Manchester City eased to a comfortable 2-0 victory over Wydad in their opening game of the Fifa Club World Cup on Wednesday.
Goals from Phil Foden and Jeremy Doku at the beginning and end of the first half earned Pep Guardiola's side victory at a baking hot Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.
Summer signings Tijjani Reijnders and Ryan Chekri were both handed debuts after their respective summer moves from AC Milan and Lyon, while there was also a welcome return from injury for Ballon d'Or-winning midfielder Rodri.
The only downside for City was the late sending off for Rico Lewis who was shown a straight red card after catching Samuel Obeng in the face in his follow through after sliding in for a tackle.
But Lewis's exit came with two minutes to go and with City in cruise control, on the way to a win that took them top of Group G, which also contains UAE side Al Ain and Italian giants Juventus who face-off in Washington DC (Thursday at 5am UAE time).
“Very happy for the team to start the tournament with a win. It was difficult at times with the heat,” said player-of-the-match Foden.
“Fair play to them, they were a top team on the counter-attacks. A lot of chances that we had to deal with. Happy with the performance and happy with the three points.
“I stayed alive, and the ball fell to me. I put it away nicely, so I am happy. A new season, fresh me. Looking forward to the season now.”
City were playing their first game since a surprise FA Cup final defeat by Crystal Palace which meant they finished the season trophyless. And that came on the back of a disappointing Premier League campaign which saw them finish third, a distant 13 points behind champions Liverpool.
But City began their Club World Cup defence in style as they took the lead inside two minutes of action, scoring the tournament's quickest ever goal.
A surging run down the right by Savinho ended with the Brazilian winger sending over a cross that Wydad goalkeeper El Mehdi Benabid could only parry straight to the feet of Foden who finished first time into the corner.
It was a welcome goal for the England international – his first in 20 matches for club and country – after a tough season where he failed to hit the heights of previous campaigns.
January signing Omar Marmoush almost made it 2-0 before the 10-minute mark but the Egyptian attacker pulled his shot just wide of the target while defender Nathan Ake headed another chance just wide from a corner.
But it was not all one-way traffic with the 2021/22 CAF Champions League winners making life difficult at times for City, with Thembinkosi Lorch a lively figure for WAC.
The South African attacker attempted one audacious strike from inside his own half that had Ederson in the City goal back-pedalling furiously before stopping the ball just before the goalline.
Lorch also set up another opportunity for countryman Cassius Mailula whose weak effort was blocked by Ederson while firing another effort wide of the target himself.
Foden almost grabbed a second but saw his low effort well saved by Benabid but moments later City had doubled their lead.
This time Foden was the provider as he sent a corner deep towards the back post where Doku was on hand to volley home first time for his first goal in six months just before half-time.
The second half was to prove a quiet affair in the searing heat with City's best moment coming on the hour when Rodri appeared from the bench to make his first appearance since injuring his ACL in the 2-2 draw with Arsenal last September.
The Spaniard looked understandably rusty at first, sending one simple pass out side out for a throw-in, but City will be delighted to get the Spaniard some minutes on the pitch. “Of course, he will be important,” said Guardiola. “We have to adjust many things, but step by step.”
Fellow second-half substitute Erling Haaland had two chances to make it 3-0 sending one effort over the bar before seeing another saved by Benabid.
There was to be late controversy, though, when Lewis was shown a straight red card when both he and Obeng slid in for a challenge only for the WAC player to take a boot in the face. “He touches the ball. He never had any intention to do it,” insisted Guardiola. “It is what it is.”
Next up for City is Al Ain at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta which kicks-off Monday, 5am UAE time. Wydad are back in action at the Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday night when they take on Juventus at 8pm.
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The two riders are among several riders in the UAE to receive the top payment of £10,000 under the Thank You Fund of £16 million (Dh80m), which was announced in conjunction with Deliveroo's £8 billion (Dh40bn) stock market listing earlier this year.
The £10,000 (Dh50,000) payment is made to those riders who have completed the highest number of orders in each market.
There are also riders who will receive payments of £1,000 (Dh5,000) and £500 (Dh2,500).
All riders who have worked with Deliveroo for at least one year and completed 2,000 orders will receive £200 (Dh1,000), the company said when it announced the scheme.
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Fewer criminals put behind bars and more to serve sentences in the community, with short sentences scrapped and many inmates released earlier.
Greater use of curfews and exclusion zones to deliver tougher supervision than ever on criminals.
Explore wider powers for judges to punish offenders by blocking them from attending football matches, banning them from driving or travelling abroad through an expansion of ‘ancillary orders’.
More Intensive Supervision Courts to tackle the root causes of crime such as alcohol and drug abuse – forcing repeat offenders to take part in tough treatment programmes or face prison.
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Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
Key facilities
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Premier League-standard football pitch
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Company/date started: 2015
Founder/CEO: Rami Salman, Rishav Jalan, Ayush Chordia
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Technology, Sales, Voice, Artificial Intelligence
Size: (employees/revenue) 10/ 100,000 downloads
Stage: 1 ($800,000)
Investors: Eight first-round investors including, Beco Capital, 500 Startups, Dubai Silicon Oasis, Hala Fadel, Odin Financial Services, Dubai Angel Investors, Womena, Arzan VC
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Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
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Touch is derived from rugby league. Teams consist of up to 14 players with a maximum of six on the field at any time.
Teams can make as many substitutions as they want during the 40 minute matches.
Similar to rugby league, the attacking team has six attempts - or touches - before possession changes over.
A touch is any contact between the player with the ball and a defender, and must be with minimum force.
After a touch the player performs a “roll-ball” - similar to the play-the-ball in league - stepping over or rolling the ball between the feet.
At the roll-ball, the defenders have to retreat a minimum of five metres.
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Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
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Barings Bank
Barings, one of Britain’s oldest investment banks, was
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Barings Bank collapsed in February 1995 following colossal
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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.
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Company profile
Name: The Concept
Founders: Yadhushan Mahendran, Maria Sobh and Muhammad Rijal
Based: Abu Dhabi
Founded: 2017
Number of employees: 7
Sector: Aviation and space industry
Funding: $250,000
Future plans: Looking to raise $1 million investment to boost expansion and develop new products
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