The Academy Awards may not have a host this year, but they will have a “Parasite.”

Director Bong Joon Ho’s genre-jumbling class satire — a twisty, darkly comic thriller about two families, one rich and one poor, whose lives become entangled — made Oscars history Monday morning by becoming the first Korean film ever to earn a best picture nomination. In all, the film scored six Oscar nominations.

It also became the first Korean film to ever land a nomination in the international feature category (which was known as foreign language film prior to this year).

Since its rapturously received debut at the Cannes Film Festival in May, where it won the Palme d’Or, “Parasite” has worked its way into the global cinematic bloodstream like few foreign-language films in memory, grossing nearly $150 million worldwide and earning three Golden Globe nominations along with a raft of other honors from guilds and critics groups.

Director Bong, 50, has been building a devoted fan base since the early 2000s with idiosyncratic but always thrilling and thought-provoking genre mash-ups such as “Memories of Murder,” “The Host” and “Mother,” edging closer to the Hollywood mainstream with 2013’s dystopian sci-fi action film “Snowpiercer” and 2017’s un-categorizable adventure film “Okja.” Now, with “Parasite” — which is reportedly set to become the basis for an HBO limited series — Bong, who was nominated for directing, has achieved the sort of global recognition many feel he has always deserved.

2020 Oscars race

As positive word-of-mouth around “Parasite” gathered steam in the fall at the Telluride and Toronto Film Festivals, many wondered if it could follow the path of last year’s Alfonso Cuarón-directed “Roma” and break out of the academy’s foreign-language box to score a best picture nomination, a feat that fewer than a dozen international films have ever pulled off in the academy’s 92-year history.
Speaking to the Los Angeles Times at Telluride in September, Bong said he felt the film’s depiction of the divide between the haves and have-nots had the potential to resonate with audiences everywhere, even if he couldn’t then imagine how big the #BongHive would eventually grow.

“Of course, on the surface level, all of the details, the mannerisms, the people and the visual elements are all very Korean,” Bong said. “But the topic of the gap between rich and poor lends itself to being so universal. I think every country has their own structures and conflicts regarding class. But when you really delve deep into the cave of capitalism and explore the sort of infinite darkness of it, you find a similar sort of mechanism flows throughout.”

Whether “Parasite” can go on to win best picture — something no foreign-language film has ever done — remains to be seen. But accepting the Golden Globe last week for best foreign-language film, Bong said the ultimate victory would be getting moviegoers to broaden their horizons.
“Once you overcome the 1-inch-tall barrier of subtitles, you will be introduced to so many more amazing films,” he said. “I think we use just one language — the cinema.”

British actress Cynthia Erivo was nominated for her first Oscar on Monday morning for her performance as the iconic freedom fighter and abolitionist Harriet Tubman in Kasi Lemmons’ “Harriet.”

The stage and screen actress (along with powerhouse singer — she is also nominated in the original song category) also earned Golden Globe, SAG and Critics’ Choice nominations for the role. And while BAFTA controversially snubbed acting nominees of color entirely, the ceremony still asked her to perform (she declined).

In the wake of notable snubs for the likes of Jennifer Lopez (“Hustlers”), Jamie Foxx (“Just Mercy”) and Lupita Nyong’o (“Us”), Erivo was the only person of color nominated for an acting Oscar this year.

“Harriet,” distributed by Focus Features, exceeded box office forecasts when it opened in November, debuting to $12 million on its way to $43 million to date in global ticket sales. It marks the first feature leading role for Erivo, who stole scenes in 2018’s “Widows” and “Bad Times at the El Royale.”

2020 Oscars race

She was first approached about “Harriet” while in the midst of a Tony-winning turn in the Broadway production of “The Color Purple.” The production is also responsible for her subsequent Grammy (for the cast recording) and Daytime Emmy (for a cast performance on NBC’s “Today”) wins. (For those who don’t want to count Daytime Emmys in EGOT status, Erivo will also headline the upcoming limited series “Genius: Aretha” for National Geographic. And playing music singer Aretha Franklin could put her in Primetime Emmy contention as well.)

“I think in doing [‘The Color Purple’] I realized that that’s really what I want to do — keep telling stories about women of color who were full and rounded,” Erivo told the Times in November.

Erivo is just the 11th black actress to be nominated for a leading role at the Oscars in the ceremony’s 92-year history. Should she win, she would be just the second black woman in history to take home a lead acting Oscar, following Halle Berry’s 2001 win for “Monster’s Ball.”

Even if she only wins in the original song category, the 33-year-old would become the youngest EGOT winner, one of just 16 people who have reached the coveted milestone and the fastest, having collected all four trophies in less than four years (current record holder Robert Lopez took 10 years to achieve the feat and completed it at age 39).

This year’s Oscars will broadcast live from Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre on Feb. 9.

I’d been going to the same dive bar in Long Beach for more than a decade.

Perhaps that explains why our drinks were so strong.

Or maybe it was because there are numerous pictures of me and other customers hanging on the wall. Or because I used to sing karaoke there every Friday night. Or because my bands used to play there. Or all of the above.

Whatever the case, I didn’t — and don’t — mind a stiff drink. That’s why people become regulars. So the bartenders of the world give us a pinch more than everyone else.

One sip and my date and I looked at each other, shaking our heads in unison, like dogs drying their faces after a bath. We puckered, not for a kiss, but to tell each other that, yes, these vodka sodas were something else.

I felt good, cool. Like I knew people. Like bartenders. Our drinks wouldn’t have been this strong if she ordered. But she didn’t. I did.

I tried to drink slowly. Really, I did. This is why I don’t order mixed drinks. They go down too fast.

She kept pace with me.

“Let’s get another,” she said with a grin. “I’ll buy.”

She was enjoying herself and I didn’t want our night to end. The conversation at dinner had been easy, like we had known each other for years. Just like our Bumble messages and the time we spoke on the phone for three hours.

Facebook said we had eight mutual friends. We had things — and people — in common. Our talk at the bar was no different than dinner. Smooth. Relaxed. Comfortable.

So, sure, let’s get another.

She handed me cash.

Our second round was like the first. Stiff. Through two plastic straws I took a big swig and felt it.

The karaoke was loud. We had to lean into each other to talk over the music. She smiled often, laughed at my jokes. We talked more. We laughed more. I thought to myself, this is a good date.

The right side of her body touched my left. Casual bumping. What do all those books say about what it means when a woman casually touches a man?

She was smart and funny and witty and sexy and interesting. Boxes were being checked. “Go for it,” the booze said.

“Yes, booze, you are right,” I replied in my head.

I leaned to my left.

“I want to tell you something,” I said.

A sideways glance.

“I want to kiss you,” I said.

I thought I knew what I was doing because being coy is how I flirt. I might wear glasses, but I can read signs and I was pretty sure it was a green light. A third-base coach waving me in, telling me not to slide.

I thought she liked me. I thought she wanted me to kiss her.

I thought she’d say yes.

But that slight shift in her body toward me? Gone. She sat straight ahead and looked at her drink.

Silence.

Something was wrong, but what was that “something”? The easy answer is it was way too soon for a stranger to ask for a kiss. But her demeanor suggested something larger, deeper, more personal.

Or maybe she didn’t like me.

I improvised, tried to recover, to repair the damage I had created, to salvage the date.

Eventually she suggested that I go sing a song. Away from her. I chose one of the few tunes I knew in the book. “Bust a Move” by Young MC. It’s my go-to. From the stage I could see her. She wasn’t amused. Normally I like karaoke because it lets the extrovert out of the introvert. But not this time. I might have been rapping, “Next day’s function / high-class luncheon / food is served and you’re stone-cold munchin’,” but internally I kept thinking, “What just happened?”

I wanted the song to end. We were at a crowded bar, but I wanted to talk about what had just occurred. I wanted to apologize, to tell her I didn’t mean to offend her. I wanted her to know that I was trying to say, “Hey, I kinda like you.”

But I didn’t. Instead, I watched as she finished her drink. I pretended to do the same because I still had to drive. I didn’t want to get drunk.

What I wanted was a last first date. The real thing, whatever that is. Someone with whom I can create a special language only we speak, a woman to text when I see a funny bumper sticker or score a bunch of points in my old man basketball league.

A person. My person.

She could have been my person. Now she was the person calling a rideshare.

I had to go with her because I’d left my car in front of her place. The ride was quiet, tense. We didn’t say anything of substance, but I was ready to erupt. I wanted to tell her how I thought I was being a gentleman, a worldly man circa 2019, and how I thought she was a nice person who made me feel the good kind of nervous. Asking was my way of being flirtatious, but asking was also the right thing to do, right? I’m not a caveman, and I wanted her to know that. I also wanted to know what I had done wrong.

The car dropped us in front of her place and she began walking away. No chitchat goodbye talk. No hug. She was leaving. This was my last chance to explain myself.

“I’m sorry about what I said,” still unaware of what exactly caused her to react so negatively. I might not have known why she was upset, but she was, and for that I was sorry.

I tried to say everything I had been thinking since I asked for a kiss. I fumbled for the right words.

There weren’t any “right words.” And she didn’t owe me an explanation.

So I stopped talking.

Date. Over.

The author teaches journalism and English. You can find him on Twitter @ryanlritchie

Straight, gay, bisexual, transgender or nonbinary: L.A. Affairs chronicles the search for love in and around Los Angeles — and we want to hear your story. You must allow your name to be published, and the story you tell has to be true. We pay $300 for each essay we publish. Email us at [email protected]. You can find submission guidelines here.

Click Here: Spain Rugby Shop

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — 

A man who died in an Australian hospital became the 20th casualty of a New Zealand volcanic eruption more than a month ago, officials said on Monday.

The victim was one of three Australians transferred to the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne , Australia, after the Dec. 9 eruption at White Island.

A police statement confirmed the man, whose name has not been released, died on Sunday night as a result of injuries from the eruption. A hospital statement said the man had been critically ill.

The hospital is continuing to give specialized burn care to the two other patients transferred there. One is in critical condition and the other is in stable condition, the hospital said.

White Island, also known by its Maori name, Whakaari, is the tip of an undersea volcano about 30 miles off New Zealand’s North Island and was a popular tourist destination before the eruption. Many of those killed and injured were from the Royal Caribbean cruise ship Ovation of the Seas.

1/6

The White Island volcano erupted Monday in the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand, while a group of tourists were on the island.  

(Michael Schade / EPA/Shutterstock)

2/6

An aerial photo shows White Island after its volcanic eruption. 

(George Novak / Associated Press)

3/6

The White Island volcano spews steam and ash.  

(Michael Schade / EPA/Shutterstock)

4/6

Tourists can be seen near the volcano’s crater on Monday.  

(GeoNet )

5/6

Tourists leave as the volcano erupts.  

(Michael Schade / EPA/Shutterstock)

6/6

A woman places flowers on a fence near the waterfront in Whakatane, New Zealand, on Tuesday. 

(Associated Press)

Many people have questioned why tourists were still allowed on the island after New Zealand’s GeoNet seismic monitoring agency raised the volcano’s alert level on Nov. 18 from 1 to 2 on a scale where 5 represents a major eruption, noting an increase in sulfur dioxide gas, which originates from magma.

New Zealand authorities are investigating the circumstances around the disaster.

The volcano remains at an alert level of 2, indicating moderate to heightened unrest.

WASHINGTON — 

The United States is preparing to remove more than a dozen Saudi military students from a training program and return them to their home country after an investigation into a deadly shooting by a Saudi aviation student at a Florida Navy base last month, a U.S. official told the Associated Press.

The 21-year-old Saudi Air Force officer, 2nd Lt. Mohammed Alshamrani, opened fire at the base in Pensacola, killing three U.S. sailors and injuring eight other people. The Justice Department has been investigating the incident as an act of terrorism.

Officials have said Alshamrani hosted a party before the shooting, where he and others watched videos of mass shootings. The gunman had also apparently taken to Twitter before the shooting to criticize U.S. support of Israel and accuse America of being anti-Muslim, another U.S. official told the AP last month.

Alshamrani, who was killed by a sheriff’s deputy during the rampage at a classroom building, was undergoing flight training at Pensacola, where members of foreign militaries routinely receive instruction.

It was not immediately clear on what grounds the students were being removed from the program, though the official said they were not suspected of having played any role in the attack. The precise number of students being removed was also not clear. The officials discussing the case spoke on condition of anonymity to speak about details involved in an ongoing investigation.

The FBI declined to comment on Sunday. The Justice Department said Atty. Gen. William Barr and Deputy FBI Director David Bowdich would provide an update on the investigation at a news conference Monday afternoon.

The plan to remove the students was first reported by CNN.

The December shooting raised questions about how well international military students are screened before they attend training at American bases. Some lawmakers, including a top Republican ally of President Trump, have called for Saudi Arabia to be suspended from an American military training program.

Trump called for the program to be reviewed. But Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said the program needed to be reevaluated after the attack.

Click Here: Malaysia Rugby Shop

A Saudi commanding officer had ordered all students from the country to remain at one location at the base after the attack.

National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien said in an interview on Fox News that the shooting “showed that there had been errors in the way that we vetted” the students. The actions being taken by the Justice Department and Defense Department to remove the Saudi students are to “protect our service men and women,” he said.

Federal officials are still investigating the shooting and examining evidence. Earlier this week, the FBI asked Apple to help extract data from two iPhones that belonged to the gunman.

Investigators have been trying to access the two devices — an iPhone 7 and an iPhone 5 — but have been unable to access them because the phones are locked and encrypted, according to a letter from the FBI’s general counsel, Dana Boente. The FBI has received a court authorization to search the phones and the devices have been sent to the bureau’s lab in Quantico, Va., he said.

The investigation is considered a “high-priority national security matter,” Boente said in the letter.

FBI officials have sought help from other federal agencies and other experts, and investigators have been trying to guess the passwords, but those efforts have been unsuccessful, according to the letter.

Apple said in a statement that it has already provided investigators with all the relevant data held by the company and would continue to support the investigators.

At least one of the phones was shot by a sheriff’s deputy during the attack, but investigators believe they may still be able to extract data from the device, according to a person familiar with the matter. The person spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation.

SANDRINGHAM, England — 

Princes William and Harry slammed a newspaper report Monday describing a severe strain in their relationship, calling the story offensive and potentially harmful as they embark on talks regarding the future of the British monarchy.

Click Here: Malaysia Rugby Shop

The two brothers issued the unusual statement even as Queen Elizabeth II was set to hold face-to-face talks with Prince Harry for the first time since he and his wife, Meghan, unveiled their controversial plan to walk away from royal roles. The dramatic family summit is meant to chart a future course for the couple.

Though the statement did not name the newspaper, the Times of London has a front page story about the crisis in which a source alleged that Harry and Meghan had been pushed away by the “bullying attitude from” William. The joint statement insisted that the story was “false.”

“For brothers who care so deeply about the issues surrounding mental health, the use of inflammatory language in this way is offensive and potentially harmful,” the statement said.

The meeting reflects the queen’s desire to contain the fallout from Harry and Meghan’s decision to “step back” as senior royals, work to become financially independent and split their time between Britain and North America. The couple, also known as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, made the announcement Wednesday without telling the queen or other senior royals first.

The meeting at the monarch’s private Sandringham estate in eastern England will also include Harry’s father Prince Charles and his brother Prince William. It comes after days of intense news coverage in which supporters of the royal family’s feuding factions used the British media to paint conflicting pictures of who was to blame for the rift.

William is expected to travel to Sandringham from London and Harry from his home in Windsor, west of the British capital. Charles has flown back from the Gulf nation of Oman, where he attended a condolence ceremony Sunday following the death of Sultan Qaboos bin Said.

Meghan, who is in Canada with the couple’s baby son Archie, is likely to join the meeting by phone.

Buckingham Palace said “a range of possibilities” would be discussed, but the queen was determined to resolve the situation within “days, not weeks.” The goal was to agree on next steps at Monday’s gathering, which follows days of talks among royal courtiers and officials from Britain and Canada. Buckingham Palace stressed, however, that “any decision will take time to be implemented.”

One of the more fraught questions that needs to be worked out is precisely what it means for a royal to be financially independent and what activities can be undertaken to make money. Other royals who have ventured into the world of commerce have found it complicated.

Prince Andrew, for example, has faced heated questions about his relationship with the late convicted sex offender and financier Jeffrey Epstein. Andrew, the queen’s second son, has relinquished royal duties and patronages after being accused by a woman who says she was an Epstein trafficking victim who slept with the prince.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex also face questions on paying for taxpayer-funded security. Home Secretary Priti Patel refused to comment, but said safety was a priority.

“I’m not going to provide any detailed information on the security arrangements for either them or any members of the royal family or for any protected individuals — that’s thoroughly inappropriate for me to do so,” she told the BBC. “At this moment in time, right now, the royal family themselves need some time and space for them to work through the current issues that they’re dealing with.”

The meeting comes amid days of discussions about the future of the monarchy following the surprise announcement. Senior royals were said to be hurt, Harry and Meghan’s friends have told Britain’s media that the couple were being pushed aside because of the desire of the Windsors to concentrate on the core of the royal family and focus on those in the line of succession — Prince Charles, William and William’s son George.

Tom Bradby, a TV journalist who is close to Harry and Meghan, warned in the Sunday Times that the royal family badly needed a peace deal to prevent “a protracted war” that could damage the monarchy.

With much at stake, the talks could be a step toward a changed monarchy.

“This is a seismic moment in royal history and British society,” Kate Williams, a historian at the University of Reading, wrote in the Observer. “It tells historians of the future much about our society, its self-perceptions, prejudices and fears. And most of all, it should mark our realization — as we didn’t learn after [Princess] Diana — that those who marry into the royal family are not our dolls to attack and throw around as we please.”

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — 

The demonstrations that erupted after Iran admitted to accidentally shooting down a passenger plane during a tense standoff with the United States last week are the latest of several waves of protest going back to the 1979 Islamic Revolution — all of which have been violently suppressed.

Iranians were shocked and appalled by the shoot-down of the Ukrainian jetliner which killed all 176 people on board, mostly Iranians. Many are also angry at the government’s misleading statements in the wake of the tragedy, which it initially blamed on a technical problem.

Iranians are also suffering from an economic crisis exacerbated by severe sanctions imposed by President Trump after he withdrew the U.S. from Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.

Trump has encouraged the protests — even as he has long embraced other autocrats who smother dissent. His administration hopes that the demonstrations, along with crippling U.S. sanctions, will bring about fundamental change in a longtime adversary.

But large numbers of Iranians still support the clerically led government, as seen by the massive turnout for the funeral of Gen. Qassem Suleimani, Iran’s top general, who was killed in a U.S. airstrike in Baghdad. Even many critics of the government saw him as a war hero who had helped defeat Islamic State and resisted Western hegemony in the Middle East.

Iran’s security forces have shown in the past that they will use deadly force against anyone threatening the Islamic Republic, most recently in November, when rights groups say hundreds of people were killed in demonstrations sparked by a hike in gasoline prices.

Here is a look at past protests in Iran, and how its theocracy prevailed.

The Islamic Revolution

The 1979 Islamic Revolution began with broad-based mass protests that eventually forced the Western-backed monarchy from power. But in the resulting chaos, hard-line followers of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini quickly moved to sideline left-wing and moderate opposition groups, forcing many Iranians into prison or exile and establishing a firm foundation for clerical rule. Iran also suppressed a rebellion from among its Kurdish minority in a yearslong military campaign. In 1988, at the close of the disastrous Iran-Iraq war, Iran is believed to have executed thousands of political prisoners, something authorities have yet to publicly acknowledge.

A student uprising

The closure of a reformist newspaper in 1999 ignited a week of student protests. On July 9, security forces and hard-line vigilantes stormed a student dormitory at Tehran University. At least three people were killed and 1,200 were arrested in the unrest, which spread to other cities. The protests unfolded amid a power struggle between President Mohammad Khatami, a popular reformist, and hard-liners who dominate the Revolutionary Guard and the security apparatus. The hard-liners eventually prevailed, and the resulting crackdown set back reform efforts for a decade.

The green movement

The largest and most sustained protests since the Islamic Revolution erupted in the summer of 2009, after the reformist opposition disputed the reelection of hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Millions of Iranians took part in months of protests in several major cities. Green movement leaders did not call for the overthrow of the system, but for the reversal of the allegedly rigged election, greater social freedoms and the reining in of the security forces.

Authorities nevertheless responded with a massive crackdown. The Revolutionary Guard and its volunteer force, the Basij militia, opened fire on protesters and launched a wave of arrests. Opposition leaders were placed under house arrest and silenced in the largely state-run media.

President Obama came under criticism for not offering a full-throated endorsement of the protests. But it’s unclear if that would have made a difference, and it might have fed into hard-liners’ allegations that the protests were part of a Western plot.

Economic protests

Since withdrawing from the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers, Trump has imposed “maximum” sanctions on Iran that he says are aimed at countering its nuclear program and its support for armed groups across the region. The sanctions, including those targeting the vital oil industry, have eviscerated Iran’s economy, wiping away many people’s life savings and fueling high unemployment.

In the 18 months since the U.S. began restoring sanctions, Iran has seen waves of sporadic, leaderless protests initially focused on economic grievances and perceived corruption among the clerical elite and the Revolutionary Guard. Each time, the protests rapidly escalated into chants against Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and calls for the end of clerical rule.

The protests have often turned violent and security forces have responded with deadly force. In the most recent and deadly wave of protests, in November, authorities shut down access to the internet for several days, making it difficult to discern the scale of the protests and the resulting crackdown.

Amnesty International estimates that more than 300 people were killed.

Formula 1’s chief technical officer Pat Symonds says that the best way forward for the sport’s future engine development might lie in two-stroke engines.

That’s the same sort of engine used in outboard motors and for small bikes and lawnmowers.

Adopting such technology for motorsport’s premier class would not be without controversy, but Symonds is adamant that it’s a direction worth considering.

“We need to look at what our future power units will look like,” Symonds told an energy efficiency conference at the Motorsport Industry Association this week.

• Symonds admits tweaking aero regs for 2019 was wrong move

“At F1 this is what we are engaged in at the moment. I’m very keen on it being a two-stroke,” he is quoted as saying by Motorsport Magazine.

“Much more efficient, great sound from the exhaust, and a lot of the problems with the old two-strokes are just not relevant any more,” he continued.

“The opposed piston engine is very much coming back, and already in road car form at around 50 per cent efficiency.

“Direct injection, pressure charging, and new ignition systems have all allowed new forms of two-stroke engines to be very efficient and very emission-friendly,” he added. “I think there’s a good future for them.”

With Formula 1 still utilising petrol-driven internal combustion engines as part of a hybrid power unit, it’s the all-electric Formula E championship that has been flying the flag for clean and efficient energy in motorsport in recent years.

But Symonds says that even by retaining combustion engines, F1 could still capture the ‘green crown’ in coming seasons with its focus on synthetic eco-fuels that combine carbon harvested from the air with hydrogen.

“There’s nothing wrong with electric vehicles, but there are reasons why they are not the solution for everyone,” he said.

“The internal combustion engine has a long future,” he added. “A future that’s longer than a lot of politicians realise, because politicians are hanging everything on electric vehicles.

“I think there’s a very high chance that there might still be an internal combustion engine,” he insisted. “But maybe it’s running on hydrogen.”

Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Click Here: Samon Rugby Shop

The Gunners may have only picked up one league win from the Spaniard’s four games in charge, but it is clear they are a team on the rise

After a week away to allow for FA Cup action, the Premier League returned this weekend with a number of eye-catching results.

Manchester City were the big winners, seeing off Aston Villa in style with a 6-1 win on Sunday, though their title hopes remain slim after Liverpool beat Tottenham to maintain their superb start to the campaign.

Elsewhere Arsenal were held by Crystal Palace while Chelsea and Manchester United recorded morale-boosting home wins.

But what were the main tactical takeaways?  Goal  breaks them down right here…

1) Arsenal improvement testament to Arteta’s coaching

Arsenal’s performance against Crystal Palace was far from perfect, and as in every other match under Mikel Arteta so far they were coherent only in short bursts.

Nevertheless a fluent opening 30 minutes offers encouragement, particularly given Arsenal’s moves in this period appeared to be automations; moves practiced repeatedly in training so they become instinctive on match days, as opposed to improvisational.

The Gunners’ opener was created with a speed that suggested the goal had been scored multiple times in training. Mesut Ozil received the pass and instantly flicked it on to Alexandre Lacazette, knowing the Frenchman would have dropped into the space.

Lacazette then poked the ball through for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who had already begun to make the diagonal run before Ozil had received possession.

IMAGE: Arsenal’s build-up to Aubameyang goal

Another particularly noteworthy moment saw Sead Kolasinac – usually a hesitant player without much vision – dribble into the centre and play a blind pass into the left channel, only to find nobody was there to receive it.

Instead of his team-mates questioning Kolasinac’s logic, Aubameyang apologised for not being there. Arsenal, it would seem, are being taught precisely where to play the ball and how to move.

Palace were too passive in this period, and indeed greatly improved once they moved their defensive line 20 yards up the pitch and began to get tight to the Arsenal midfielders. At this point Lucas Torreira and Granit Xhaka began to panic and Palace grew into the game.

Arteta’s side remain brittle. The best way to interrupt their emerging automations is to press hard and refuse to concede territory.

2) Mourinho offers hope to Spurs fans despite defeat

Though Liverpool ultimately ran out deserved 1-0 winners on Saturday, there were plenty of positives for Tottenham fans wondering if Jose Mourinho still has the tactical acumen to manage at the highest level.

His initial setup was largely successful, while his substitutions and subsequent late rally helped define a direction for the remainder of the season.

Nominally a 4-2-3-1, Tottenham’s system was lopsided with Serge Aurier playing in a deep right midfield position and Son Heung-min high on the left. That meant that for long stretches when Liverpool had the ball, Spurs could either sit in a flat 4-4-1-1, with Dele Alli behind Lucas Moura, or in a 5-4-1 with Aurier dropping alongside Japhet Tanganga.

This hybrid formation helped keep the Liverpool full-backs relatively quiet, as Aurier could get tight to Andrew Robertson on one side, or if the ball was switched help form a stronger flat back five.

IMAGE: Aurier touches vs Liverpool

Tanganga and Danny Rose were instructed to stay back at all times, and though Alli, Son and Lucas struggled to break, that was more to do with Christian Eriksen’s poor performance than the tactics not working. It was certainly complex enough to give fans hope that Mourinho has what it takes.

For the final 20 minutes Mourinho switched to an attacking 4-3-3 as Giovani Lo Celso dramatically increased the tempo of Spurs’ play, in turn inspiring a now-deeper Alli and Harry Winks to play assertive vertical passes into the wide areas.

This second system – hopefully – taught Mourinho that Lo Celso needs be starting games, and that Eriksen’s time at the club is over.

3) Villa’s makeshift forwards allow Man City to run riot

Despite being mauled 6-1 at Villa Park on Sunday evening, Aston Villa’s defeat to Manchester City was not necessarily destined to be so one-sided.

Villa actually started brightly and looked set to have a good go at it, only to fall apart following Riyad Mahrez’s opener. Much of the blame has been understandably laid on new signing Danny Drinkwater, who made a litany of errors, but the seeds of Villa’s defeat were sewn much higher up the pitch.

At the top of a 3-5-2, Anwar El-Ghazi and Jack Grealish did not work hard enough defensively. They drifted in the early stages rather than cut off the passing lanes into the City midfield. Consequently Rodri could easily receive the ball, turn, and feed one of the more creative City players without a Villa body anywhere near him.

The Spaniard dictated the early tempo, forcing the Villa line deeper and deeper until they were backing off Mahrez as he shot into the corner of the net.

For deep-lying tactics to work, the forwards have to set the pace by man-marking the opposition metronome. Grealish and El Ghazi allowed Man City to have it all their own way.

4) Ancelotti’s new system allows Everton forwards to flourish

Carlo Ancelotti unveiled a new formation on Saturday and it just about worked, with Everton narrowly beating Brighton courtesy of a moment of brilliance from Richarlison.

They lined up in a narrow 4-2-2-2, with Theo Walcott and Bernard drifting off the wing and into central attacking midfield positions when Everton were in possession, mimicking the system Graham Potter regularly deploys.

Arriving late into the No.10 space gave Everton an element of surprise, and on several occasions at Goodison Park, Bernard created chances by receiving passes behind the Brighton midfield.

He had a big hand in the goal, too, picking up a short pass from Richarlison and feeding Lucas Digne to cross for the Brazil international to score.

Here was the perfect example of what Ancelotti is trying to do in the early days of his Everton tenure; compress a high number of creative players into similar central spaces. Richarlison dropped off the front line to join Gylfi Sigurdsson, Bernard, and Walcott, overloading the most fertile space on the pitch.

Brighton did not have the numbers in midfield to cope with Richarlison and Bernard as they counterattacked together for the winning goal.

5) Watford’s flying wingers key to Pearson bounce

The most important tactical change made by Nigel Pearson since taking over at Watford has been to simplify the game-plan, focusing on quick attacks down the two flanks with Gerard Deulofeu and Ismaili Sarr tasked with running straight at the opposition full-backs.

This was always likely to work against confidence-stricken Bournemouth, whose narrow 4-4-2 always leaves too much space out wide.

Eddie Howe made things worse for himself on Sunday by oddly allowing Nathan Ake to overlap on the left, rather than conservatively keep an eye on Sarr. There were several warning signs before the Hornets’ club-record signing eventually created the opener, latching onto Mark Travers’ kick ahead of Ake because the Bournemouth left-back was already moving forward.

In the second half Ake lost track of Sarr as he sprinted clear to set up Troy Deeney’s goal, and then Ricardo Pereyra scored following an attack down Bournemouth’s left with Ake caught well ahead of the play. Ake – a transfer target for Chelsea this month – cost the hosts this match with poor positional play.

From a Watford perspective, Pearson deserves credit for giving Abdoulaye Doucoure a new role in attacking midfield, from which the Frenchman’s strength and composure in the final third give Watford’s wingers a focal point to bounce off. He was instrumental in this match, popping up in the box to score the crucial opener.

Très critiquée durant sa deuxième grossesse pour avoir pris trop de poids, Kim Kardashian dévoile à présent son corps sous toutes les coutures. Chacune de ses apparitions laisse toujours entrevoir une partie de son anatomie et fait le buzz sur la Toile.

Obsédée par son physique, madame Kanye West a mis un point d’honneur à perdre le plus rapidement possible les kilos pris lorsqu’elle était enceinte de son deuxième enfant. Pour y parvenir elle a employé les grands moyens : régime ultrasévère (d’aucuns affirment qu’elle aurait suivi le Atkins) et chirurgie esthétique. Huit mois après la naissance du petit Saint, et délestée de 15 kg, on peut dire qu’elle a gagné son pari. Et pour être certaine que tout le monde s’en rende bien compte, elle n’hésite pas à se montrer dès qu’elle le peut dans des tenues ultrasexy : de la robe transparente à celle ajourée, du soutien-gorge apparent au décolleté vertigineux, de la jupe ultrafendue moulant ses fesses rebondies, tout y passe…

Voici un tour d’horizon en images de quelques-uns de ses looks qui oscillent entre le sexy et le vulgaire…