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Mbappé Faces Haaland in Champions League Appetizer for World Cup. Troubled Liverpool Goes to Inter

Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe poses with the trophy after scoring four goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Olympiacos and Real Madrid, in in Piraeus port, near Athens, Greece, Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe poses with the trophy after scoring four goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Olympiacos and Real Madrid, in in Piraeus port, near Athens, Greece, Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
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Mbappé Faces Haaland in Champions League Appetizer for World Cup. Troubled Liverpool Goes to Inter

Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe poses with the trophy after scoring four goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Olympiacos and Real Madrid, in in Piraeus port, near Athens, Greece, Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe poses with the trophy after scoring four goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Olympiacos and Real Madrid, in in Piraeus port, near Athens, Greece, Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

A Champions League clash between Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland will surely happen in the final one day.

On Wednesday, it is a routine league-phase game when Real Madrid hosts Manchester City and the most feared forwards in soccer cross paths for the third time in the competition since Haaland debuted in 2019.

Also this week, Liverpool brings its season of turmoil to San Siro against Inter Milan on Tuesday, when Bayern Munich hosts Sporting Lisbon. Paris Saint-Germain is at Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday, The AP news reported.

In the sixth of the eight rounds, league-leading Arsenal can become the first team to reach the 16-point total that last season ensured advancing direct to the round of 16, The AP news reported.

Arsenal is the only team with five straight wins on 15 points and needs to avoid defeat Tuesday at Club Brugge to reach the potential cutoff between eighth and ninth place in January.

Mbappé vs. Haaland Tuesday at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium likely won’t be the last time they meet this season.

France will play Norway on June 26 at the New England Patriots’ stadium in Foxborough, Mass., in one of the most anticipated games from the World Cup draw made Friday.

There might also be more in the Champions League given that Real Madrid and Manchester City met in the knockout rounds in each of the past four seasons. They combined to win three titles in that time though Mbappé still seeks his first.

Mbappé vs. Haaland first happened in the round of 16 in February 2020. Newly arrived at Borussia Dortmund, Haaland scored two in the first leg against Paris Saint-Germain and revealed his “Zen” goal celebration, sitting down cross-legged as if meditating. Mbappé and PSG won in Paris to advance 3-2 on aggregate score.

Last season, in the knockout playoffs in February, Mbappé scored four times including a hat trick in the second leg as Madrid beat Man City in both games, despite Haaland’s two goals in the first leg.

Mbappé’s four goals at Olympiakos last month lifted him to be top scorer in the Champions League this season. He needs one more to reach 10 in a Champions League season for the first time during his decade in the competition.

Haaland has five so far, and already got into double figures in three Champions League campaigns.

Madrid starts the week in fifth place on 12 points, two ahead of City in ninth in the 36-team standings.

Equally prolific Kane Harry Kane is just as prolific for Bayern Munich this season. He has scored 28 in just 22 games for Bayern plus five in five World Cup qualifiers for England.

Kane has kept pace with Haaland’s goal-a-game ratio in the Champions League and kept Bayern third in the standings, despite losing at Arsenal two weeks ago.

Ahead of Kane and Haaland is six-goal Victor Osimhen, who is fit to return with Galatasaray at Monaco on Tuesday. Both teams are in contention for a top-24 finish and places in the knockout stage starting in February.

Frankfurt fans return Barcelona hosting Eintracht Frankfurt is a repeat of a remarkable show of force by visiting fans four seasons ago — and one the Spanish club has now worked to avoid.

Eintracht’s road to winning the Europa League in 2022 included what looked and sounded like a home game to win 3-2 at Camp Nou in the second leg of the quarterfinals.

About 30,000 German fans were there after most bought tickets from Barcelona fans, who last week were warned by their club not to do that again.

“If the traceability of ticket purchases and their final destination reveals fraudulent behavior, the case will be referred to the disciplinary committee,” Barcelona said last week in a statement.

Barcelona is certainly favored to win this time. The La Liga leader scored five in winning at the weekend while Eintracht was routed 6-0 at Leipzig.

Winter is coming It will be an unusually early Champions League kickoff at 4:30 p.m. Central Europe Time when Kairat Almaty hosts Olympiakos on Tuesday. That is 8:30 p.m. in eastern Kazakhstan where evening temperatures can plummet in December.

UEFA planned well to schedule the game Tuesday instead of Wednesday. Forecast temperature at kickoff is about 0 Celsius (32 Fahrenheit) while it should be -12 C (10 F) at the same time one day later.

Bodo/Glimt’s European season continues at Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday after its domestic season finished in Norway being edged for the title by Viking. The Norwegian league avoids the bitter winter and Glimt has two more Champions League games in January, and maybe more in the knockout phase, during the Norwegian offseason.

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Bayern Faces Tough Leverkusen Test in Bundesliga after 6-1 Win and Injury Concerns

Bayern Munich's players celebrate at the end of the UEFA Champions League round of 16 1st leg soccer match between Atalanta BC and FC Bayern Munich at the Bergamo Stadium in Bergamo, Italy, 10 March 2026. EPA/MICHELE MARAVIGLIA
Bayern Munich's players celebrate at the end of the UEFA Champions League round of 16 1st leg soccer match between Atalanta BC and FC Bayern Munich at the Bergamo Stadium in Bergamo, Italy, 10 March 2026. EPA/MICHELE MARAVIGLIA
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Bayern Faces Tough Leverkusen Test in Bundesliga after 6-1 Win and Injury Concerns

Bayern Munich's players celebrate at the end of the UEFA Champions League round of 16 1st leg soccer match between Atalanta BC and FC Bayern Munich at the Bergamo Stadium in Bergamo, Italy, 10 March 2026. EPA/MICHELE MARAVIGLIA
Bayern Munich's players celebrate at the end of the UEFA Champions League round of 16 1st leg soccer match between Atalanta BC and FC Bayern Munich at the Bergamo Stadium in Bergamo, Italy, 10 March 2026. EPA/MICHELE MARAVIGLIA

Bayern Munich is heading to Bayern Leverkusen in the Bundesliga after contrasting Champions League games in midweek for the two clubs.

Bayern was on rampant form in a 6-1 win at Atalanta overshadowed by injuries in the first leg of their round of 16 matchup, while Leverkusen had to settle for a 1-1 draw against Premier League leader Arsenal which kept its hopes alive.

Bayern leads the Bundesliga by 11 points with nine games remaining, The Associated Press reported.

Key matchups There aren't many tricky away trips for Bayern in the Bundesliga these days, but Leverkusen is one of them. Bayern hasn't won there in the league since October 2021, though Vincent Kompany's team did get a victory in a Champions League playoff last year.

Hoffenheim is flying high in third, which would be its best finish since Julian Nagelsmann coached the team in 2017-18. Saturday's opponent Wolfsburg is having a nightmarish campaign in the relegation zone as Dieter Hecking becomes the team's third coach of the season.

In a tight Champions League qualification fight, fourth-place Stuttgart is unbeaten in four Bundesliga games as it takes on fifth-place Leipzig, which is unbeaten in five, on Sunday.

Players to watch Deniz Undav has scored in his last four Bundesliga games to take him to 15 goals for the season. Even if he's got half of Kane's tally of Bundesliga goals for Bayern, it's enough for second in the standings. Undav's run of form could help him make his case for a return to the Germany squad in time for the World Cup.

Nico Schlotterbeck could be one of the most in-demand defenders on the transfer market this off-season, with no obvious progress on renewing a Borussia Dortmund contract which expires next year, though a decision to let midfielder Julian Brandt leave might free up some funds. Dortmund plays Augsburg on Sunday.

Who's out Manuel Neuer's return from a calf injury lasted just 45 minutes last week before the Bayern goalkeeping great picked up another calf injury which kept him out of Tuesday's Champions League win at Atalanta. Jonas Urbig stepped in but was hurt in a heavy collision with an opponent, so third-choice Sven Ulreich may start.

Kane has missed two games with a calf issue but is set to return, though Alphonso Davies has pulled a hamstring and Bayern said Jamal Musiala was experiencing pain related to an ankle injury from last year. It wasn't immediately clear how seriously that would affect Musiala.

Off the field Two bizarre disciplinary cases are getting German fans talking. The national soccer federation is investigating Cologne for its announcer making comments over the PA system loudly condemning refereeing decisions that went against the team.

Second-division Preussen Muenster faces a disciplinary case over a masked fan who unplugged the referee's video monitor during a penalty review against the team.

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Alonso Fears More Pain in China with Struggling Aston Martin

Fernando Alonso expects a difficult weekend in his Aston Martin in China. Paul Crock / AFP
Fernando Alonso expects a difficult weekend in his Aston Martin in China. Paul Crock / AFP
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Alonso Fears More Pain in China with Struggling Aston Martin

Fernando Alonso expects a difficult weekend in his Aston Martin in China. Paul Crock / AFP
Fernando Alonso expects a difficult weekend in his Aston Martin in China. Paul Crock / AFP

Fernando Alonso said Thursday he expects another difficult weekend wrestling with his new Aston Martin at the Chinese Grand Prix after failing to finish the season-opener in Australia.

Silverstone-based Aston Martin endured a horror start after serious issues with their Honda power unit and a lack of spare parts, said AFP.

Two-time world champion Alonso and teammate Lance Stroll had to endure extreme vibration in the chassis caused by the power unit, which was feared could cause the drivers permanent nerve damage.

"The situation unfortunately didn't change within four or five days since Melbourne, so it will be a difficult weekend," Alonso told reporters at the Shanghai International Circuit.

"We'll limit the laps in one or two sessions as we are short on parts. We need laps, to find the window on the chassis side.

"I'll be happy if we leave China with a more or less normal practice, more or less normal qualifying."

The Spaniard could not put a timeframe on when improvements might come.

"What can I do within the team? Work harder, help Honda as much as I can," said Alonso.

"We can allocate resources to help Honda with the power unit. We are one team, it is a bumpy start that I hope won't last too long.

"We are pushing, we have very talented people in the team, so I hope within a couple of grands prix, we can have a normal weekend.

"To be competitive will take more time. Once we fix the reliability, we will be behind on power and things."

The 44-year-old veteran has been in Formula One for more than two decades and has driven vastly different iterations of cars from the old V10 petrol engines through to the current complex hybrid configuration.

Despite the issues, he said was embracing the challenge of the new cars enthusiastically in what could be his final season on the grid.

His Aston Martin contract expires at the end of 2026.

"Do we enjoy driving these cars? Yes, because we love racing," Alonso said.

"I do four or five 24-hour races because I love racing and I love driving. So if you jump into an F1 car, you enjoy going fast.

"But it is a challenge, a different challenge.

"I was super lucky to race in (the last) era and I feel lucky to race in both."

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Verstappen Jokes New F1 Cars 'More Like Mario Kart'

Max Verstappen arrives at the paddock ahead of the Formula One Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai. Jade GAO / AFP
Max Verstappen arrives at the paddock ahead of the Formula One Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai. Jade GAO / AFP
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Verstappen Jokes New F1 Cars 'More Like Mario Kart'

Max Verstappen arrives at the paddock ahead of the Formula One Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai. Jade GAO / AFP
Max Verstappen arrives at the paddock ahead of the Formula One Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai. Jade GAO / AFP

Four-time world champion Max Verstappen said Thursday he was not having much fun driving the new era of Formula One cars, joking he was "practicing with Mario Kart" because it was more realistic than his simulator.

The Red Bull driver crashed in qualifying in the season-opener in Australia last weekend before having to carve his way from 20th on the grid to finish a creditable sixth.

The new cars require battery management and energy harvesting with a 50-50 split between conventional and electrical power, AFP said.

They also have features such as straight-line mode, active aero, overtake and boost buttons, which Verstappen reckons are nearer to a video game.

"I swapped the simulator for my Nintendo Switch. I'm practicing with Mario Kart, actually. Finding the mushrooms is going quite well, the blue shells are a bit more difficult."

Verstappen announced this week that he would be driving in the Nurburgring 24-hour race this year.

"I wish I had a bit more fun for sure," he said of Formula One at the moment.

"I mean, I get to race the Nordschleife (Nurburgring) and I hope in the coming years I can do Spa and hopefully Le Mans.

"So I'm combining stuff and I'm also doing other stuff that is a lot of fun.

"It's a bit conflicted because I don't really enjoy to drive the car, but I do enjoy working with all the people in the team and from the engine department as well."

He did express optimism that things would improve as the new rules and regulations were adjusted and said drivers were already in discussions over changes.

"I hope, of course, that it gets better," said the Dutchman.

"I've had discussions with F1 and the FIA and I think we are working towards something that will improve everything."