Enzo Maresca has backed Manchester City to bounce back into Premier League title contention and said it is “just reality” that Chelsea are not in the hunt themselves. Maresca’s Blues host Fulham on Boxing Day lying second in the table, and are only four points adrift of leaders Liverpool, having played one match more. City have won the league for the past four seasons but they have been cast 12 points adrift of the summit following a miserable run which has seen them lose nine times in their previous 12 outings. This is the story of Enzo Maresca's @ChelseaFC 's revolution 📘 pic.twitter.com/uVNLYptsPh — Premier League (@premierleague) December 24, 2024 However, Maresca, who worked alongside Pep Guardiola at the Etihad, said: “Manchester City at the end will be there. They are in a moment that has never happened before. “Every time they play a game, they have an injury, and they don’t have enough players in this moment. And the ones they have are not 100 per cent because they have just come back from injury, so it is a very bad situation. “We are ahead of our expectations, in terms of the way we are playing, and the points we have, but the main focus is how we can improve the players and how we can improve the team.” Maresca, who has continually played down his side’s aspirations for glory, added: “It is not about the (title) pressure for the players or for the club or for me, it is just the reality. “I would like to have that kind of pressure and hopefully soon we can, but the reason why I said we are not there yet, is because the reality is that we are not.” Liverpool are ready to capitalise on City’s demise, while Arsenal, who are six points off top spot, are set to be without star man Bukayo Saka for a sustained period after he suffered a hamstring tear. Asked if it was Liverpool’s title to lose, Maresca said: “No, the reality says we are second at the halfway point, so the table does reflect the teams. “But Liverpool have done a fantastic job since the first day, and the squad has lived that kind of moment, winning a trophy, which is important. “Last year, when Liverpool faced Chelsea in the Carabao Cup final I saw the amount of finals that Liverpool players had played in, and the number of finals Chelsea players had played in, and there was a huge difference. So it shows the experience you need, but we are happy to be where we are.” Chelsea will continue to be without winger Mykhailo Mudryk after he returned a positive drugs test. The 23-year-old Ukrainian, who has not played for a month, was spotted ringside for compatriot Oleksandr Usyk’s heavyweight title victory over Tyson Fury in Saudi Arabia at the weekend. “In this moment it is good that he can disconnect a little bit from the situation,” said Maresca. “The last time I spoke with him, we try to support him, and now we are just waiting.”England captain Stokes to miss three months with torn hamstring LONDON: England Test captain Ben Stokes faces at least three months out after tearing his left hamstring during the tour of New Zealand, team management announced on Monday. The 33-year-old all-rounder had already been ruled out of next year ́s Champions Trophy one-day international tournament in Pakistan and the preceding white-ball tour of India. Further assessments have since revealed the full extent of the injury, with Stokes set to undergo surgery in January, said an England and Wales Cricket Board statement. Stokes suffered the injury while bowling during the third Test against New Zealand in Hamilton last week. Stokes did not bat in the second innings of that match as England slumped to a 423-run defeat -- a result that meant his side still won a three-match series 2-1. “Something else to overcome...go on then!!!!!!!! I ́ve got so much more left in this tank and so much more blood, sweat and tears to go through for my team and this shirt,” Stokes wrote on social media. “There ́s a reason I have a Phoenix permanently inked on my body.” Stokes previously missed this year ́s home series against Sri Lanka and the first Test in Pakistan after tearing the hamstring on the same left leg in August. England ́s next Test is at home to Zimbabwe in May. They will then host a five-match Test series against India starting in June before their pinnacle 2025/26 Ashes tour of Australia.
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MAHOMET — Minutes before she and two family members were fatally shot Wednesday night, a Mahomet woman described the man thought to be the killer in a social-media post. On am X (formerly Twitter) account where she shared occasional selfies, life updates and memes, Sara Mason, 26, posted about a man in a motorcycle helmet being outside her home the night of Wednesday, Dec. 18, less than 20 minutes before police were called to the scene. "Trying not to be scared suburban white woman about the dude waiting outside of my house for a .... While now? Wanting to speak to my brother while wearing a motorcycle helmet (drive in a car)," she posted at 9:22 p.m. Within a minute, she added, "He like left but will probably be back. Anyway." Mahomet police were called at 9:41 p.m. to the residence on Riverside Court, where they discovered Mason, who was pronounced dead at the scene; and her mother, 61-year-old Janis Mason, and brother, 23-year-old Caleb Mason, who both died a little later after being taken to Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana. It does not appear that Sara Mason recognized John R. Lyons, 24, the man police suspect in the triple homicide. Lyons fled to suburban Chicago, where he was killed in a confrontation with police in Berwyn. Champaign County court records indicate that in June, Lyons filed a lawsuit alleging Caleb Mason had harmed him in some way and requesting compensation in an amount between $15,000 and $50,000. Mahomet police Chief Mike Metzler said Lyons knew one of the victims. Police reports thus far have not included details about whether Lyons was wearing a motorcycle helmet. However, on Thursday, Dec. 19, far-right political pundit and streamer Nicholas Fuentes posted that an armed individual who arrived at his house late Wednesday night wearing a motorcycle helmet had "committed a triple homicide in southern Illinois." "Last night an armed killer made an attempt on my life at my home, which was recently doxed on this platform," Fuentes wrote. He said the killer broke into his neighbor's home in Berwyn, where police said Lyons broke in and killed two dogs while attempting to evade arrest. Fuentes posted multiple clips of footage from Ring security cameras that show a man in brown pants, a blue coat and a white motorcycle helmet who is carrying a firearm and crossbow. In the footage, the man gets out of a car while wearing a motorcycle helmet and appears to ring the doorbell and knock on the front door, then attempt to gain access through multiple entry points. The only audio in any of the clips is while the man is at the front door and apparently says "Yo, Nick." Timestamps on footage Fuentes posted indicate the events around his home in Berwyn beginning at 11:29 p.m., about one hour and 50 minutes after police were called to the home in Mahomet. About 10 minutes later, at 11:38 p.m., Berwyn police responded to a report of a man with a gun. "It is to the freedom of the people of Illinois that we are addressing this law," Gov. J.B. Pritzker said May 10, referring to the state's semiautomatic weapons ban, "their freedom to be at the Highland Park parade without getting shot and killed." Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email.
Pep Guardiola causes controversy with explanation on cuts on his face and head after Man City draw with FeyenoordThe City of Ottawa won't be creating a pot of money to buy at-risk affordable housing any time soon, citing the danger of losing federal and provincial funding by shifting away from construction. College ward Coun. Laine Johnson led the charge for an acquisition fund at Wednesday's planning and housing committee meeting, but failed to convince enough of her colleagues to vote alongside her. "What I've been disappointed with is the idea that we have to put new construction essentially in competition with acquisition," Johnson told CBC after the vote. Her motion would have seen half of any money the city gets from the vacant unit tax — beyond what's forecast in the budget — go toward preserving existing affordable housing stock. It failed by a vote of eight to four, with only councillors Riley Brockington, Ariel Troster and committee chair Jeff Leiper supporting Johnson's bid. City says it can't meet affordable housing targets without more help Councillor pushing for anti-renoviction bylaw in Ottawa What is an acquisitions fund? Debbie Stewart, the city's general manager of strategic initiatives, wrote to the committee ahead of the meeting to lay out her staff's concerns. An acquisition fund is a "dedicated pool of capital" that can either fund a direct purchase, or finance a low-cost loan or grant to housing providers, she wrote. Similar funds exist in Toronto and several provinces. $500M fund to protect, expand affordable housing in B.C. attracts dozens of applications Montreal non-profits are buying up apartments to keep rents low While Stewart said the funds can strengthen the community housing sector, she cautioned that market competition for units in high-demand areas can jack up the purchase price. Older units also come with high repair costs, she said. But the main concern surrounds the structure of Ottawa's housing strategy, which relies on the federal Housing Accelerator Fund and provincial Building Faster Fund. Debbie Stewart, the city's general manager of strategic initiatives, said staff can't support a new fund to buy affordable housing. (Francis Ferland/CBC) Putting funding at risk Both funds require Ottawa to meet ambitious building targets. "We really need to direct city funds into achieving those goals," Stewart told CBC, noting that the funds leave little room for negotiation. Cyril Rogers, the city's chief financial officer, agrees the focus has to be on construction. "I think that's what we should be focused on in the next two or three years. Any nickel or dime that we take away from that process will impact that plan," he told councillors. Ottawa to get $176M from federal housing fund Ottawa gets $37.5M from province's housing fund Waiting would also allow the city to see how the federal government develops its own acquisitions fund. The $1.5-billion Canada Rental Protection Fund would leverage "philanthropic investing" to "help non-profits, co-ops and other community housing providers," the office of the minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities told CBC in a written statement. A spokesperson said there should be more details on the fund's design and rollout "in the coming months." Several councillors worry that relying on outside money is risky, however. "If we're waiting for the federal government, who knows what federal government we will have," said Capital ward Coun. Shawn Menard, who is not on the committee. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has already said he would dissolve the Housing Accelerator Fund if elected prime minister. At least 17 Conservative MPs advocated for money from a housing program Poilievre vows to cut Conservative MPs frustrated after Poilievre bars them from promoting housing fund: sources Concerns over political uncertainty Johnson said the current plans show a "lack of creativity." She likened the city's current housing plans to a "leaky rowboat," where staff focus on years-long construction projects while overlooking the continued loss of affordable units — and she's worried things will get worse. "If we can't afford steel or lumber coming from the [United States] under new tariffs, if we can't afford land around transit ... acquisition becomes even more important," said Johnson. Meg McCallum is the interim executive director of Alliance to End Homelessness Ottawa. (Francis Ferland/CBC) Several advocates have attempted to rally councillors around an acquisition fund, including Alliance to End Homelessness Ottawa. "When we lose those units, we're not replacing them at a pace that keeps up with what's needed," said Meg McCallum, interim executive director of the non-profit coalition. "Let's just not lose what we already have." Pilots ongoing Stewart said Wednesday's decision doesn't mean the city will never create an acquisitions fund, nor that non-profits with plans to purchase a property can't get help now. She pointed to the Ottawa Community Land Trust (OCLT), which advocated for the fund. The Ottawa Community Land Trust purchased this Kirkwood Avenue building in late 2023 and has been paying off the $1.7-million cost through a variety of sources. (Mathieu Deroy/CBC) It has so far purchased two properties by leveraging donations, bonds and municipal funding, and told councillors earlier this month that it was already looking for its third and fourth properties. "We do believe this represents a new way of working," said Mike Bulthuis, the group's executive director. "Our hope ... is that public funds might support a diversity of approaches." Staff are still "monitoring the viability" of the model, Stewart wrote to councillors, noting that the city filled a "financial shortfall" after revenues failed to meet expectations. That was before OCLT raised $1.7 million through its community bond campaign.