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BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 21: Pep Guardiola, Manager of Manchester City, reacts towards Bernardo Silva of Manchester City during the Premier League match between Aston Villa FC and Manchester City FC at Villa Park on December 21, 2024 in Birmingham, England. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

Manchester City suffered their sixth defeat of the Premier League season after going down 2-1 to Aston Villa on Saturday afternoon.

Premier League

Result: Aston Villa 2-1 Manchester City

Date: 21 December 2024

Venue: Villa Park

City coach Pep Guardiola dropped goalkeeper Ederson, Kevin de Bruyne and Kyle Walker after the Manchester derby defeat, as Stefan Ortega, Jack Grealish and Rico Lewis were recalled to the starting line-up.

The home side got off to a promising start on home soil, as Jhon Duran and Pau Torres were both denied by Ortega, who pulled off two brilliant saves inside the opening five minutes.

Villa got their reward in the 16th minute when a swift counter-attack ended with Morgan Rogers unselfishly teeing up Duran, who made no mistake from close range.

The visitors eventually got going in the midway period but had to wait until the 35th minute for a big chance as Phil Foden combined with Lewis before seeing his curling strike brilliantly tipped away by Emiliano Martinez.

Villa started the second half in similar fashion to the first, as Duran had the ball in the back of the net after five minutes but the celebrations were cut short due to the offside flag.

It got worse for City in the 64th minute as Rogers embarked on a lung-busting run before exchanging passes with John McGinn and unleashing a low strike into the far corner against his former his team.

Cityzens coach Guardiola responded with a change for the final 20 minutes as Ilkay Gundogan made way for Savinho as the visitors looked to upped the ante in the attack and pull a goal back.

Phil Foden did pull one back for the defending champions in second half stoppage time with his first league goal of the campaign, but Villa had done enough to secure maximum points.

POLOKWANE, SOUTH AFRICA – JANUARY 06: Carling Knockout trophy during the Carling Knockout match between Stellenbosch FC and Carling Knockout All-Star XI at Peter Mokaba Stadium on January 06, 2024 in Polokwane, South Africa. (Photo by Philip Maeta/Gallo Images)

Carling Knockout champions Magesi will be tested when they clash against All Stars XI in the Black Label Cup on Saturday afternoon at Orlando Stadium.

Carling Cup

Teams: Magesi v All Stars XI

Date: 21 December 2024

Venue: Orlando Stadium

Time: 15h30

Magesi won a top flight trophy for the first time after beating Mamelodi Sundowns 2-1 in the Carling Knockout final.

Dikwena will have another challenge to become the Black Label Cup champions, up against players voted from various teams, the All Stars XI.

The All Stars XI team will be coached by Orlando Pirates mentor Jose Riveiro for the second successive season.

Riveiro guided All Stars to a 2-1 win over last season’s Carling Knockout winners Stellenbosch, thanks to goals by Kaizer Chiefs players Mdundo Vilakazi and Ashley Du Preez while Mervin Boji scored late for Stellies.

The All Stars line up has four players from Pirates, four from Chiefs and three from Sundowns, including a ratio of players from the DStv Diski Challenge, which is a requirement in the tournament.

The Buccaneers goalkeeper Sipho Chaine has been voted as the captain of the side while Amakhosi midfielder Gaston Sirino was withdrawn due to injury.

Here’s how they line up:

Magesi: Chipezeze, Chirambadare, Rademeyer, Komape, Mokone, Mzava, Darpoh, Mekoa, Kakora, Makhubu, Mashigo

Subs: Tshabalala, Baloyi, Makgopa, Mokone, Manzini, Njoti, Ngwandla, Masegela, Matima

All Stars XI: Chaine, Mokone, McCarthy, Mbokazi, Tiwani, Zwane, Aubaas, Kekana, Mofokeng, Mokoena, Hlongwane

Subs: Biyela, Madalane, Cossa, Sinoti, Frosler, Vilakazi, Phiri, Selepe, Green, Lorch, Maswanganyi, Mabasa

From abrupt sackings to mounting pressure on underperforming coaches, this campaign is shaping up to be one where the dugout is as unpredictable as the pitch. 

Here, GOAL, delves into the managerial merry-go-round, focusing on the casualties, potential departures and the ever-looming shadow of performance expectations.  

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Kylian Mbappe has named Cristiano Ronaldo and Zinedine Zidane as players he wishes he could played against.

Real Madrid superstar Kylian Mbappe has named two footballers he wishes he could have played alongside.

Check Out: Balotelli Sends Message To Bafana Striker

The France captain has shared a dressing room with some high-profile players in his career, namely Neymar and Lionel Messi. 

Mbappe starred alongside the Brazilian and Argentinian at Paris Saint-Germain in Ligue 1, while he also spent a short time of his international career with Karim Benzema. 

The 26-year-old, though, wishes he could have played with Les Bleus legend Zinedine Zidane and Los Blancos icon Cristiano Ronaldo. 

“I would say Zinedine Zidane,” he told beIN Sports when asked which player he would have liked to play with. 

“I’ve played with great players: Messi, Neymar, Griezmann, Pogba, Benzema…

“It would have been fun to play with Cristiano Ronaldo, it’s going to be very complicated now. But I was lucky enough to play against him, a legend of the sport.”

Mbappe has enjoyed fine goalscoring form in recent weeks for the 15-time UEFA Champions League winners. 

Check Out: ‘Ronaldo Will Always Be The GOAT’

The ex-Paris Saint-Germain man has now struck 12 times in his 22 appearances for Real since joining the club as a free agent.