MANCHESTER // Robin van Persie revealed a sad postscript to his 17th goal of the English Premier League season for Manchester United.
Van Persie struck in the final minute to seal a 2-0 win over West Bromwich Albion before lifting his shirt to reveal the message: "RIP Tchuna we will never forget you".
It was confirmed the message related to a close friend of the Dutchman, who died on Friday night.
Not that it stopped the eulogies to a man Sir Alex Ferguson has already said represents the final piece of his jigsaw and who was required today to settle a few nerves after initially starting on the substitutes' bench.
"He is a fantastic player," said Ferguson. "He came on and changed the game for us.
"Every time the ball came up to him he got hold of it and turned on them. They were having to go back to their box all the time and he has done well."
Van Persie's superb curling effort kept United seven points clear of Manchester City and earned maximum points from a fixture that did not turn into the cruise they expected after Gareth McAuley's early own goal, which Ashley Young said he was going to try to claim despite his part clearly being a cross.
"Where there's a will," said Young, who scored in a similar manner when the two sides met at The Hawthorns last season.
West Brom have improved since then, as Ferguson acknowledged.
"They were a very resilient, stubborn team," said the United manager. "They worked really hard on their defending and closed all their ranks. You have to deal with that but the slowness of the pitch killed our speed a bit."
The former United goalkeeper Ben Foster kept his old club at bay in the first half, making a superb save to deny Young.
Not that the West Brom manager Steve Clarke was surprised at such heroics. "Ben Foster made some good saves," he said. "That's why we spent our whole transfer budget on Ben in the summer."
After a difficult first half the visitors came to life after the break, forcing United into a tactical changeand Van Persie's introduction.
"It is not demoralising," said Clarke of Van Persie being brought into the action. "The fact they had to bring some of their big guns off the bench shows how well we were doing. In the first we were too timid. We spoke at half time about being too respectful and in the end, the score line doesn't reflect the way we played."
Clarke rejected suggestions the pitch, which needed to survive an inspection for the game to go ahead, was too difficult.
"We used to play on pitches like that all the time," he said.
"It is part and parcel of the game. You don't look for games to be called off for no reason and there was no reason today."
United now move on to a trip to Wigan Athletic on Tuesday, with Ferguson hopeful of reinforcing his squad with a few fresh faces.
"It will be a hard game," said Ferguson. "But hopefully we can freshen up again. Possibly Phil Jones will be ready and Rafael will be ready.
"We rested Javier Hernandez today, and also Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes, so we have enough freshness to bring in."
* Press Association
Company%20profile
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Last 10 NBA champions
2017: Golden State bt Cleveland 4-1
2016: Cleveland bt Golden State 4-3
2015: Golden State bt Cleveland 4-2
2014: San Antonio bt Miami 4-1
2013: Miami bt San Antonio 4-3
2012: Miami bt Oklahoma City 4-1
2011: Dallas bt Miami 4-2
2010: Los Angeles Lakers bt Boston 4-3
2009: Los Angeles Lakers bt Orlando 4-1
2008: Boston bt Los Angeles Lakers 4-2
EMIRATES'S%20REVISED%20A350%20DEPLOYMENT%20SCHEDULE
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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.
Abu Dhabi card
5pm: Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 2,400m
5.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh 70,000 2,200m
6pm: Abu Dhabi Fillies Classic Prestige (PA) Dh110,000 1,400m
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The National selections:
5pm: Valcartier
5.30pm: AF Taraha
6pm: Dhafra
6.30pm: Maqam
7pm: AF Mekhbat
7.30pm: Ezz Al Rawasi
KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN MARITIME DISPUTE
2000: Israel withdraws from Lebanon after nearly 30 years without an officially demarcated border. The UN establishes the Blue Line to act as the frontier.
2007: Lebanon and Cyprus define their respective exclusive economic zones to facilitate oil and gas exploration. Israel uses this to define its EEZ with Cyprus
2011: Lebanon disputes Israeli-proposed line and submits documents to UN showing different EEZ. Cyprus offers to mediate without much progress.
2018: Lebanon signs first offshore oil and gas licencing deal with consortium of France’s Total, Italy’s Eni and Russia’s Novatek.
2018-2019: US seeks to mediate between Israel and Lebanon to prevent clashes over oil and gas resources.
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: BorrowMe (BorrowMe.com)
Date started: August 2021
Founder: Nour Sabri
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: E-commerce / Marketplace
Size: Two employees
Funding stage: Seed investment
Initial investment: $200,000
Investors: Amr Manaa (director, PwC Middle East)
All you need to know about Formula E in Saudi Arabia
What The Saudia Ad Diriyah E-Prix
When Saturday
Where Diriyah in Saudi Arabia
What time Qualifying takes place from 11.50am UAE time through until the Super Pole session, which is due to end at 12.55pm. The race, which will last for 45 minutes, starts at 4.05pm.
Who is competing There are 22 drivers, from 11 teams, on the grid, with each vehicle run solely on electronic power.
The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
BIOSAFETY LABS SECURITY LEVELS
Biosafety Level 1
The lowest safety level. These labs work with viruses that are minimal risk to humans.
Hand washing is required on entry and exit and potentially infectious material decontaminated with bleach before thrown away.
Must have a lock. Access limited. Lab does not need to be isolated from other buildings.
Used as teaching spaces.
Study microorganisms such as Staphylococcus which causes food poisoning.
Biosafety Level 2
These labs deal with pathogens that can be harmful to people and the environment such as Hepatitis, HIV and salmonella.
Working in Level 2 requires special training in handling pathogenic agents.
Extra safety and security precautions are taken in addition to those at Level 1
Biosafety Level 3
These labs contain material that can be lethal if inhaled. This includes SARS coronavirus, MERS, and yellow fever.
Significant extra precautions are taken with staff given specific immunisations when dealing with certain diseases.
Infectious material is examined in a biological safety cabinet.
Personnel must wear protective gowns that must be discarded or decontaminated after use.
Strict safety and handling procedures are in place. There must be double entrances to the building and they must contain self-closing doors to reduce risk of pathogen aerosols escaping.
Windows must be sealed. Air from must be filtered before it can be recirculated.
Biosafety Level 4
The highest level for biosafety precautions. Scientist work with highly dangerous diseases that have no vaccine or cure.
All material must be decontaminated.
Personnel must wear a positive pressure suit for protection. On leaving the lab this must pass through decontamination shower before they have a personal shower.
Entry is severely restricted to trained and authorised personnel. All entries are recorded.
Entrance must be via airlocks.