A quarter of the way into this Premier League season, Chelsea have unwillingly advanced the concept of the "bad patch". From their lofty perch of the last decade, they have witnessed plenty of minor wobbles and stumbles. It became more than a mere "blip" -- universally understood to be an anomaly of form that last no longer than three or four games -- when Crystal Palace snatched three points from Stamford Bridge at the end of August. After the blip comes the indeterminate period of the "crisis" -- a term that has long lost its significance in the Premier League era -- but crises are rarely terminal, and a corner is usually turned. So how can we describe Chelsea's dismal 2015/16? From the platform of a comprehensive (if not hugely memorable) title-winning year, they have delivered the capitulation to end all capitulations. Having redefined the art of winning in his first spell as manager, Jose Mourinho has now overseen a painful exhibition in h...
The man thought to have been the ringleader of the Paris terror attacks returned to the Bataclan concert hall while police were still there, the city's prosecutor has said. Francois Molins said phone records showed that Abdelhamid Abaaoud went back to the theatre, where 89 people were shot dead on 13 November, as an operation to free hostages was ongoing. Attacks also took place at the Stade de France and a series of bars, restaurants and cafes across the French capital as part of the co-ordinated massacre. Mr Molins said Abaaoud, the Belgian suspected of being behind the attacks, had been traced to the metro after the attack at the Bataclan but had returned to the area shortly afterwards. He added: "The geolocalisation of Abdelhamid Abaaoud's alleged phone between 22.28pm and 12.28am confirms a presence in the 12th, 11th, and 10th districts, and notably near the Bataclan concert hall. This allows us to think that Abaaoud returns to the crime scenes following t...
The Portuguese was named along with Lionel Messi and the Brazil forward in the final three to win the prestigious prize, but Luis Suarez can consider himself unlucky to miss out. " Lionel Messi and I are here in Zurich every year," said Cristiano Ronaldo at the 2015 Ballon d'Or ceremony. And the world's two most famous footballers will be back in Switzerland again to dispute the individual award next January. This time, however, the Portuguese is very fortunate to be named among the final three contenders. The shortlist of three was revealed on Monday and Ronaldo was included alongside heavy favourite Messi and his team-mate Neymar, the Brazilian saying on the eve of the announcement that he believed Barcelona should complete a clean sweep after last season's treble triumph. "I think I do deserve to be [among the finalists] for what I'm doing," he said. "I would be happy if the trident [Messi, Suarez, Neymar] were all in the th...
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