Gerrard's availability for yesterday's match.
However, the same adjectives might have been applied to Manchester United's recent record against Liverpool, not least for a man as partisan as their manager. For Ferguson, logic was restored yesterday. Wayne Rooney and Ji-Sung Park struck to end a run of three successive defeats against Rafa Benitez's side.
The consequences could be cathartic. Because, while Ferguson glowed with satisfaction, securing three points had a triple benefit. Defeating the despised rivals increased United's chances of winning the title and diminished the likelihood of Liverpool securing fourth place.
The subtext is the quest for the 19th title. For Ferguson, United's natural place is at the summit of English football. His club may be just seven games away from dislodging Liverpool on the roll of honour. Ferguson had claimed before the match that he felt "a twinge of sympathy" for Rafa Benitez. That was not apparent, not least in an altercation on the touchline. He deals in schadenfreude, not sympathy.
But he possesses a team with his own appetite for success. United ground out a victory on a day when their fittest and fastest players, from Rooney to Darren Fletcher to Patrice Evra, put in the sort of shift that delights managers. "For periods of the game we played very well, for others we had to dig and concentrate," Ferguson said.
As United were workmanlike, and given the cliche that the title race can be a marathon rather than a sprint, it was fitting that the indefatigable Park provided the decisive touch yesterday.
It has been a feature of United's season that their players have proved themselves chameleons. Rooney, who scored for the 33rd time of the season, but the first time in 16 hours against Liverpool, is one example; midfielders who have operated in defence another; Park, rebranded as the bridge between Rooney and his teammates a third.
The central role is a new berth for him. From it, however, Park exerted an influence. Scarcely known for his aerial prowess, he had nonetheless managed two headers at goal before delivering the winner. It was significant, too, that the goal came from a move on Liverpool's left flank, a profitable route for them while Benitez's side ensured the middle of the pitch was congested.
In the 60th minute, Rooney spotted Fletcher in space on the right and picked out the Scot. Granted too much room to cross, he bent a ball in for Park to beat Glen Johnson to head it in.
United's equaliser had come coated in controversy. A driving diagonal run from Antonio Valencia was taking the Ecuadorean towards the penalty area when Javier Mascherano tugged his shirt.
Contact began outside the box. Referee Howard Webb concluded it ended within it and pointed to the penalty spot. While Pepe Reina hurled himself to his left to keep out Rooney's effort from 12 yards, the rebound fell invitingly for the Scouser to score.
Comebacks are a United tradition, but they rarely begin this early. That completed a fraught, frantic first 12 minutes. What followed was a tactical impasse until Park's intervention. "A tight game, very close," said Benitez, whose side were well drilled. Besides defensive solidity, the match had begun with further reminders of last season, when rapid breaks proved so effective for Liverpool.
In the fifth minute, they sprung a quick counter-attack. Fernando Torres backheeled the ball to Gerrard. The captain sent Dirk Kuyt away on the right wing and the Dutchman's cross was headed in by Torres, who had escaped Gary Neville's attentions.
It was the first league goal Uni-ted had conceded at Old Trafford since December and an illustration of Torres's ability to intimidate them. Yet a match that began so well for the Spaniard ended with a miscued shot that skied up in the air. It produced a chance for the substitute Yossi Benayoun, but it was symbolic nonetheless.
His powers seemed diminished after a crude challenge that earned Nemanja Vidic a yellow card. For Liverpool, the result represented a kick in a particularly painful place: Old Trafford.
sports@thenational.ae
'Hocus%20Pocus%202'
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Anne%20Fletcher%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3EStars%3A%20Bette%20Midler%2C%20Sarah%20Jessica%20Parker%2C%20Kathy%20Najimy%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3ERating%3A%203.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
What is the definition of an SME?
SMEs in the UAE are defined by the number of employees, annual turnover and sector. For example, a “small company” in the services industry has six to 50 employees with a turnover of more than Dh2 million up to Dh20m, while in the manufacturing industry the requirements are 10 to 100 employees with a turnover of more than Dh3m up to Dh50m, according to Dubai SME, an agency of the Department of Economic Development.
A “medium-sized company” can either have staff of 51 to 200 employees or 101 to 250 employees, and a turnover less than or equal to Dh200m or Dh250m, again depending on whether the business is in the trading, manufacturing or services sectors.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Red Sparrow
Dir: Francis Lawrence
Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Joel Egerton, Charlotte Rampling, Jeremy Irons
Three stars
Safety 'top priority' for rival hyperloop company
The chief operating officer of Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, Andres de Leon, said his company's hyperloop technology is “ready” and safe.
He said the company prioritised safety throughout its development and, last year, Munich Re, one of the world's largest reinsurance companies, announced it was ready to insure their technology.
“Our levitation, propulsion, and vacuum technology have all been developed [...] over several decades and have been deployed and tested at full scale,” he said in a statement to The National.
“Only once the system has been certified and approved will it move people,” he said.
HyperloopTT has begun designing and engineering processes for its Abu Dhabi projects and hopes to break ground soon.
With no delivery date yet announced, Mr de Leon said timelines had to be considered carefully, as government approval, permits, and regulations could create necessary delays.
The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
Formula%204%20Italian%20Championship%202023%20calendar
%3Cp%3EApril%2021-23%3A%20Imola%3Cbr%3EMay%205-7%3A%20Misano%3Cbr%3EMay%2026-28%3A%20SPA-Francorchamps%3Cbr%3EJune%2023-25%3A%20Monza%3Cbr%3EJuly%2021-23%3A%20Paul%20Ricard%3Cbr%3ESept%2029-Oct%201%3A%20Mugello%3Cbr%3EOct%2013-15%3A%20Vallelunga%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Visa changes give families fresh hope
Foreign workers can sponsor family members based solely on their income
Male residents employed in the UAE can sponsor immediate family members, such as wife and children, subject to conditions that include a minimum salary of Dh 4,000 or Dh 3,000 plus accommodation.
Attested original marriage certificate, birth certificate of the child, ejari or rental contract, labour contract, salary certificate must be submitted to the government authorised typing centre to complete the sponsorship process
In Abu Dhabi, a woman can sponsor her husband and children if she holds a residence permit stating she is an engineer, teacher, doctor, nurse or any profession related to the medical sector and her monthly salary is at least Dh 10,000 or Dh 8,000 plus accommodation.
In Dubai, if a woman is not employed in the above categories she can get approval to sponsor her family if her monthly salary is more than Dh 10,000 and with a special permission from the Department of Naturalization and Residency Dubai.
To sponsor parents, a worker should earn Dh20,000 or Dh19,000 a month, plus a two-bedroom accommodation
Iran's dirty tricks to dodge sanctions
There’s increased scrutiny on the tricks being used to keep commodities flowing to and from blacklisted countries. Here’s a description of how some work.
1 Going Dark
A common method to transport Iranian oil with stealth is to turn off the Automatic Identification System, an electronic device that pinpoints a ship’s location. Known as going dark, a vessel flicks the switch before berthing and typically reappears days later, masking the location of its load or discharge port.
2. Ship-to-Ship Transfers
A first vessel will take its clandestine cargo away from the country in question before transferring it to a waiting ship, all of this happening out of sight. The vessels will then sail in different directions. For about a third of Iranian exports, more than one tanker typically handles a load before it’s delivered to its final destination, analysts say.
3. Fake Destinations
Signaling the wrong destination to load or unload is another technique. Ships that intend to take cargo from Iran may indicate their loading ports in sanction-free places like Iraq. Ships can keep changing their destinations and end up not berthing at any of them.
4. Rebranded Barrels
Iranian barrels can also be rebranded as oil from a nation free from sanctions such as Iraq. The countries share fields along their border and the crude has similar characteristics. Oil from these deposits can be trucked out to another port and documents forged to hide Iran as the origin.
* Bloomberg
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.”
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
The years Ramadan fell in May
Analysis
Members of Syria's Alawite minority community face threat in their heartland after one of the deadliest days in country’s recent history. Read more
Team Angel Wolf Beach Blast takes place every Wednesday between 4:30pm and 5:30pm
Results:
Men's wheelchair 800m T34: 1. Walid Ktila (TUN) 1.44.79; 2. Mohammed Al Hammadi (UAE) 1.45.88; 3. Isaac Towers (GBR) 1.46.46.
