MILTON KEYNES // Manchester United sank to new depths on Tuesday when they crashed out of the League Cup in the second round following a 4-0 defeat at third-division Milton Keynes Dons.
United had announced the signing of Angel di Maria from Real Madrid in a British-record £59.7 million (Dh358.5m) deal shortly before kick-off, but they were brought down to earth with a painful bump as a second-string team fell apart at Stadium MK.
Will Grigg scored either side of half-time for the English League Cup side before Benik Afobe added a brace of his own to leave a shell-shocked Louis van Gaal still searching for his first competitive win as United manager.
United’s defeat mirrored what had happened on their last appearance in the second round in 1995, when they fell to third-tier York City, and means a potential path to silverware has been shut off before the end of August.
Van Gaal regretted the mistakes his men made on the pitch.
“It’s a matter of making errors at the wrong moment. When you see the goals against us, we made big errors in the build-up situations that you cannot make,” van Gaal told Sky Sports.
“You don’t have to forget that we have nine injuries and that we had a very young team. I have seen them trying to do their utmost best, so you cannot expect more of the players.”
Asked if he had a message for United’s fans, van Gaal said: “They have to believe in our philosophy. We are building up a team and you cannot make it in one month, not in one year.
“Of course it’s very disappointing, but I hope they shall maintain their confidence in the club and our philosophy because that philosophy takes time.”
United’s defeat mirrored what had happened on their last appearance in the second round in 1995, when they fell to third-tier York City, and means a potential path to silverware has been shut off before the end of August.
“I’m a little bit in shock, to be walking around and seeing the scoreline,” MK Dons manager Karl Robinson said.
“It’s ridiculous. It’s something that dreams are made of for these players.”
Van Gaal made 10 changes to his starting XI, with goalkeeper David de Gea the only player to hold onto his place from Sunday’s 1-1 draw at Sunderland in the English Premier League.
The visitors received an early setback when Shinji Kagawa had to go off after a clash of heads and in the 25th minute they gifted their hosts the lead.
Jonny Evans, United’s captain for the day, passed the ball straight to Ben Reeves inside his own area and the Dons number 10 squared to Grigg for a simple tap-in.
The home side were aggrieved not to have been awarded a penalty early in the second half when a shot from Dean Bowditch struck Evans on the arm, but in the 63rd minute they added a second goal.
After United again conceded possession cheaply, Grigg sprayed a pass wide to Reeves, who crossed for Grigg to beat De Gea with an outrageous chested finish from 10 yards.
There was more misery to come for United, whose seventh-place finish last season was their worst since 1990.
With 20 minutes remaining, Reeves displayed his disdain for the visiting defence with a showy no-look through ball for substitute Afobe, who held his nerve to sweep the ball past De Gea.
Belatedly, United rallied, with Adnan Januzaj hitting the post, but with six minutes left Afobe charged through three weak challenges before slamming home to complete a humiliating night for English football’s misfiring giants.
sports@thenational.ae
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'Gehraiyaan'
Director:Shakun Batra
Stars:Deepika Padukone, Siddhant Chaturvedi, Ananya Panday, Dhairya Karwa
Rating: 4/5
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WWE Evolution results
- Trish Stratus and Lita beat Alicia Fox and Mickie James in a tag match
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- Becky Lynch retained the SmackDown Women’s Championship against Charlotte Flair in a Last Woman Standing match
- Ronda Rousey retained the Raw Women’s title by beating Nikki Bella
Company%20Profile
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Race 3
Produced: Salman Khan Films and Tips Films
Director: Remo D’Souza
Cast: Salman Khan, Anil Kapoor, Jacqueline Fernandez, Bobby Deol, Daisy Shah, Saqib Salem
Rating: 2.5 stars
Match info
What: Fifa Club World Cup play-off
Who: Al Ain v Team Wellington
Where: Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
When: Wednesday, kick off 7.30pm
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
Getting there
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly to Johannesburg or Cape Town daily. Flights cost from about Dh3,325, with a flying time of 8hours and 15 minutes. From there, fly South African Airlines or Air Namibia to Namibia’s Windhoek Hosea Kutako International Airport, for about Dh850. Flying time is 2 hours.
The stay
Wilderness Little Kulala offers stays from £460 (Dh2,135) per person, per night. It is one of seven Wilderness Safari lodges in Namibia; www.wilderness-safaris.com.
Skeleton Coast Safaris’ four-day adventure involves joining a very small group in a private plane, flying to some of the remotest areas in the world, with each night spent at a different camp. It costs from US$8,335.30 (Dh30,611); www.skeletoncoastsafaris.com
Company%20Profile
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
The%20specs
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Profile
Company name: Jaib
Started: January 2018
Co-founders: Fouad Jeryes and Sinan Taifour
Based: Jordan
Sector: FinTech
Total transactions: over $800,000 since January, 2018
Investors in Jaib's mother company Alpha Apps: Aramex and 500 Startups
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
UAE%20ILT20
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First Person
Richard Flanagan
Chatto & Windus
Company%20Profile
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Company%20profile
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Abramovich London
A Kensington Palace Gardens house with 15 bedrooms is valued at more than £150 million.
A three-storey penthouse at Chelsea Waterfront bought for £22 million.
Steel company Evraz drops more than 10 per cent in trading after UK officials said it was potentially supplying the Russian military.
Sale of Chelsea Football Club is now impossible.
Women’s T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier
ICC Academy, November 22-28
UAE fixtures
Nov 22, v Malaysia
Nov 23, v Hong Kong
Nov 25, v Bhutan
Nov 26, v Kuwait
Nov 28, v Nepal
ICC T20I rankings
14. Nepal
17. UAE
25. Hong Kong
34. Kuwait
35. Malaysia
44. Bhutan
UAE squad
Chaya Mughal (captain), Natasha Cherriath, Samaira Dharnidharka, Kavisha Egodage, Mahika Gaur, Priyanjali Jain, Suraksha Kotte, Vaishnave Mahesh, Judit Peter, Esha Rohit, Theertha Satish, Chamani Seneviratne, Khushi Sharma, Subha Venkataraman
Company profile
Name: Dukkantek
Started: January 2021
Founders: Sanad Yaghi, Ali Al Sayegh and Shadi Joulani
Based: UAE
Number of employees: 140
Sector: B2B Vertical SaaS(software as a service)
Investment: $5.2 million
Funding stage: Seed round
Investors: Global Founders Capital, Colle Capital Partners, Wamda Capital, Plug and Play, Comma Capital, Nowais Capital, Annex Investments and AMK Investment Office
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Tax authority targets shisha levy evasion
The Federal Tax Authority will track shisha imports with electronic markers to protect customers and ensure levies have been paid.
Khalid Ali Al Bustani, director of the tax authority, on Sunday said the move is to "prevent tax evasion and support the authority’s tax collection efforts".
The scheme’s first phase, which came into effect on 1st January, 2019, covers all types of imported and domestically produced and distributed cigarettes. As of May 1, importing any type of cigarettes without the digital marks will be prohibited.
He said the latest phase will see imported and locally produced shisha tobacco tracked by the final quarter of this year.
"The FTA also maintains ongoing communication with concerned companies, to help them adapt their systems to meet our requirements and coordinate between all parties involved," he said.
As with cigarettes, shisha was hit with a 100 per cent tax in October 2017, though manufacturers and cafes absorbed some of the costs to prevent prices doubling.
Jigra
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)