Chelsea embarrassed by an inspired Bradford City in the FA Cup

LONDON -- Three thoughts from Chelsea's embarrassing 4-2 defeat to League One side Bradford City at Stamford Bridge in the FA Cup fourth round Saturday.

Chelsea

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1. Bradford shock sorry Chelsea

Jose Mourinho said he would be in disgrace if he lost this tie. Such a fate now awaits him. "I am ashamed," he admitted straight afterwards, also affirming that this was the worst defeat of his managerial career with a simple "yes" when the question was asked.

Two goals clear, then 3-2 down, then 4-2. Bradford made Chelsea's chase of trophies on four fronts become three. It was surely the most embarrassing result for Mourinho in his association with Chelsea.

Amid the plaudits to fully deserving Bradford, there is the concern that Chelsea are vulnerable. Mourinho fielded a second string, and disgrace was the price of his tinkering.

What looked a cruise became clueless as a League One team carved great holes in a Chelsea defence that is becoming a sincere weakness. As at Tottenham on Jan. 1 where the side lost 5-3, and Liverpool last week in a 1-1 Capital One Cup first-leg draw, it folded.

Mourinho attempted to gain off-form centre-back Gary Cahill confidence by playing against opponents less likely to rip him with raw pace, but this was an even more worrisome showing.

It had all started so well for Cahill. His 21st-minute conversion of an Oscar corner reminded of a famous Gianfranco Zola goal in 2002 against Norwich in this competition. Like Cahill, midfielder Ramires celebrated his goal with noticeable relief. Bradford, though, swiftly scored through Jon Stead.

That produced a frisson of worry that eventually became disaster. Mourinho's arrival on the bench minutes before the second half began was a pertinent image of dissatisfaction. As his team idled further at the beginning of the second half, he became a brooding, muttering presence on the touchline.

Andreas Christensen, a teenage prodigy from Chelsea's much-heralded youth set-up, was given a horrid afternoon at right-back. Filipe Morais, who scored Bradford's second, was once in Christensen's shoes as a junior Blue, even turning down a contract extension offer from Mourinho in 2007. Here was a moment of revenge on a manager whom he says never gave him a chance.

Former Chelsea youth product Filipe Morais got a measure of revenge on one of his former managers in Jose Mourinho, whom the player claims never gave him an opportunity to prove himself.

Youngsters like Nathan Ake and Ruben Loftus-Cheek did not join Christensen. Instead, Mourinho called on big guns in midfielders Cesc Fabregas, Willian and eventually Eden Hazard. The Belgian arrived just before Andy Halliday scored Bradford's third goal. There were eight minutes to play, and seven extra minutes added on. Bradford doubled their lead, sending Chelsea humiliatingly, disgracefully out.

2. Bradford burn brightly

Mourinho had a formula for avoiding upsets at home to smaller clubs. It brought success during his previous tenure in charge. In 2006 and 2007, Huddersfield Town and Macclesfield Town were given a full-on charm offensive before departing defeated. Huddersfield lost 2-1, and bravely, while Macclesfield, down to 10 men, and level for all of 75 seconds, lost 6-1.

Macclesfield's players that day recall how Mourinho clapped them from the field, and then offered further congratulations in the dressing room. Only two weeks ago, Newcastle caretaker boss John Carver was the recipient of a multitude of embraces and platitudes, and smilingly accepted a 2-0 loss.

Bradford, finalists in the League Cup final two years ago, did not play as if they intended to be the latest entrants to the slaughterhouse. They were not nearly so accepting of their fate. Manager Phil Parkinson did not play Mourinho's game.

Bradford City didn't get fazed by their upper-division opponents and dominated heavily favoured Chelsea.

A loud and lusty group of 7,000 fans had travelled from West Yorkshire clad in claret and occupied the entire Shed End of the ground. Premier League Saturdays at the Bridge can often be quiet affairs, but these visitors got the home fires burning, too.

Their team was industrious, and might even have scored before Cahill's goal. Stead's strike was a moment of Bradfordian beauty that stopped Chelsea, two goals up, beginning a cakewalk. Parkinson did not do too much buddying-up to Mourinho. A game face was retained, as he patrolled the sidelines.

When Petr Cech had to dive full length to save an Andrew Davies header, belief burned through the Bradford contingent. They were not overawed, and Davies' chance came from a corner when a Halliday shot had been blocked by a Chelsea defence having to get through more work than expected.

It would be by no means the final hurrah from Bradford. As Parkinson congratulated his players, there was no handshake waiting from Mourinho.

3. Odd men out?

Striker Didier Drogba was made captain for the day and fancied a goal. He has not scored since Chelsea lost at Newcastle on Dec. 6, while Mourinho has been able to get full use of a fit Diego Costa, his starting striker. One first-half effort rolled back the years. Piling down the left flank, he cut inside and ripped an effort that bolted towards goal, only for Bradford goalkeeper Ben Williams to pull off a fine full-length save.

Mohamed Salah, heavily linked with a loan-to-permanent transfer to Roma this week, took his place on Chelsea's wing, where he has been rarely sighted in the near 12 months he has been a Blue. Loic Remy, another man whose duties have been on the fringe, played right of a three-pronged attacking unit, with the Egyptian the other side of Drogba.

At first, Drogba looked to be enjoying himself, but his partners rarely looked comfortable. At one point in the first half, the Ivorian played a through pass that both chased down, and then got in each other's way.

Salah provided the assist when Ramires scored Chelsea's second in the 39th minute, while Remy looked a little frustrated by having to cut in to shoot, and initially looked sharper than Salah. That said, the Frenchman was at fault when Bradford captain Stephen Darby robbed him of the ball to set up an attack down the flank as the visitors built up an early period of momentum in the opening stages.

Andre Schurrle, another whose departure is reported to be part of the equation that will bring Colombian flier Juan Cuadrado to the Bridge, was missing with sickness. He and Salah, eventually subbed off, look like odd men out as Mourinho attempts to reconfigure, while Remy may end up in a similar boat. His performance did not convince, either.

Real Madrid tops football rich list for 10th straight year

Can anybody stop Real Madrid, on the football pitch and off it?

For the 10th year running, European champion Real Madrid is the world's richest club in the annual Football Money League published by accountants Deloitte, with a revenue of $639 million.

Money clearly talks in European football with the combined revenues of the top 20 clubs in the rich list rising by a staggering 14% over the last year to $7 billion.

All of the top five clubs for the 2013-14 financial year saw their revenue surpass the $500-million mark for the first time on a list dominated by the English Premier League, home to five of this year's top 10 and eight of the 20-strong list.

As a result of the latest Premier League broadcast rights deal, all of its teams have made it into the world's top 40 highest-earning clubs.

This year is the 18th running of Deloitte's Money League, which has been dominated by Real for a decade, although Manchester United catapulted past both Barcelona ($563.5 million) and Bayern Munich ($566.8 million) to move into second place with revenues of $602.3 million, a hike in revenue of some $110 million.

'Remarkable growth'

United has been below par on the pitch in recent times, under former manager David Moyes and his successor Louis van Gaal, but figures show an 83% growth in commercial revenue over the last three years.

That said, United is expected to slide in next year's Money League having missed out on Champions League revenues in this current season.

Of the clubs on the list only United's "noisy neighbors" Manchester City -- as Alex Ferguson once described them -- enjoyed a greater spike in year-on-year revenue, with a $114 million rise from 2012-13 to cement their place in sixth on the list.

"The growth experienced within the top 20 has been remarkable," said Dan Jones, partner in the Sports Business Group at Deloitte. "Commercial and broadcast revenues are now more important than ever to clubs to enable them to compete financially and put the best talent on the pitch.

"This has led to further dominance from the 'big five' European leagues -- England, Germany, Spain, Italy and France -- this year, with just Turkey'sGalatasaray making it in from outside of those countries.

"Winning the Champions League for an unprecedented 10th time and staying at the top of the Money League made 2013-14 the year of the 'Doble Décima' for Real Madrid.

"The club's continued success on the field is complemented by its financial strength and their accomplishment emphasizes their position as the most successful European club side of all time. However, their commercial supremacy is being challenged by Manchester United among others."

Barcelona's revenue plateaued last year, seeing them drop from second spot behind arch-rival Real to fourth below Manchester United and Bayern.

Paris Saint-Germain completes the top five while Juventus, in 10th, is the only side from Italy's Serie A to make the top 10, with Premier League sides Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool rounding off the top clubs in seventh, eighth and ninth respectively in revenue terms.

Deloitte Football Money League 2014 (2013 revenue figures in brackets)

1: Real Madrid: $639m ($602.7m)

2: Man Utd: $602.3m ($492.3m)

3: Bayern Munich: $566.8m ($500.1m)

4: Barcelona: $563.5m ($560.5m)

5: Paris Saint Germain: $551.5m ($463.2m)

6: Manchester City: $481.9m ($367.2m)

7: Chelsea: $451.1m ($352.4m)

8: Arsenal: $417.9m ($330.2m)

9: Liverpool: $355.8m ($279.5m)

10: Juventus: $325m ($316.4m)

Liverpool affected by missed chances and bad refereeing in Bolton draw

Three observations on Liverpool's 0-0 draw vs. Championship side Bolton in the FA Cup fourth round at Anfield on Saturday afternoon.

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1. Bolton force a rematch at the Reebok Stadium

It wasn't quite a repeat of the FA Cup fourth round's earlier drama on Saturday, but it does at least mean that Liverpool and Bolton will have to go to a replay. There is still the chance of an upset at the Reebok Stadium after this 0-0 draw at Anfield, and Bolton Wanderers and their coach Neil Lennon deserve huge credit for claiming such a result from Liverpool.

In that, the tie can be boiled down to some three simple factors. Bolton's game plan was good, referee Kevin Friend's big decisions were bad and Liverpool's play was that bit uglier than recent games.

Naturally, there are complexities within that. As good as Lennon's tactical set-up was, it was still reliant on excellence from the imperious Adam Bogdan in goal, who pulled off so many exceptional saves. The leap to turn away striker Fabio Borini's second-half effort was especially good.

Bolton's upset also needed Friend to basically bottle a call when Jordan Henderson went down in the box which should have been a penalty. Bolton could have been down to 10 men even before that when already-booked defender Matt Mills appeared to trip attacking midfielder Raheem Sterling on the edge of the area.

At the same time, and even though right-back Javier Manquillo missed such a great chance in the second half, it didn't feel like Liverpool were especially that hard done by or that they really deserved the win.

Yes, they improved in the second half, but Bolton had imposed themselves admirably.

2. Liverpool's struggles against Bolton prove they can't get into stride

If this wasn't a performance that reflects Rodgers's approach as a manager, Liverpool find themselves in a spell that pretty much reflects their season. This was a flatter display after the dynamism of the midweek 1-1 draw with Chelsea, and the deeper consequence beyond having to endure a replay at the Reebok Stadium is that they still can't get into anything like a stride.

There's no consistency or momentum to what Liverpool are doing right now; every positive step immediately seems to be followed by one that throws up a few more questions.

Of course, out of all that, there is one big question: how would their play and their season look if star striker Daniel Sturridge were fit? They badly lack his finishing ability as he's been out since Aug. 31, which is placing such an onus on Sterling.

Even here, although Liverpool weren't quite swarming through and around Bolton in the way they did to Chelsea, they did create the pressure that could really have done with someone more prolific than Borini there to finish. It was often as if they were good enough to get the ball up to a certain area around the Bolton box but just lacked the penetration and decisiveness to do anything thereafter.

It didn't help that Bogdan was having such a good match, but this was still an off day for Liverpool.

3. Lennon continues his history against big teams

Bolton Wanderers continue their surge under new manager Lennon, who joined the club last October and has only three losses out of 17 matches so far, with a performance that recalled some old managerial heroics.

Lennon has a history of successfully bridging the quality gap between superior sides and his own. This is the man that masterminded Celtic's brilliant 2-1 Champions League group stage win over Barcelona in 2012, after all, and it isn't the only game in which he got his team to perform at higher levels.

The most impressive aspect of his approach to such matches is that his sides don't just sit and hope for the best. By contrast, Lennon takes calculated gambles, and Bolton Wanderers were exactly the same here. They were brave enough to defend from the front, and press Liverpool high, while also creating a decent amount of danger especially when striker Eidur Gudjohnsen shot wide from a fine second chance in the 62nd minute. He had much more of an influence on the game than fellow striker Emile Heskey had in his return to Anfield (Heskey played for Liverpool between 2000-04).

The risk was that they endured a few moments of danger of their own, as they left an awful lot of space in behind. That in turn left Bogdan with a lot of work to do, but he pulled off a series of fine saves. His stop on Borini midway through the second half was especially brilliant and he showed superb bravery in a one-on-one with Sterling.

While Bolton obviously didn't set out to just sit back and hope for an upset, it would be wrong to say there weren't huge elements of fortune too.

As mentioned earlier, Manquillo was responsible for an awful miss, and referee Friend responsible for some questionable decisions. Liverpool should have had at least a penalty, which if converted would've broken the deadlock.

Instead, the referee got it wrong, and that may have been responsible for this fine Bolton result. Still, the point remains that Lennon's set-up ensured it came down to such differences.

He, by contrast, got it spot on.

Obama and Modi: Best broments

U.S. President Barack Obama and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi are pals, if you haven't heard.

The pair have "chemistry," according to the White House and Indian officials. They've shared impromptu strolls on the National Mall and, on Sunday, a long meander through a New Delhi rose garden.

Indian weavers are hurriedly piecing together saris as gifts for the first lady. The normally congested Indian capital has been rid of its stray monkeys -- at least in the places Obama might visit. And local television networks are running entire pieces speculating the two leaders might take a selfie.

Here's a highlight reel of social media's favorite Obama and Modi broments so far:

The hug

In case anyone doubted the deep bond between Obama and Modi (and how could they?), Air Force One's arrival on Sunday put any questions to rest.

Breaking with established protocol -- and surprising television commentators on the dozen or so local news broadcasters -- Modi showed up on the tarmac to be the first to greet Obama in India.

And it wasn't just with a handshake. Modi pulled the travel-weary commander in chief for the "bear hug" seen around the world -- though like most unplanned hugs in front of a billion-viewer television audience, it was a little awkward. The two leaders later followed it up with another warm embrace after a joint press conference, stoking rumors of a "bromance."

The stroll

When Modi visited Obama at the White House in September, the visit ended with Obama blowing up his set-in-stone schedule and taking the visiting Prime Minister for a stroll at the Martin Luther King memorial on the National Mall.

The strolling continued in New Delhi.

Obama and Modi, punctuating their bilateral talks, sauntered side by side through the formal gardens at Hyderabad House, a stately 1920s home that now acts as a ceremonial venue. Cameras caught them murmuring away to each other, but reporters could not hear what they said.

After the stroll they sat down for a cup of tea. Modi's camp wasted no time posting a Facebook album of highlights.

The toast

When Obama and Modi last sat down for dinner, at the White House in September, only one of them actually ate. Modi was midway through a religious fast that allowed only warm water.

This time around, solid foods were consumed by all. A readout of lunch showed vegetarian and nonvegetarian menus, each with more than a dozen dishes.

(Even so, Indian celebrity chef Saransh Goila criticized its lack of variety.)

Dinner was an even bigger affair: Held at the presidential palace, the event featured Indian dancers, a receiving line and, of course, a pair of heartfelt toasts.

India and the U.S. share the "natural sense of kinship" their leaders enjoy, Modi said. Obama went with a passage from Walt Whitman's "Passage to India":

"The earth to be spann'd, connected by network, / The people to become brothers and sisters."

"Here, in our time, these words have come to pass," Obama said.

The jokes

The leaders poked fun at each other throughout the day. During a press conference, Obama remarked that Modi was greeted like a "Bollywood star" when he visited New York's Madison Square Garden last year.

Obama also said they compared how much sleep they're getting, prompting polite laughter from the press corps.

"And it turns out that Modi is getting even less sleep than me. But of course that's because he's still new. After you've been doing this for about six years, maybe he'll be able to get an extra hour."

Not everyone was impressed with his answer, however.

And this is just the first day of Obama's historic visit. Stay tuned for highlights from Day Two, which has a parade on the itinerary.

As los Blancos celebrated an individual award, Diego Simeone's side collectively put them to the sword for the fourth time a row - inspired by the club's very own golden boy.

MADRID - It was the perfect motivation. Atletico, still scarred by leaving Monday's Ballon d'Or ceremony in Zurich with zero reward for its astonishing achievements in 2014, watched on as Cristiano Ronaldo presented his Golden Ball to the Bernabeu crowd.

Madrid was in a celebratory mood. Atleti was out to prove a point. Ronaldo was all smiles alongside Puskas prize winner James Rodriguez, Sergio Ramos and Toni Kroos (both included in the FIFPro XI on Monday as Diego Costa and Diego Godin inexplicably missed out). Less than a minute into the game, with fans only just back in their seats after raising a huge gold mosaic in Cristiano's honor, Diego Simeone's side took the lead through Fernando Torres.

"It was hard [on them]," Simeone said afterwards. "There was a big crowd and the choreography was very pretty, but such an early goal marked the rhythm of the match. It wasn't part of the [Madrid] plan."

When Torres left Atletico, he was too good for his boyhood club. When Torres came back, the club was supposedly too good for him. But much like the rest of his teammates and his coach as well, he was out to prove a point in this match - and he did so emphatically.

After his early first, Madrid suddenly needed four and never really recovered. Indeed, after pulling back a goal through Sergio Ramos later in the first half, Carlo Ancelotti's men made the same mistake again in the second period as Torres netted an even quicker goal from the restart. 

To do it once was careless. Twice was unforgivable.

The Ballon d'Or has been a distraction to Madrid's start to 2015, with back-to-back defeats in the build-up to the ceremony and now this latest disappointment. Ronaldo has been off the boil, presumably preoccupied with the individual prize, while the team has failed to find the form that saw it rack up 22 straight wins before Christmas.

For Atleti, meanwhile, this was a golden opportunity to show why it should not have been ignored in Monday's gala. Simeone, who missed out on the Coach of the Year award to Germany's Joachim Low, admitted the club would work harder still to try and change opinions.

"It doesn't depend on us," he said on Wednesday. "So we have to accept things as they are and keep working in search of that acceptance."


That will certainly have formed part of the Argentine's pre-match pep talk. Madrid celebrating the awards right under its rival's noses merely added fuel to the fire right before kickoff.

Torres, once linked with Real, was perhaps the unexpected hero with both his side's strikes at the Bernabeu, but Simeone relishes working with players who have a point to prove. Virtually all of Atleti's side falls into that category but none more than the Spain striker, caught in a seemingly endless downward spiral over the last few seasons.

"When he came through the youth system, he was such a young kid and so much happened," Simeone said of his former teammate after the match. "He left, he grew and now he's a man. The fans are happy and his arrival is helping us - even if many doubted."

Torres has also returned to a team transformed. Prior to Simeone's arrival as coach, Atleti had not beaten Real since 1999 - and that included all of Fernando's first spell at the Vicente Calderon between 2000 and 2007.

But under the Argentine, Atleti has now won five derbies, including three in a row before Thursday's 2-2 draw, while Torres was on the winning side on his debut last week and sealed his team's place in the last eight of the Copa del Rey with both goals on Thursday. It is quite the turnaround.

For its part, Madrid will be pleased to see the back of its city rival for a while and Ancelotti's men - Ronaldo included - will now need to forget all about the Ballon d'Or. Atleti, however, will want to keep remembering it.

FC BARCELONA 4 ; 0 ELCHE CF

Elche v FC Barcelona (0-4): Barça book quarter final spot against Atlético Madrid

Barça put four more goals past Elche on Thursday night to add to the five from last week at the Camp Nou and set up a mouth-watering quarter final clash with Atlético Madrid.

Bright start from the youngsters

Luis Enrique may well have sent out a side full of B team youngsters and fringe players, but the team looked composed, sharp and hungry from the off, with Rafinha, Munir and Adama as well as captain Pedro all threatening early on. Elche were chasing shadows as Barça zipped the ball around and probed for openings and it looked like they’d found one when Rafinha put Adama through with a defence splitting pass on 19 minutes only for a cynical foul from the Elche captain Edu Albácar to bring the young winger down.

Mathieu curler opens the scoring

With Messi, Xavi, Neymar and Suarez missing, it was Mathieu who stepped up to take the resulting free kick which he beautifully curled into the top corner for his first ever Barça goal. Elche were unable to react and two goals just before half time from Sergi Roberto, with a beautifully struck drive from the edge of the box and Pedro from a penalty after Munir was brought down sent the players in for the break with a well-deserved three goal lead.

Late Adriano header makes it four

The pace dropped off in the second half and Luis Enrique took the opportunity to bring on Douglas and Halilovic for Montoya and Adama. There were some lovely bits of skill from Adama and Halilovic, who hit the post – and even from keeper Ter Stegen who controlled a cross on the edge of the box with his chest – and even though the tie was already settled at 8-0 the team kept their discipline and shape and Elche never looked likely to get back into the game. Finally, Adriano rounded off the scoring in injury time stooping to head home a Douglas cross.

Attention switches now to next Wednesday’s quarter final first leg when Atlético Madrid are back at the Camp Nou and before that, this weekend’s trip to La Coruña to face Deportivo

Millions rally for unity against terrorism in France

ngela Charlton and Thomas Adamson, The Associated Press, Paris | World | Mon, January 12 2015, 6:52 AM

Paying tribute: (From the left) Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Mali's President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, France's President Francois Hollande, Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel, EU President Donald Tusk, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas march during a rally in Paris, France, on Sunday. A rally of defiance and sorrow, protected by an unparalleled level of security, on Sunday will honor the 17 victims of three days of bloodshed in Paris that left France on alert for more violence. (AP/Philippe Wojazerl).

More than a million people surged through the boulevards of Paris behind dozens of world leaders walking arm-in-arm Sunday in a rally for unity described as the largest demonstration in French history. Millions more marched around the country and the world to repudiate three days of terror that killed 17 people and changed France.

Amid intense security and with throngs rivaling those that followed the liberation of Paris from the Nazis, the city became "the capital of the world" for a day, on a planet increasingly vulnerable to such cruelty.

More than 40 world leaders headed the somber procession — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas; Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov — setting aside their differences with a common rallying cry: We stand together against barbarity, and we are all Charlie.

At least 1.2 million to 1.6 million people streamed slowly through the streets behind them and across France to mourn the victims of deadly attacks on the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo, a kosher supermarket and police officers — violence that tore deep into the nation's sense of security in a way some compared to Sept. 11 in the United States.

"Our entire country will rise up toward something better," Hollande said.

Details of the attacks continued to emerge, with new video showing one of the gunmen pledging allegiance to the Islamic State group and detailing how the attacks were going to unfold. That gunman, Amedy Coulibaly, was also linked to a new shooting, two days after he and the brothers behind the Charlie Hebdo massacre were killed in nearly simultaneous police raids.

The attacks tested France's proud commitment to its liberties, which authorities may now curtail to ensure greater security. Marchers recognized this as a watershed moment.

"It's a different world today," said Michel Thiebault, 70.

Illustrating his point, there were cheers Sunday for police vans that wove through the crowds — a rare sight at the many demonstrations that the French have staged throughout their rebellious history, when protesters and police are often at odds.

Many shed the aloof attitude Parisians are famous for, helping strangers with directions, cheering and crying together. Sad and angry but fiercely defending their freedom of expression, the marchers honored the dead and brandished pens or flags of other nations.

Giant rallies were held throughout France and major cities around the world, including London, Madrid and New York — all attacked by al-Qaida-linked extremists — as well as Cairo, Sydney, Stockholm, Tokyo and elsewhere.

In Paris, the Interior Ministry said "the size of this unprecedented demonstration makes it impossible to provide a specific count," noting that the crowds were too big to fit on the official march route and spread to other streets.

Later, the ministry said 3.7 million marched throughout France, including roughly between 1.2 million and 1.6 million in Paris — but added that a precise count is impossible given the enormity of the turnout.

"I hope that at the end of the day everyone is united. Everyone — Muslims, Jews, Christians, Buddhists," said marcher Zakaria Moumni. "We are humans first of all, and nobody deserves to be murdered like that. Nobody."

On Republic Square, deafening applause rang out as the world leaders walked past, amid tight security and an atmosphere of togetherness amid adversity. Families of the victims, holding each other for support, marched in the front along with the leaders and with journalists working for the Charlie Hebdo newspaper. Several wept openly.

"Je Suis Charlie" — "I Am Charlie," read legions of posters and banners. Many waved editorial cartoons, the French tricolor and other national flags.

As night fell on the unusually unified city, some lit candles.

"It's important to be here for freedom for tolerance and for all the victims. It's sad we had to get to this point for people to react against intolerance, racism and fascism," said Caroline Van Ruymbeke, 32.

The French president joined Netanyahu in a visit to a synagogue Sunday night as authorities sought to reassure the Jewish population — Europe's largest — that it is safe to stay in France. About 7,000 of France's half-million Jews emigrated to Israel last year amid concerns for their safety and the economy.

"The entire world is under attack" from radical Islam, Netanyahu said, citing attacks in cities from Madrid to Mumbai. He said these aren't isolated incidents but part of a "network of hatred" by radical groups.

At the synagogue, 17 candles were lit in tribute to the victims of the attacks. One was lit by a hostage at the kosher grocery store. The last was lit by two women whose sons were killed by Mohamed Merah, a radical Islamic gunman who attacked a Jewish school and paratroopers in southern France in 2012.

The U.S. was represented at the Paris rally by Ambassador Jane Hartley. At an international conference in India, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said the world stood with the people of France "not just in anger and in outrage, but in solidarity and commitment to the cause of confronting extremism and in the cause that extremists fear so much and that has always united our countries: freedom."

The three days of terror began Wednesday when brothers Said and Cherif Kouachi stormed the Charlie Hebdo newsroom, killing 12 people, including two police officers. Al-Qaida's branch in Yemen said it directed the attack to avenge the honor of the Prophet Muhammad, a frequent target of the weekly's barbs. Charlie Hebdo assailed Christianity, Judaism as well as officialdom of all stripes with its brand of sometimes crude satire.

On Thursday, police said Coulibaly killed a policewoman. The next day, he seized hostages at the kosher market while the Kouachi brothers were holed up at a printing plant near Charles de Gaulle airport. It ended at dusk Friday with raids that left all three gunmen dead. Four hostages at the market were also killed.

Five people held in connection with the attacks were freed late Saturday, leaving no one in custody, according to the Paris prosecutor's office. Coulibaly's widow, last seen near the Turkish-Syrian border, is still being sought.

France remains on high alert while investigators determine whether the attackers were part of a larger extremist network. More than 5,500 police and soldiers were deployed Sunday across France, guarding marches, synagogues, mosques, schools and other sites.

"The terrorists want two things: they want to scare us and they want to divide us," Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told TV channel iTele. "We must do the opposite: We must stand up and we must stay united." (***)