In danger of losing Antonio Conte's trust after a disappointing start to the season, Willian may have forced his way back into his manager's plans with a dynamic display in Chelsea's Uefa Champions League rout of Qarabag.
When Willian boarded the Chelsea plane for their flight to Azerbaijan this week, the Brazil winger travelled with more baggage than most.
On the periphery of Conte's side after struggling to shake off his recent malaise, Willian provided a timely reminder of his talents as he scored twice and won two penalties in Chelsea's 4-0 victory on Wednesday.
"I'm happy to score two goals. We need all the players to be ready for all games. We have to rest and try to win more games," Willian said.
_________________________________________
Read more:
_________________________________________
Willian's spotlight-stealing performance in his 200th Chelsea appearance could also be a boon to his hopes of holding down a starting berth for Brazil.
With the World Cup in Russia looming next year, Willian, who captained his country in a recent friendly against Japan, is battling with Liverpool's Philippe Coutinho for the role of Neymar's foil.
Whether his return to prominence against minnows Qarabag, who played 69 minutes with 10 men, is enough to win over Conte and earn a place in the team for a crucial Premier League trip to Liverpool on Saturday remains to be seen.
Willian's problems started around the time of his mother's death last year and although he scored 12 goals to help Chelsea win the Premier League and reach the FA Cup final, by the end of the season he had lost his place to Spanish winger Pedro.
When Willian remained inconsistent this season, Conte - faced with the Brazilian's struggles and Chelsea's unexpected defensive vulnerabilities - reacted by tweaking his formation.
Instead of the 3-4-3 tactics that helped Chelsea win the title, Conte now favours a 3-5-2 system, deploying three central midfielders and relying on his wing-backs to provide width instead of the more offensively minded Willian and Pedro.
As a result, Willian has been limited to only 10 starts, amounting to half of Chelsea's fixtures this season, with just six in the Premier League.
Before his double in Baku, Willian had scored only once and provided just two assists in 18 appearances for Chelsea this season, a dip in productivity that has led to long spells on the bench.
His mind seemed elsewhere as speculation mounted about a potential January move to Italian giants AC Milan or Premier League rival Manchester United.
Even after his man-of-the-match effort on Wednesday, Willian was warned he cannot take anything for granted.
Both Willian and Pedro were impressive against Qarabag, but Chelsea captain Gary Cahill said Conte's tactics and desire to rotate his squad mean neither player is assured of a sustained return to prominence.
"The squad is going to be vital and the manager is clearly going to rotate with the fixture pile-up we've got all the way up to January-February time," Cahill told the Evening Standard.
"The manager has changed formation a couple of times. Obviously with that (3-4-3) system, they are two of the best wide players I have played with. It allows them to go and express themselves."
PROFILE OF INVYGO
Started: 2018
Founders: Eslam Hussein and Pulkit Ganjoo
Based: Dubai
Sector: Transport
Size: 9 employees
Investment: $1,275,000
Investors: Class 5 Global, Equitrust, Gulf Islamic Investments, Kairos K50 and William Zeqiri
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
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.
About RuPay
A homegrown card payment scheme launched by the National Payments Corporation of India and backed by the Reserve Bank of India, the country’s central bank
RuPay process payments between banks and merchants for purchases made with credit or debit cards
It has grown rapidly in India and competes with global payment network firms like MasterCard and Visa.
In India, it can be used at ATMs, for online payments and variations of the card can be used to pay for bus, metro charges, road toll payments
The name blends two words rupee and payment
Some advantages of the network include lower processing fees and transaction costs
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Founders: Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Albabtain.
Based: Riyadh
Offices: UAE, Vietnam and Germany
Founded: September, 2020
Number of employees: 70
Sector: FinTech, online payment solutions
Funding to date: $116m in two funding rounds
Investors: Checkout.com, Impact46, Vision Ventures, Wealth Well, Seedra, Khwarizmi, Hala Ventures, Nama Ventures and family offices
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Results
%3Cp%3E%0D%3Cstrong%3EElite%20men%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E1.%20Amare%20Hailemichael%20Samson%20(ERI)%202%3A07%3A10%0D%3Cbr%3E2.%20Leornard%20Barsoton%20(KEN)%202%3A09%3A37%0D%3Cbr%3E3.%20Ilham%20Ozbilan%20(TUR)%202%3A10%3A16%0D%3Cbr%3E4.%20Gideon%20Chepkonga%20(KEN)%202%3A11%3A17%0D%3Cbr%3E5.%20Isaac%20Timoi%20(KEN)%202%3A11%3A34%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EElite%20women%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E1.%20Brigid%20Kosgei%20(KEN)%202%3A19%3A15%0D%3Cbr%3E2.%20Hawi%20Feysa%20Gejia%20(ETH)%202%3A24%3A03%0D%3Cbr%3E3.%20Sintayehu%20Dessi%20(ETH)%202%3A25%3A36%0D%3Cbr%3E4.%20Aurelia%20Kiptui%20(KEN)%202%3A28%3A59%0D%3Cbr%3E5.%20Emily%20Kipchumba%20(KEN)%202%3A29%3A52%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The Sky Is Pink
Director: Shonali Bose
Cast: Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Farhan Akhtar, Zaira Wasim, Rohit Saraf
Three stars
More from Neighbourhood Watch
