How enticing must the long Real Madrid medical bulletin look to Erling Haaland. It starts in defence and runs through many names.
Eder Militao, probably the first choice of the centre-backs, is out for months, thanks to the injury he sustained on Sunday. David Alaba, who has managed one full game this season, will be waiting for a while until he is fit enough for another.
There’s more. Dean Huijsen is on his way back to fitness but there would be risk rushing him into action for tonight’s hosting of Manchester City.
Two right-backs, Dani Carvajal and Trent Alexander-Arnold, are unavailable. So is one left-back, Ferland Mendy, while the state-of-mind of another two, Fran Garcia and Alvaro Carreras can only be wondered at: Both were sent off in the weekend’s home defeat to Celta Vigo, part of a sequence of just two Madrid wins in seven games.
Kylian Mbappe, meanwhile, must look harder for optimistic signs in his preparation for Madrid against City.
There’s the absence of Rodri, and the fact that without their galvanising midfielder, this City team do leave gaps. Saturday’s 3-0 win over Sunderland marked a first clean sheet after a four-match rollercoaster in which 10 goals were conceded.
When it comes to duels between Haaland, 25, and Mbappe, 26, a pair of finishers for so long feted as the best in the world of their generation, prevailing conditions are a factor. But there’s always the idea that their individual excellence, the seizing of a moment, might bend a contest their way.
Which is why Madrid seemed so concerned on Tuesday that Mbappe, the leading scorer in the Champions League coming into match day six, should overcome the discomforts of a painful finger injury and a soreness in his left thigh to be as close to his best as possible at the Bernabeu.
Both strikers are in superb form, probably as sharp as they have been coming into any head-to-head of their developing rivalry. And it is a peculiar sort of rivalry in that while for well over half a decade they have been identified as probably the most coveted striker anywhere in their age group, they have actually shared a pitch very seldom.
A mere three times, in fact. By comparison with the joust Mbappe-Haaland was earmarked to succeed, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi had, at 24 and 22 respectively, already been on opposite sides in a final and a semi-final of the Champions League. Once they were both employed in La Liga, at Barcelona and Madrid, Ronaldo and Messi had faced each other nearly 20 times by the time they were at the ages Mbappe and Haaland are now.
More than five-and-a-half years have passed since the first Haaland-Mbappe duel, a last-16 Champions League tie between Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain.
Haaland scored twice for Dortmund in the Germany leg, one of his goals a thumping drive that remains prominent in any highlights show reel of his vast haul of career goals. But in Paris, where Mbappe had started the game on the bench because of fitness issues, PSG overhauled a 2-1 first-leg deficit.
But at the end of the tie, the Mbappe-Haaland rivalry of the future would be fully signposted, personalised, the Frenchmen joining teammates in mimicking the Norwegian's trademark goal celebration, the one where he sits on the grass, cross-legged, as if meditating.
Now the duel looks ready to take off, gain momentum, write fresh chapters season after season. Wednesday’s contest will be the third meeting between City and Madrid within nine months.
If the 2023 and 2024 European club champions both progress, as they would aspire to, into the later stages of this season’s Champions League, there may be further encounters after this league-phase encounter.
There’s a significant date in the summer, too: Norway versus France in Group I of the World Cup. “Mbappe and Haaland!” smiled France’s manager Didier Deschamps when the nations were allotted the same group. “Now we get to see a duel that has been going on remotely for a while.”
Remotely, because other than the first leg of Dortmund-PSG in 2020, and the Manchester leg of City-Madrid last season, they have not spent a full 90 minutes in direct opposition.
Back in February, in the Champions League play-off round, they briefly looked like dominant heavyweights ready to shape a contest one way or another.
Haaland gave City the lead in the tie with a skilfully cushioned volley; Mbappe equalised for Madrid with his own looping volley, although in his case he would be obliged to admit he made contact with the ball with his shin not his boot and the goal had a little luck about it.
Haaland then restored City’s lead with a penalty, but Madrid scored two late goals to take a 3-2 advantage.
For the rest of that tie, the 3-1 second leg home win that eased Madrid into the last 16, there was no Haaland. A knee injury meant he had to watch Mbappe score a hat-trick at the Bernabeu, since when the France captain has made a habit of them in Europe’s premier competition.
At the end of September, Mbappe registered three of Madrid’s five goals at Kairat Almaty. Two weeks ago, he scored all four in the 4-3 win at Olympiakos.
All part of a blistering personal record in this, Mbappe’s second season as the main man in Madrid’s attack: Nine goals in five European games so far and 25 in 21 across competitions.
Little wonder that his coach, Xabi Alonso, keeps talking up Mbappe’s “leadership qualities” while a growing number of critics of Xabi speak with alarm about a fragile team’s dependence on their sharpest striker to keep compensating for failings elsewhere.
Not so long ago, there were murmurs of concern about City’s being overreliant on Haaland, too. By the beginning of November, his goals made up 65 per cent of City’s total in the Premier League and Europe for 2025-26.
The balance has since evened out, and not because Haaland, whose 20 goals have come in 20 matches so far, has eased off but because others, such as Phil Foden, have stepped up to share the load. The ratio now is Haaland 44 per cent; others 56 per cent.
No such spread at troubled Madrid, where Mbappe has scored half his club’s Liga goals and three-quarters of the goals they have registered in the Champions League. That’s dependence. Of all the men they need to push through the pain barrier over the coming weeks, Mbappe is the top priority.
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
The specs: 2018 Honda City
Price, base: From Dh57,000
Engine: 1.5L, in-line four-cylinder
Transmission: Continuously variable transmission
Power: 118hp @ 6,600rpm
Torque: 146Nm @ 4,600rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 5.8L / 100km
'How To Build A Boat'
Jonathan Gornall, Simon & Schuster
Gender equality in the workplace still 200 years away
It will take centuries to achieve gender parity in workplaces around the globe, according to a December report from the World Economic Forum.
The WEF study said there had been some improvements in wage equality in 2018 compared to 2017, when the global gender gap widened for the first time in a decade.
But it warned that these were offset by declining representation of women in politics, coupled with greater inequality in their access to health and education.
At current rates, the global gender gap across a range of areas will not close for another 108 years, while it is expected to take 202 years to close the workplace gap, WEF found.
The Geneva-based organisation's annual report tracked disparities between the sexes in 149 countries across four areas: education, health, economic opportunity and political empowerment.
After years of advances in education, health and political representation, women registered setbacks in all three areas this year, WEF said.
Only in the area of economic opportunity did the gender gap narrow somewhat, although there is not much to celebrate, with the global wage gap narrowing to nearly 51 per cent.
And the number of women in leadership roles has risen to 34 per cent globally, WEF said.
At the same time, the report showed there are now proportionately fewer women than men participating in the workforce, suggesting that automation is having a disproportionate impact on jobs traditionally performed by women.
And women are significantly under-represented in growing areas of employment that require science, technology, engineering and mathematics skills, WEF said.
* Agence France Presse
Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
The five types of long-term residential visas
Obed Suhail of ServiceMarket, an online home services marketplace, outlines the five types of long-term residential visas:
Investors:
A 10-year residency visa can be obtained by investors who invest Dh10 million, out of which 60 per cent should not be in real estate. It can be a public investment through a deposit or in a business. Those who invest Dh5 million or more in property are eligible for a five-year residency visa. The invested amount should be completely owned by the investors, not loaned, and retained for at least three years.
Entrepreneurs:
A five-year multiple entry visa is available to entrepreneurs with a previous project worth Dh0.5m or those with the approval of an accredited business incubator in the UAE.
Specialists
Expats with specialised talents, including doctors, specialists, scientists, inventors, and creative individuals working in the field of culture and art are eligible for a 10-year visa, given that they have a valid employment contract in one of these fields in the country.
Outstanding students:
A five-year visa will be granted to outstanding students who have a grade of 95 per cent or higher in a secondary school, or those who graduate with a GPA of 3.75 from a university.
Retirees:
Expats who are at least 55 years old can obtain a five-year retirement visa if they invest Dh2m in property, have savings of Dh1m or more, or have a monthly income of at least Dh20,000.
Key findings of Jenkins report
Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
Expert advice
“Join in with a group like Cycle Safe Dubai or TrainYAS, where you’ll meet like-minded people and always have support on hand.”
Stewart Howison, co-founder of Cycle Safe Dubai and owner of Revolution Cycles
“When you sweat a lot, you lose a lot of salt and other electrolytes from your body. If your electrolytes drop enough, you will be at risk of cramping. To prevent salt deficiency, simply add an electrolyte mix to your water.”
Cornelia Gloor, head of RAK Hospital’s Rehabilitation and Physiotherapy Centre
“Don’t make the mistake of thinking you can ride as fast or as far during the summer as you do in cooler weather. The heat will make you expend more energy to maintain a speed that might normally be comfortable, so pace yourself when riding during the hotter parts of the day.”
Chandrashekar Nandi, physiotherapist at Burjeel Hospital in Dubai
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Hotel Silence
Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir
Pushkin Press
Bio:
Favourite Quote: Prophet Mohammad's quotes There is reward for kindness to every living thing and A good man treats women with honour
Favourite Hobby: Serving poor people
Favourite Book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite food: Fish and vegetables
Favourite place to visit: London
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%3Cp%3ECreated%20by%3A%20Darren%20Star%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%20Lily%20Collins%2C%20Philippine%20Leroy-Beaulieu%2C%20Ashley%20Park%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%202.75%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
KLOPP%20AT%20LIVERPOOL
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Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
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Who has been sanctioned?
Daniella Weiss and NachalaDescribed as 'the grandmother of the settler movement', she has encouraged the expansion of settlements for decades. The 79 year old leads radical settler movement Nachala, whose aim is for Israel to annex Gaza and the occupied West Bank, where it helps settlers built outposts.
Harel Libi & Libi Construction and InfrastructureLibi has been involved in threatening and perpetuating acts of aggression and violence against Palestinians. His firm has provided logistical and financial support for the establishment of illegal outposts.
Zohar SabahRuns a settler outpost named Zohar’s Farm and has previously faced charges of violence against Palestinians. He was indicted by Israel’s State Attorney’s Office in September for allegedly participating in a violent attack against Palestinians and activists in the West Bank village of Muarrajat.
Coco’s Farm and Neria’s FarmThese are illegal outposts in the West Bank, which are at the vanguard of the settler movement. According to the UK, they are associated with people who have been involved in enabling, inciting, promoting or providing support for activities that amount to “serious abuse”.
Brief scoreline:
Liverpool 2
Mane 51', Salah 53'
Chelsea 0
Man of the Match: Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
Kareem Shaheen on Canada
How much of your income do you need to save?
The more you save, the sooner you can retire. Tuan Phan, a board member of SimplyFI.com, says if you save just 5 per cent of your salary, you can expect to work for another 66 years before you are able to retire without too large a drop in income.
In other words, you will not save enough to retire comfortably. If you save 15 per cent, you can forward to another 43 working years. Up that to 40 per cent of your income, and your remaining working life drops to just 22 years. (see table)
Obviously, this is only a rough guide. How much you save will depend on variables, not least your salary and how much you already have in your pension pot. But it shows what you need to do to achieve financial independence.
On Women's Day
Key products and UAE prices
iPhone XS
With a 5.8-inch screen, it will be an advance version of the iPhone X. It will be dual sim and comes with better battery life, a faster processor and better camera. A new gold colour will be available.
Price: Dh4,229
iPhone XS Max
It is expected to be a grander version of the iPhone X with a 6.5-inch screen; an inch bigger than the screen of the iPhone 8 Plus.
Price: Dh4,649
iPhone XR
A low-cost version of the iPhone X with a 6.1-inch screen, it is expected to attract mass attention. According to industry experts, it is likely to have aluminium edges instead of stainless steel.
Price: Dh3,179
Apple Watch Series 4
More comprehensive health device with edge-to-edge displays that are more than 30 per cent bigger than displays on current models.