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Champions League Returns Missing Mbappe, Rodri, Barella as Injury Wave Hits European Soccer

Football - LaLiga - Real Madrid v Deportivo Alaves - Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain - September 24, 2024 Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe celebrates scoring their second goal. (Reuters)
Football - LaLiga - Real Madrid v Deportivo Alaves - Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain - September 24, 2024 Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe celebrates scoring their second goal. (Reuters)
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Champions League Returns Missing Mbappe, Rodri, Barella as Injury Wave Hits European Soccer

Football - LaLiga - Real Madrid v Deportivo Alaves - Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain - September 24, 2024 Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe celebrates scoring their second goal. (Reuters)
Football - LaLiga - Real Madrid v Deportivo Alaves - Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain - September 24, 2024 Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe celebrates scoring their second goal. (Reuters)

Key players will be sidelined when the Champions League resumes Tuesday after a wave of injuries within a week of the new-look competition starting.

Kylian Mbappe’s sore hamstring is likely to sideline him beyond Wednesday when he was due to return to France with defending champion Real Madrid to face Lille.

Serious knee injuries mean Manchester City midfielder Rodri is out for the season and Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen will miss at least most of it.

Inter Milan midfielder Nicolo Barella, who was a standout playing against Rodri on Sept. 18, will miss at least one Champions League game because of a thigh strain.

The injuries to four players who were involved at the European Championship into the knockout phase have sharpened the debate about player workload in a calendar made more congested by the bigger Champions League.

The extended program is what influential clubs all-but forced UEFA to create and the 18 games this week, split between Tuesday and Wednesday, still leaves each of them with six more to play through January.

Another final rematch

There were two repeats of past finals in the first week of games that relaunched the Champions League in a single-standings format. Man City and Inter drew 0-0 and Liverpool won 3-1 at AC Milan.

The next rematch comes Wednesday when Aston Villa hosts Bayern Munich, a giant of the European Cup era that was shocked 1-0 in the 1982 final.

Villa Park will host a first game in the competition since March 1983 when the English side’s title defense was ended by Juventus.

Both eased to winning starts two weeks ago. Villa won 3-0 at Young Boys and Bayern’s nine goals against Dinamo Zagreb was a record for any team in the 33-season Champions League era.

Harry Kane scored four in Bayern’s 9-2 win and has a good record visiting Villa, with five goals there in five Premier League games for Tottenham. He faces a late check on an ankle injury.

Kane edges Haaland

Kane’s fast start to the season with 10 goals in seven games for Bayern has outpaced even Erling Haaland’s 10 in eight games for Man City.

Haaland was kept quiet by Inter for the second time in 16 months, a fact he was reminded of in a post-game talk with the Italian champion’s center back Francesco Acerbi, who smiled and held up two fingers.

Haaland should find it easier on Tuesday in Slovakia when Man City faces Slovan Bratislava, which took the second biggest beating in the opening round, 5-1 at Celtic.

Crowd size and fan fervor

The pulsating atmosphere at Celtic Park for a rare European win by the Scottish champion stood out in an opening week where anticipation was not universal.

Pundits including former Man City goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel noted a quietness about the stadium for the Inter game. The attendance was nearly 2,000 higher five days later when Man City met Arsenal in a tempestuous Premier League clash where title ambitions were already in play.

Milan-Liverpool was a heavyweight European fixture yet far from sold out, with fewer than 60,000 at San Siro. The crowd topped 70,000 at each of Milan’s first two Serie A home games this season, and 66,000 on the equivalent Champions League opening night last season to see another English club, Newcastle.

Paris Saint-Germain drew at least 46,000 fans for each home game in Ligue 1 this season — and all three Champions League group-stage games last season — yet fewer than 40,000 were at Parc des Princes to see European debutant Girona two weeks ago.

Sporting Lisbon also had 40,000 fans for a Champions League opener against Lille that was 6,000 down on the crowd for a domestic league game against Porto.

The attendance and atmosphere trends will be watched as fans respond to the longer and more expensive program of four Champions League home games. The 36-team standings is set to be more dynamic for the final two rounds in January.

Tuesday's games

The raucous atmosphere should follow Celtic to Borussia Dortmund whose fans in the Yellow Wall tribune are among the noisiest in Europe.

Bundesliga champion Bayer Leverkusen hosts Milan after making a fast start in a 4-0 rout at Feyenoord. San Siro now reverts to Inter to host Red Star Belgrade.

Arsenal hosts PSG in a meeting of two teams chasing a trophy they never won. Each was a beaten finalist once. Also, Barcelona hosts Young Boys.

Wednesday's games Even without Mbappe, Madrid should have too much for Lille playing in the stadium that hosted basketball group-stage games at the Paris Olympics.

Premier League leader Liverpool hosts Bologna, and Girona’s first European visitor to the Montilivi stadium is Feyenoord.

Dinamo Zagreb fired its coach, Sergej Jakirovic, after the drubbing at Bayern and brought back Nenad Bjelica for a second spell. He starts in the Champions League hosting Monaco.

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Sports

‘Don’t Jump in Them’: Olympic Athletes’ Medals Break During Celebrations

Gold medalists team USA celebrate during the medal ceremony after the Team Event Free Skating of the Figure Skating competitions at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games, in Milan, Italy, 08 February 2026. (EPA)
Gold medalists team USA celebrate during the medal ceremony after the Team Event Free Skating of the Figure Skating competitions at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games, in Milan, Italy, 08 February 2026. (EPA)
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‘Don’t Jump in Them’: Olympic Athletes’ Medals Break During Celebrations

Gold medalists team USA celebrate during the medal ceremony after the Team Event Free Skating of the Figure Skating competitions at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games, in Milan, Italy, 08 February 2026. (EPA)
Gold medalists team USA celebrate during the medal ceremony after the Team Event Free Skating of the Figure Skating competitions at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games, in Milan, Italy, 08 February 2026. (EPA)

Handle with care. That's the message from gold medalist Breezy Johnson at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics after she and other athletes found their medals broke within hours.

Olympic organizers are investigating with "maximum attention" after a spate of medals have fallen off their ribbons during celebrations on the opening weekend of the Games.

"Don’t jump in them. I was jumping in excitement, and it broke," women's downhill ski gold medalist Johnson said after her win Sunday. "I’m sure somebody will fix it. It’s not crazy broken, but a little broken."

TV footage broadcast in Germany captured the moment biathlete Justus Strelow realized the mixed relay bronze he'd won Sunday had fallen off the ribbon around his neck and clattered to the floor as he danced along to a song with teammates.

His German teammates cheered as Strelow tried without success to reattach the medal before realizing a smaller piece, seemingly the clasp, had broken off and was still on the floor.

US figure skater Alysa Liu posted a clip on social media of her team event gold medal, detached from its official ribbon.

"My medal don’t need the ribbon," Liu wrote early Monday.

Andrea Francisi, the chief games operations officer for the Milan Cortina organizing committee, said it was working on a solution.

"We are aware of the situation, we have seen the images. Obviously we are trying to understand in detail if there is a problem," Francisi said Monday.

"But obviously we are paying maximum attention to this matter, as the medal is the dream of the athletes, so we want that obviously in the moment they are given it that everything is absolutely perfect, because we really consider it to be the most important moment. So we are working on it."

It isn't the first time the quality of Olympic medals has come under scrutiny.

Following the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, some medals had to be replaced after athletes complained they were starting to tarnish or corrode, giving them a mottled look likened to crocodile skin.

Sports

African Players in Europe: Ouattara Fires Another Winner for Bees

Football - Premier League - Newcastle United v Brentford - St James' Park, Newcastle, Britain - February 7, 2026 Brentford's Dango Ouattara celebrates scoring their third goal with Brentford's Rico Henry. (Reuters)
Football - Premier League - Newcastle United v Brentford - St James' Park, Newcastle, Britain - February 7, 2026 Brentford's Dango Ouattara celebrates scoring their third goal with Brentford's Rico Henry. (Reuters)
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African Players in Europe: Ouattara Fires Another Winner for Bees

Football - Premier League - Newcastle United v Brentford - St James' Park, Newcastle, Britain - February 7, 2026 Brentford's Dango Ouattara celebrates scoring their third goal with Brentford's Rico Henry. (Reuters)
Football - Premier League - Newcastle United v Brentford - St James' Park, Newcastle, Britain - February 7, 2026 Brentford's Dango Ouattara celebrates scoring their third goal with Brentford's Rico Henry. (Reuters)

Burkina Faso striker Dango Ouattara was the Brentford match-winner for the second straight weekend when they triumphed 3-2 at Newcastle United.

The 23-year-old struck in the 85th minute of a seesaw Premier League struggle in northeast England. The Bees trailed and led before securing three points to go seventh in the table.

Last weekend, Ouattara dented the title hopes of third-placed Aston Villa by scoring the only goal at Villa Park.

AFP Sport highlights African headline-makers in the major European leagues:

ENGLAND

DANGO OUATTARA (Brentford)

With the match at Newcastle locked at 2-2, the Burkinabe sealed victory for the visitors at St James' Park by driving a left-footed shot past Magpies goalkeeper Nick Pope to give the Bees a first win on Tyneside since 1934. Ouattara also provided the cross that led to Vitaly Janelt's headed equalizer after Brentford had fallen 1-0 behind.

BRYAN MBEUMO (Manchester Utd)

The Cameroon forward helped the Red Devils extend their perfect record under caretaker manager Michael Carrick to four games by scoring the opening goal in a 2-0 win over Tottenham after Spurs had been reduced to 10 men by captain Cristian Romero's red card.

ISMAILA SARR (Crystal Palace)

The Eagles ended their 12-match winless run with a 1-0 victory at bitter rivals Brighton thanks to Senegal international Sarr's 61st-minute goal when played in by substitute Evann Guessand, the Ivory Coast forward making an immediate impact on his Palace debut after joining on loan from Aston Villa during the January transfer window.

ITALY

LAMECK BANDA (Lecce)

Banda scored direct from a 90th-minute free-kick outside the area to give lowly Leece a precious 2-1 Serie A victory at home against mid-table Udinese. It was the third league goal this season for the 25-year-old Zambia winger. Leece lie 17th, one place and three points above the relegation zone.

GERMANY

SERHOU GUIRASSY (Borussia Dortmund)

Guirassy produced a moment of quality just when Dortmund needed it against Wolfsburg. Felix Nmecha's silky exchange with Fabio Silva allowed the Guinean to sweep in an 87th-minute winner for his ninth Bundesliga goal of the season. The 29-year-old has scored or assisted in four of his last five games.

RANSFORD KOENIGSDOERFFER (Hamburg)

A first-half thunderbolt from Ghana striker Koenigsdoerffer put Hamburg on track for a 2-0 victory at Heidenheim. It was their first away win of the season. Nigerian winger Philip Otele, making his Hamburg debut, split the defense with a clever pass to Koenigsdoerffer, who hit a shot low and hard to open the scoring in first-half stoppage time.

FRANCE

ISSA SOUMARE (Le Havre)

An opportunist goal by Soumare on 54 minutes gave Le Havre a 2-1 home win over Strasbourg in Ligue 1. The Senegalese received the ball just inside the area and stroked it into the far corner of the net as he fell.

Sports

Olympic Town Warms up as Climate Change Puts Winter Games on Thin Ice

Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics - Alpine Skiing - Men's Team Combined Downhill - Stelvio Ski Centre, Bormio, Italy - February 09, 2026. Alexis Monney of Switzerland in action during the Men's Team Combined Downhill. (Reuters)
Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics - Alpine Skiing - Men's Team Combined Downhill - Stelvio Ski Centre, Bormio, Italy - February 09, 2026. Alexis Monney of Switzerland in action during the Men's Team Combined Downhill. (Reuters)
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Olympic Town Warms up as Climate Change Puts Winter Games on Thin Ice

Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics - Alpine Skiing - Men's Team Combined Downhill - Stelvio Ski Centre, Bormio, Italy - February 09, 2026. Alexis Monney of Switzerland in action during the Men's Team Combined Downhill. (Reuters)
Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics - Alpine Skiing - Men's Team Combined Downhill - Stelvio Ski Centre, Bormio, Italy - February 09, 2026. Alexis Monney of Switzerland in action during the Men's Team Combined Downhill. (Reuters)

Olympic fans came to Cortina with heavy winter coats and gloves. Those coats were unzipped Sunday and gloves pocketed as snow melted from rooftops — signs of a warming world.

“I definitely thought we’d be wearing all the layers,” said Jay Tucker, who came from Virginia to cheer on Team USA and bought hand warmers and heated socks in preparation. “I don’t even have gloves on.”

The timing of winter, the amount of snowfall and temperatures are all less reliable and less predictable because Earth is warming at a record rate, said Shel Winkley, a Climate Central meteorologist. This poses a growing and significant challenge for organizers of winter sports; The International Olympic Committee said last week it could move up the start date for future Winter Games to January from February because of rising temperatures.

While the beginning of the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Cortina truly had a wintry feel, as the town was blanketed in heavy snow, the temperature reached about 40 degrees Fahrenheit (4.5 degrees Celsius) Sunday afternoon. It felt hotter in the sun.

This type of February “warmth” for Cortina is made at least three times more likely due to climate change, Winkley said. In the 70 years since Cortina first held the Winter Games, February temperatures there have climbed 6.4 degrees Fahrenheit (3.6 degrees Celsius), he added.

For the Milan Cortina Games, there's an added layer of complexity. It’s the most spread-out Winter Games in history, so Olympic venues are in localities with very different weather conditions. Bormio and Livigno, for example, are less than an hour apart by car, but they are separated by a high mountain pass that can divide the two places climatically.

The organizing committee is working closely with four regional and provincial public weather agencies. It has positioned weather sensors at strategic points for the competitions, including close to the ski jumping ramps, along the Alpine skiing tracks and at the biathlon shooting range.

Where automatic stations cannot collect everything of interest, the committee has observers — “scientists of the snow”— from the agencies ready to collect data, according to Matteo Pasotti, a weather specialist for the organizing committee.

The hope? Clear skies, light winds and low temperatures on race days to ensure good visibility and preserve the snow layer.

The reality: “It’s actually pretty warm out. We expected it to be a lot colder,” said Karli Poliziani, an American who lives in Milan. Poliziani was in Cortina with her father, who considered going out Sunday in just a sweatshirt.

And forecasts indicate that more days with above-average temperatures lie ahead for the Olympic competitions, Pasotti said.

Weather plays a critical role in the smooth running and safety of winter sports competitions, according to Filippo Bazzanella, head of sport services and planning for the organizing committee. High temperatures can impact the snow layer on Alpine skiing courses and visibility is essential. Humidity and high temperatures can affect the quality of the ice at indoor arenas and sliding centers, too.

Visibility and wind are the two factors most likely to cause changes to the competition schedule, Bazzanella added. Wind can be a safety issue or a fairness one, such as in the biathlon where slight variations can disrupt the athletes' precise shooting.

American alpine skier Jackie Wiles said many races this year have been challenging because of the weather.

“I feel like we’re pretty good about keeping our heads in the game because a lot of people are going to get taken out by that immediately,” she said at a team press conference last week. “Having that mindset of: it’s going to be what it’s going to be, and we still have to go out there and fight like hell regardless.”