LONDON // Scorer of the goal that won Chelsea the title, Michy Batshuayi will hope to make his first Premier League start for the club in Monday’s home game with Watford.
The Belgium striker came off the bench to score the decisive goal in Friday's 1-0 win at West Bromwich Albion, which confirmed Chelsea as champions.
Batshuayi is yet to start a league game since arriving from Marseille last year, but could be given a run-out if, as expected, manager Antonio Conte elects to shuffle his pack.
“I’m delighted for Michy,” said centre-back Gary Cahill following victory at The Hawthorns. “He hasn’t played as much football as he would want, but to score the winner is great for him.
“We’ve been together as a group all season – that’s what got us to where we are.”
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Read more
■ Report: Chelsea clinch Premier League title against West Brom
■ Richard Jolly: Chelsea's season turned when Antonio Conte turned to Marcos Alonso
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Chelsea’s failure to qualify for European competition this season, coupled with a remarkably good injury record, means Conte has had to make very few adjustments to his starting XI during the campaign.
Cesc Fabregas and Willian have both been in and out of the team, but Chelsea’s other reserve players have become very well acquainted with the seats in the Stamford Bridge dug-out.
Batshuayi is not alone in having had to wait for playing opportunities, with Kurt Zouma, club captain John Terry and Nathan Ake, who returned from a loan spell at Bournemouth in January, all in the same boat.
Terry, Chelsea’s emblematic captain, will end his 22-year association with the club at the end of the season and seems certain to start at least one of their final two games.
Despite Chelsea having sealed the title, Terry will not get an opportunity to lift the trophy until after the final home game of the campaign against relegated Sunderland next Sunday.
Youth-team graduates Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Nathaniel Chalobah will also hope to make their first league starts of the campaign in Chelsea’s last two fixtures.
But with an FA Cup final against Arsenal awaiting on May 27, David Luiz says it is vital Chelsea do not allow themselves to take their foot off the pedal.
“There’s still some work to do, not just in the final. There are still two league games to go, so let’s rest a bit and prepare ourselves,” said the Brazilian centre-back.
“If I say I’m not thinking about winning the double, I am a liar! Of course we think about this.
“But we need to think day by day, rest well, keep ourselves very good in these next two games to have a top performance against Arsenal.
“It will be a difficult game against a fantastic team, so we need to be at a high level.”
Watford, 15th, are not yet mathematically safe from relegation, although it will take a minor miracle for them to be caught by third-bottom Hull City.
Following Friday’s 1-0 defeat at Everton, Walter Mazzarri’s side have lost their last six away games without scoring.
Stefano Okaka knows his side will be up against it at a partying Stamford Bridge, but he is hopeful his side can exploit any groggy heads in the Chelsea ranks.
“Football is like this. Sometimes you score a lot, sometimes you don’t,” said the Italian striker.
“In these six games we created some chances. Sometimes we play well, but concede a goal and then it’s difficult to get back in the game.
“I hope we can do something good in the next game. It’ll be a difficult game against Chelsea. I’m not a stupid guy.
“I can’t say we’re going to go to Chelsea and win 3-0 or 4-0. But we will go there and fight.”
Fixtures (all times UAE)
Monday
■ Chelsea v Watford, 10pm
Tuesday
■ Arsenal v Sunderland, 9.45pm
■ Manchester City v West Bromwich Albion, 10pm
Wednesday
■ Southampton v Manchester Unitedd, 9.45pm
Thursday
■ Leicester City v Tottenham Hotspur, 9.45pm
* Agence France-Presse
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
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Company%20Profile
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The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre 6-cyl turbo
Power: 374hp at 5,500-6,500rpm
Torque: 500Nm from 1,900-5,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.5L/100km
Price: from Dh285,000
On sale: from January 2022
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Profile of Whizkey
Date founded: 04 November 2017
Founders: Abdulaziz AlBlooshi and Harsh Hirani
Based: Dubai, UAE
Number of employees: 10
Sector: AI, software
Cashflow: Dh2.5 Million
Funding stage: Series A
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 194hp at 5,600rpm
Torque: 275Nm from 2,000-4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Price: from Dh155,000
On sale: now
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
Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
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.
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
