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Bayern Battle Past 10-man Augsburg but Musiala Goes Off Injured

04 April 2025, Bavaria, Augsburg: Munich's Jamal Musiala receives treatment on the ground by team doctor Dr. Jochen Hahne (C) during the German Bundesliga soccer match between FC Augsburg and Bayern Munich at WWK-Arena. Photo: Tom Weller/dpa
04 April 2025, Bavaria, Augsburg: Munich's Jamal Musiala receives treatment on the ground by team doctor Dr. Jochen Hahne (C) during the German Bundesliga soccer match between FC Augsburg and Bayern Munich at WWK-Arena. Photo: Tom Weller/dpa
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Bayern Battle Past 10-man Augsburg but Musiala Goes Off Injured

04 April 2025, Bavaria, Augsburg: Munich's Jamal Musiala receives treatment on the ground by team doctor Dr. Jochen Hahne (C) during the German Bundesliga soccer match between FC Augsburg and Bayern Munich at WWK-Arena. Photo: Tom Weller/dpa
04 April 2025, Bavaria, Augsburg: Munich's Jamal Musiala receives treatment on the ground by team doctor Dr. Jochen Hahne (C) during the German Bundesliga soccer match between FC Augsburg and Bayern Munich at WWK-Arena. Photo: Tom Weller/dpa

Bayern Munich came back from a goal down to beat 10-man Augsburg 3-1 away on Friday and move nine points clear at the top of the Bundesliga but Jamal Musiala went off injured and looks unlikely to be fit for next week's Champions League quarter-final.
Musiala equalized before Harry Kane's header and a deflected own goal from Augsburg's Chrislain Matsima gave Bayern the points after the hosts took the lead through Dimitris Gianoulis' strike but ran out of steam when Cedric Zesiger was sent off.
Bayern now have 68 points with six games left, nine ahead of Bayer Leverkusen, who travel to lowly Heidenheim on Saturday.
Bayern, who host Serie A pacesetters Inter Milan in the first leg of Europe's elite club competition on Tuesday, are already without injured defenders Hiroki Ito, Alphonso Davies and Dayot Upamecano as well as goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.
"We have played without Jamal a few times already this season," Reuters quoted Bayern coach Vincent Kompany as saying.
"I'm no doctor and don't want to look too far ahead but unfortunately it looks like he will miss it (Inter match). We'll know more after checks today or tomorrow.
"But in these moments I always have the feeling that we should not stop. These moments happen.
"We worked our way into this situation, and in the six remaining league games and in the Champions League we want to use our chances and win something, be successful.
"So we should not take too much from the sometimes sad stories and get strength from the issues we have solved this season," he added.
Augsburg, undefeated in their previous 11 league matches, stunned their Bavarian rivals with Greece defender Gianoulis' superb 30th minute finish.
The visitors hit back three minutes before the break when Germany international Musiala turned in the box and beat goalkeeper Finn Dahmen with a low shot.
Bayern rattled the crossbar with Michael Olise's effort in the 52nd but then saw Musiala helped off the pitch with what looked like a muscle injury.
The game turned in the 59th minute when Augsburg had Zesiger dismissed for a second booking. Bayern scored from the resulting free kick through Bundesliga top scorer Kane's diving header for his 23rd league goal of the campaign.
It was the England striker's 78th goal in 84 matches across all competitions for the Bavarians.
Bayern's Leroy Sane, who had missed a golden chance minutes earlier, made sure of the three points with a deflected cross off Matsima in stoppage time which was awarded as an own goal.
"If you take away the goal that we conceded, in the first and second half we were solid defensively," Kompany said.
"After going 1-0 down and how the team worked its way back into the game was a good sign."

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My Grandfather Encouraged Me to Play for Algeria, Luca Zidane Says

Algeria's goalkeeper #23 Luca Zidane reacts during the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) Group E football match between Algeria and Sudan at Moulay Hassan Stadium in Rabat on December 24, 2025. (AFP)
Algeria's goalkeeper #23 Luca Zidane reacts during the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) Group E football match between Algeria and Sudan at Moulay Hassan Stadium in Rabat on December 24, 2025. (AFP)
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My Grandfather Encouraged Me to Play for Algeria, Luca Zidane Says

Algeria's goalkeeper #23 Luca Zidane reacts during the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) Group E football match between Algeria and Sudan at Moulay Hassan Stadium in Rabat on December 24, 2025. (AFP)
Algeria's goalkeeper #23 Luca Zidane reacts during the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) Group E football match between Algeria and Sudan at Moulay Hassan Stadium in Rabat on December 24, 2025. (AFP)

Luca Zidane, son of French World Cup-winner Zinedine, said his grandfather had supported him in switching international allegiance to Algeria, after playing for France at junior level.

Zinedine Zidane is widely regarded as one of the greatest French footballers, inspiring his country to their first World Cup victory in 1998 and scoring two goals in the 3-0 win over Brazil in the final in Paris. The midfielder also guided them to the Euro 2000 trophy, achieving an unprecedented double for Les Bleus.

The decision to switch nationalities by Luca, who chose to avoid comparisons with ‌his father from ‌an early age by opting to play as ‌a ⁠goalkeeper, came as ‌a surprise, especially since he made it at the age of 27.

He quickly became Algeria's first-choice keeper, and his father watched him play against Sudan in Vladimir Petković's side's opening Africa Cup of Nations Group E match on Wednesday, which they won 3-0.

Zidane was not tested much during the match, but he did make an important save from a dangerous chance that fell to Yaser Awad with the score at ⁠1-0.

"When I think of Algeria, I remember my grandfather. Since childhood, we’ve had this Algerian culture in the ‌family," Zidane told BeIN Sports France.

"I spoke to ‍him before playing for the national ‍team, and he was extremely happy about this step. Every time I receive ‍an international call-up, he calls me and says that I made a great decision and that he is proud of me."

He said his father had also backed his decision. "He supported me," Luca said. "He said to me ‘Be careful, this is your choice. I can give you advice, but in the end, the final decision will be yours'.

"From the moment the coach and the federation ⁠president reached out to me, it was clear that I wanted to go and represent my country. After that, I naturally spoke with my family, and they were all happy for me."

Zinedine Zidane, who was sent off in the 2006 World Cup final in Germany which they lost to Italy on penalties, won the Champions League in 2002 with Real Madrid and claimed the Ballon d'Or award in 1998.

His son, who plays in Spain for Granada after starting his career at Real Madrid, has always worn a shirt bearing the name Luca, but he decided his national team jersey would carry the name Zidane.

"So for me, being able to honor ‌my grandfather by joining the national team is very important," he said. "The next jersey with the name on it will be for him."

Sports

Villa Face Chelsea Test as Premier League Title Race Heats Up

Football - Premier League - Aston Villa v Manchester United - Villa Park, Birmingham, Britain - December 21, 2025 Aston Villa's Morgan Rogers celebrates scoring their second goal =. (Action Images via Reuters/Paul Childs)
Football - Premier League - Aston Villa v Manchester United - Villa Park, Birmingham, Britain - December 21, 2025 Aston Villa's Morgan Rogers celebrates scoring their second goal =. (Action Images via Reuters/Paul Childs)
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Villa Face Chelsea Test as Premier League Title Race Heats Up

Football - Premier League - Aston Villa v Manchester United - Villa Park, Birmingham, Britain - December 21, 2025 Aston Villa's Morgan Rogers celebrates scoring their second goal =. (Action Images via Reuters/Paul Childs)
Football - Premier League - Aston Villa v Manchester United - Villa Park, Birmingham, Britain - December 21, 2025 Aston Villa's Morgan Rogers celebrates scoring their second goal =. (Action Images via Reuters/Paul Childs)

Aston Villa face a tough challenge at Chelsea on Saturday after muscling their way into the Premier League title race alongside Arsenal and Manchester City.

The Gunners, top of the tree at Christmas, host Brighton, while Pep Guardiola's in-form City travel to Nottingham Forest.

Liverpool manager Arne Slot is grappling with a striker crisis after Alexander Isak fractured his leg, while Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes also faces a spell on the sidelines.

AFP Sport looks at three talking points ahead of the festive action:

Rogers spearheads Villa charge

Unai Emery's third-placed Villa are still considered rank outsiders for the Premier League title even though they are just three points behind leaders Arsenal.

Villa's 2-1 home win against Manchester United was their 10th consecutive victory in all competitions -- the first time they have achieved the feat as a top-flight team since 1914.

One of the major reasons for their recent success is the form of England midfielder Morgan Rogers, who failed to register a single goal involvement in his first seven matches in all competitions.

Now it is a different story: he has recorded 11 goal involvements in his past 15 appearances and the quality of his goals has been striking.

Rogers' seven Premier League goals this season have come from just 2.86 expected goals -- a metric used to determine how likely a player is to convert a chance.

But football analysts Opta give Villa just a five percent chance of becoming English champions for the first time since 1981.

Emery's men have an opportunity to silence the doubters when they take on fourth-placed Chelsea, with a match at Arsenal to follow just days later.

Slot's goals headache

In the early weeks of the season, Arne Slot would probably have envisaged Mohamed Salah and Alexander Isak as two of his first-choice attackers.

Now the Liverpool boss has neither -- Salah is with Egypt at the Africa Cup of Nations, while Isak faces at least two months on the sidelines after fracturing his leg against Tottenham.

Slot has steadied the ship at Anfield after a shocking run of six defeats in seven Premier League matches that left Liverpool's title defense in tatters.

A run of three wins and two draws in five league games has lifted the reigning champions into fifth spot, but there will be concerns over where the goals are going to come from ahead of the visit of bottom club Wolves.

Isak's absence will heap more pressure on the shoulders of top-scorer Hugo Ekitike.

The summer signing has netted eight times in the Premier League -- twice the tallies of Salah and Cody Gakpo.

Fernandes blow for Man Utd

Bruno Fernandes has been a shining light and virtually ever-present during Manchester United's recent lean years.

But manager Ruben Amorim is going to have to plan for a period without his talisman after the Portugal midfielder pulled up with an apparent hamstring injury in United's 2-1 defeat at Villa Park.

While the prognosis is unclear, Amorim has already ruled Fernandes out of United's clash against Newcastle at Old Trafford on Friday, among a list of absentees, with the Portuguese boss urging the rest of his squad to "step up" in the absence of his "impossible to replace" captain.

"It's massive," defender Diogo Dalot told Sky Sports. "We don't know how bad it is but for him to come off (in) the game, we know how tough he is."

Playmaker Fernandes has five goals and seven assists in the Premier League this season for inconsistent United, who are also without top-scorer Bryan Mbeumo, on Africa Cup of Nations duty with Cameroon.

Sports

Romero Faces FA Charge for Behavior After Liverpool Dismissal

Tottenham Hotspur's Argentinian defender #17 Cristian Romero (C) and Spanish defender #23 Pedro Porro (R) remonstrate with referee John Brooks (L) during the English Premier League football match between Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, on December 20, 2025. (AFP)
Tottenham Hotspur's Argentinian defender #17 Cristian Romero (C) and Spanish defender #23 Pedro Porro (R) remonstrate with referee John Brooks (L) during the English Premier League football match between Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, on December 20, 2025. (AFP)
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Romero Faces FA Charge for Behavior After Liverpool Dismissal

Tottenham Hotspur's Argentinian defender #17 Cristian Romero (C) and Spanish defender #23 Pedro Porro (R) remonstrate with referee John Brooks (L) during the English Premier League football match between Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, on December 20, 2025. (AFP)
Tottenham Hotspur's Argentinian defender #17 Cristian Romero (C) and Spanish defender #23 Pedro Porro (R) remonstrate with referee John Brooks (L) during the English Premier League football match between Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, on December 20, 2025. (AFP)

Tottenham captain Cristian Romero was charged by England's Football Association with allegedly acting in an "improper" manner in response to being sent off during Saturday's 2-1 Premier League defeat against Liverpool.

With Xavi Simons already being given a red ‌card earlier, ‌Tottenham ended up ‌with ⁠nine men ‌after captain Romero was given a second yellow for a tackle on Ibrahima Konate in the 93rd minute.

"It's alleged that he (Romero) acted in ⁠an improper manner by failing to ‌promptly leave the ‍field of ‍play and/or behaving in a ‍confrontational and/or aggressive manner towards the match referee after being sent off in the 93rd minute," the FA said in a statement.

Romero has until ⁠January 2 to respond to the charge.

The dismissal meant he already has to serve a one-match ban and will miss Sunday's away trip to Crystal Palace.

Tottenham are 14th in the league table with 22 points, 17 ‌behind leaders and derby rivals Arsenal.