Football

A 1-0 loss on the night meant a 3-2 aggregate triumph that famously persuaded Mourinho to cavort boisterously across the Camp Nou turf.

Inter would go on to complete a stunning treble in 2009-10, sweeping all before them in Italy and beating Bayern Munich in that season's European final.

It was Mourinho's second title in Europe's top competition after he masterminded Porto's unlikely march to glory in 2003-04 – a success that set up one of the most celebrated coaching careers of the 21st century.

Here, we look at some of the inimitable Portuguese's greatest games in the competition that launched him to prominence.

MANCHESTER UNITED 1-1 PORTO (2004)

Mourinho probably doesn't often ponder the importance of Tim Howard when assessing his decorated career. But, if the USA international had gathered Benny McCarthy's free-kick during injury time at Old Trafford, a defining chain of events in early 20th century football would not have unfolded as it did.

Trailing 2-1 due to a McCarthy brace in the first leg, United edged ahead of the UEFA Cup holders on away goals through Paul Scholes' first-half header. From that point until the dying moments, the young Mourinho looked like simply becoming the latest bright young victim of Alex Ferguson in Europe.

But Howard fumbled, collided with his post and could do nothing as Costinho converted the rebound. Overcoat flapping in the Manchester night, off Mourinho tore down the touchline. Porto were into the quarter-finals and would go on to win the whole thing, dismissing Monaco 3-0 in the final. That sent Mourinho to Chelsea, where he declared himself to be a "Special One" at his unveiling news conference.

CHELSEA 4-2 BARCELONA (2005)

Despite winning back-to-back Premier League titles during his first spell at Stamford Bridge, Mourinho was unable to conquer Europe with Chelsea. However, this stirring, rollercoaster affair in west London will continue to live long in the memory.

Nursing a 2-1 deficit from a first leg doused in acrimony – the flames of which were fanned by Mourinho himself – Chelsea set about their illustrious opponents in riotous fashion. Eidur Gudjohnsen, Frank Lampard and Damien Duff made light of Didier Drogba's suspension to have the Blues 3-0 up inside 19 minutes.

Ronaldinho then reduced the deficit with an impudent touch of genius at the edge of the box and the Brazilian magician's penalty meant Barca were ahead on away goals before the break. Petr Cech had to produce heroics to keep the Blaugrana at bay during the second period before John Terry decisively powered home Duff's 76th-minute corner.

INTER 3-1 BARCELONA (2010)

The glorious nuisance value of the former Barca employee frustrating the club who turned him down in 2008 means 10-man Inter scraping through in Catalonia is the defining memory of this semi-final. However, as in the Chelsea triumph above, Mourinho showed his teams could combine thrill and efficiency during the initial encounter at San Siro.

Pep Guardiola's reigning European champions had to travel to Milan by coach due to the disruption to European air travel caused by the eruption of Eyjafjallajokull in Iceland and the resulting volcanic ash cloud. Pedro's opening goal suggested Barcelona were fully up to speed, only for the Nerazzurri to comprehensively outplay them.

Wesley Sneijder, enjoying the season of his career, levelled and Maicon gave Inter an early second-half lead. Diego Milito set up both those goals before making it 3-1. The Argentina forward would also be Inter's final hero, netting a brace to down Bayern at the Santiago Bernabeu – Mourinho's next port of call.

REAL MADRID 3-2 MANCHESTER CITY (2012)

Mourinho's capacity for irritating Barcelona undoubtedly played a part in his Madrid appointment and his stock was never higher than after Inter conquered all. He failed to scale those heights in the Spanish capital, however, with semi-final defeats a feature of each of his three seasons at the helm.

In the last of those seasons, Madrid kicked off their bid for glory in thrilling fashion against Manchester City in the group stage. After a circumspect and goalless first half, the Premier League champions twice led through Edin Dzeko and Aleksandar Kolarov. Marcelo and Karim Benzema swiftly cancelled the deficit each time, leaving Cristiano Ronaldo to thrash home a last-gasp winner – prompting another on-field celebration from a knee-sliding Mourinho.

CHELSEA 2–0 PSG (2014)

A second spell at Chelsea yielded one more Premier League title and ended in deep disappointment after an alarming start to the 2015-16 season. Before all that unfolded, he was off and down the touchline once more as the Blues dramatically sank Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain.

Staring at a 3-1 deficit from the first leg of the quarter-final tie, Chelsea battled back to prevail on away goals. Losing Eden Hazard to injury early on looked to have stacked the odds too heavily against the hosts but Andre Schurrle, on in place of the Belgium star, reduced the arrears.

Another unlikely hero from the bench, Demba Ba, bundled home three minutes from time to spark scenes of delirium. Unfortunately for Chelsea, they ran into Diego Simeone's formidable Atletico Madrid in the semi-finals and PSG earned revenge in the round of 16 the following season.

JUVENTUS 1-2 MANCHESTER UNITED (2018)

Mourinho's United reign had arguably already suffered the blow from which it would never recover during the previous season's Champions League, when Sevilla saw off their limp challenge at Old Trafford.

However, this group stage encounter offered hints of what might have been. Ronaldo thumped a stunning over-the-shoulder volley past David de Gea to give Juve a 65th-minute lead that remained intact until Juan Mata's delightful free-kick leveller with five to play.

Juventus were rattled and Leonardo Bonucci put Ashley Young's free-kick through his own goal. Ex-Inter boss Mourinho revelled in the celebrations, cupping his ear to the home supporters from the field. A month later, he was out of a job after United lost to Liverpool at Anfield.

Rovers, bottom of Sky Bet League Two, battled on after Tommy Rowe had been shown a red card just before half-time.

The home side had enjoyed the better of the opening exchanges, with George Broadbent’s low drive forcing Murphy Mahoney into a smart save before the Swindon keeper also denied Zain Westbrooke.

Rowe then fired a shot narrowly over the crossbar after latching onto a loose ball inside the box.

Swindon, though, grew into the game with Charlie Austin and Udoka Godwin-Malife both going close with headers.

The key moment came in first-half stoppage time when Rowe was dismissed for a high challenge on Swindon midfielder George McEachran.

Swindon looked to make the most of their advantage and Austin’s low drive forced a fine save from Rovers keeper Ian Lawlor.

Doncaster, though, remained in the game – and striker Joe Ironside brought an excellent stop from Mahoney as both sides had to settle for a point.

Leverkusen remain third in the standings, four points behind RB Leipzig and Bayern Munich, who play Borussia Dortmund and Union Berlin respectively on Saturday.

Xabi Alonso's side dominated proceedings from the first whistle, registering 10 attempts in the first half, though only three were on Alexander Nubel's goal. 

They came closest to breaking the deadlock five minutes before the break when Edmond Tapsoba rattled the crossbar with a thumping header. 

Leverkusen struck the woodwork again shortly after the restart, this time through Victor Boniface, as the Stuttgart net continued to live a charmed life at the BayArena. 

Boniface was then denied by a miraculous save by Nubel in the 73rd minute, before the visiting goalkeeper denied Florian Wirtz to seal a share of the spoils for Stuttgart. 

Data Debrief: All bark, no bite

Leverkusen lacked the attacking spark that helped them romp to the Bundesliga title, and this result could prove pivotal in their attempts of reclaiming their league crown. 

The goalless draw saw the hosts underperform their expected goals (xG) value by 2.19. Only in a 0-0 draw with Borussia Monchengladbach last season have they underperformed their xG value more in a league game under Alonso (3.0). 

Boniface was arguably the biggest culprit for wasting those golden opportunities. He had four shots, with two of those on target, while he also missed three big chances. 

The Nerazzurri had not conceded a single goal in their five Champions League outings this campaign, but they dropped to fourth in the table following a narrow defeat in Germany. 

Leverkusen, who enjoyed more than 60% of the possession as they went in search of a sixth straight win in all competitions, were the better side for most of the game.

They hit the post early on through Nathan Tella before going close again through Florian Wirtz and Jonathan Tah, the former drawing a full-stretch save from Yann Sommer.

They were made to wait for their breakthrough, but it finally came in the final minute as a goalmouth scramble resulted in Mukiele slotting home.

Xabi Alonso's side leapfrogged their opponents to go second in the 36-team standings, five points adrift of first-placed Liverpool and ahead of Aston Villa, Inter and Brest on goal difference.

Data Debrief: Inter backline finally breached

Inter became the final team to ship a goal in the Champions League this season, conceding from their 97th shot faced in the competition in 2024-25.

At the other end, the Nerazzurri failed to record a single shot on target in a Champions League match for the first time since February 2022, in a last-16 defeat to Liverpool.

It is the first time on record (since 2003-04), meanwhile, that they have failed to hit the target in a group-stage match in the competition. 

Leverkusen, meanwhile, have won three consecutive Champions League home games for the first time since 2011-12, doing so without conceding for the first time in their European history.

Champions Leverkusen, who face Brest in the Champions League next week, missed a fifth-minute penalty through Boniface, but the Nigeria international made amends in the second half to lift Leverkusen up to 14 points in fourth place, leapfrogging Eintracht.

It was a day that also saw RB Leipzig provisionally take over the Bundesliga lead with their 2-0 victory at Mainz.

Leipzig went top on 17 after easing to victory ahead of Bayern Munich, also on 14, taking on Stuttgart later on Saturday.

Leverkusen shot out of the blocks against Eintracht and came close after a minute with a strike from Granit Xhaka.

They were awarded a penalty soon after, but Boniface's weak effort was saved by Eintracht keeper Kevin Trapp.

Eintracht scored first with their own spot kick in the 16th minute with the league's leading scorer Omar Marmoush, who also hit the woodwork, bagging his ninth goal of the top-flight campaign.

The Egypt forward has now scored in six consecutive Bundesliga matches.

Leverkusen's Robert Andrich completed a superb passing move in the 25th minute to draw the hosts level and the Germany international came close to another goal when he rattled the post with a low drive just past the hour.

But it was Boniface who scored the winner, heading in at the far post after Trapp failed to control a cross into the box.

The visitors squandered a golden chance to level deep in stoppage time after a mistake by Leverkusen's Lukas Hradecky, who became the first non-German goalkeeper to reach 300 Bundesliga matches.

But Leverkusen prevailed after defender Jonathan Tah managed to clear the ball off the line.

Data Debrief: Relentless Leverkusen prevail

While the outcome of this match remained uncertain until the final moments and the winning goal came relatively late in the game, Leverkusen deserved their victory.

Marmoush’s goal from the spot was one of only two shots on target the visitors managed, whereas Leverkusen racked up nine attempts on target and had 27 shots overall, accumulating a big expected goals (xG) total of 3.75.

That total of 27 shots is their highest in a league match in 2024-25 and nine of the attempts came from a relentless Boniface, the joint-highest total for any player in a Bundesliga game this season.

Boniface now has a team-high five league goals this season, though even those impressive figures are dwarfed by the brilliant Marmoush, who has racked up nine goals and four assists in his last six top-flight appearances for Eintracht.

Heading into the game on the back of a midweek cup win against Bayern Munich, Leverkusen only took six minutes to lead as Florian Wirtz fired in from a superb Granit Xhaka pass.

Leverkusen, without Victor Boniface and Patrik Schick, then doubled their lead in the 21st minute when defender Jonathan Tah was left unmarked at the far post to head in.

St. Pauli needed 30 minutes to get their first effort at goal and struggled to find openings against a solid Leverkusen defence.

But the visitors did set up a nervous ending to the game when they pulled a goal back in the 84th minute through Morgan Guilavogui.

Leverkusen now have 26 points from 13 matches as they sit in third place - seven points behind leaders Bayern, while St. Pauli are just above the danger zone with 11 points. 

Data Debrief: Hat-trick of wins for Leverkusen 

It is the first time this season that reigning champions Leverkusen have won three games in a row in the Bundesliga.

They have not been totally free-flowing this campaign and it was a similar story on Saturday. Xabi Alonso's side only had an xG of 0.92 at the end of 90 minutes, recording just six shots.

Their opponents, meanwhile, generated an xG of 1.42 with six more shots than the home side and four shots on target - two more than Leverkusen. 

Despite that, Leverkusen maintained their excellent record against St. Pauli, having now not tasted defeat in their last 11 competitive home games against them (W7 D4). Their only defeat at home to St. Pauli came all the way back in their first-ever meeting in 1976. 

Victor Boniface slotted in after just four minutes to put the hosts in front, netting his fourth league goal of the campaign. 

And Leverkusen struck again before Kiel could recover, with Jonas Hofmann's low drive getting the better of Timon Weiner, who should have done better, to put them 2-0 up inside eight minutes.

Kiel, however, refused to back down and pulled one back on the stroke of half-time thanks to Max Geschwill's far-post header.

Jeremie Frimpong then brought down Armin Gigovic in the box, and Fiete Arp made no mistake from the spot as he got the promoted side back on level terms in the 69th minute.

Leverkusen missed the chance to go level on points with leaders Bayern Munich, and instead sit fifth. 

Data Debrief: An early lead slips

Alonso would have been hoping to mark his 100th game in charge with a much more positive result, especially having won 66 of his first 99 in charge.

It was not for lack of trying though, as they had 23 shots in the game, seven of which were on target - a much-improved tally from their meagre three attempts against Bayern last weekend.

In fact, The Werkself have still taken the most shots (117) and had the most on-target (44) in the Bundesliga so far this season.

However, they have also dropped seven points from winning positions in the competition, with only Bochum and Wolfsburg (both eight) losing more, and that is something Alonso will be keen to stamp out sooner rather than later.

Nordi Mukiele turned into his own net in the fourth minute, but Xabi Alonso's hosts levelled nine minutes later when Florian Wirtz struck from the edge of the box at BayArena.

Jonathan Tah edged the hosts ahead with a cool header in the 32nd minute but their lead was short-lived as the visitors equalised from Sebastiaan Bornauw's headed finish.

Further Wolfsburg joy followed when Mattias Svanberg went on a driving run in Leverkusen's half and curled past goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky on the stroke of half-time.

Alonso made two changes at the break and those alterations soon paid dividends when Piero Hincapie headed home Aleix Garcia's 48th-minute cross to make it 3-3.

Wolfsburg's Yannick Gerhardt was then sent off in the 88th minute, with substitute Boniface making use of the one-man advantage to rifle home a loose ball in the penalty area for the winner.

Data Debrief: Boniface heroics mask defensive issues

Boniface proved the late hero after following up his two goals and an assist against Hoffenheim last time out, the second instance of the striker managing three goal involvements in a single Bundesliga game.

Yet the Leverkusen forward's heroics cannot mask Alonso's defensive issues, having shipped another three goals here despite only facing an expected goals (xG) tally of 0.66.

Alonso's men have now conceded nine goals in the league, and are the first defending champions to go without a clean sheet in the first four Bundesliga games of the season since Kaiserslautern in 1998-99.

Fortunately, Leverkusen continue to impress at the other end, accumulating 1.92 xG from 20 attempts on goal as they profited from deadly finishing from the chances they created.

Leverkusen, beaten 4-0 at Liverpool in their last game, raced into an early lead with Wirtz scoring from the penalty spot in the eighth minute and Alejandro Grimaldo netting from a free kick three minutes later.

Wirtz scored again on the half-hour as Leverkusen threatened to run riot and Patrik Schick added a fourth goal 16 minutes after the break.

Substitute Aleix Garcia rounded off the win 18 minutes from time, just four minutes after entering the pitch.

Leverkusen return to winning ways, having failed to pick up three points in their last two matches in the competition.

It moves them up to 13th on 10 points, while Salzburg remain on three points in 30th after suffering their fourth defeat in five matches.

Data Debrief: Wirtz shows dazzling promise

Leverkusen’s Wirtz scored his 17th goal in major European football tonight (12 in UEFA Europa League, 5 in UEFA Champions League) – at the age of 21, only Erling Haaland (23), Kylian Mbappe (21) and Ronaldo (20) have scored more before their 22nd birthday, with Wirtz drawing level with Lionel Messi tonight.

He has scored five Champions League goals in his five appearances so far for Bayer Leverkusen, the most ever goals scored by a German player in their first five games in the competition.

He was integral to what was Leverkusen’s joint biggest win in their major European football history, also registering 5-0 victories in November 1994 against Budapest Honved and in December 2007 against Zurich, both in the UEFA Cup.

The emphatic triumph saw Xabi Alonso's side extend their unbeaten league run to nine matches, moving them up to fourth but still nine points behind leaders Bayern Munich. 

However, Leverkusen found themselves behind inside the opening 10 minutes when Niklas Dorsch was teed up by Marvin Pieringer inside the box. 

Heidenheim doubled their advantage soon after through Mathias Honsak, who danced his way beyond three defenders before finishing into the bottom left corner. 

But two goals in two minutes from Exequiel Palacios and Schick drew the hosts level, with Leverkusen able to take a hold of the contest after the interval. 

Schick notched his second of the game seven minutes after the restart to put Leverkusen ahead when he brilliantly flicked Florian Wirtz's cross beyond Kevin Muller. 

The Czech striker completed his hat-trick with a header in the 71st minute, with Granit Xhaka sealing the win with a curled finish into the far left corner. 

Data Debrief: Patrik hero

Ahead of kick-off, Leverkusen were dealt a huge injury blow with in-form striker Victor Boniface potentially ruled out until next year, but they needn't have worried. 

Schick grasped his opportunity with both hands, putting on an impressive display and ending the game with more shots on target (four) and more touches in the opposition box (13), while also accumulating a team-high expected goals (xG) tally of 1.37 to Leverkusen's 2.05 total. 

He has now scored three or more goals in a Bundesliga game on three occasions for Leverkusen, with only Ulf Kirsten (seven) having done so more times for the club.

Granit Xhaka’s brilliant 20-yard strike gave Leverkusen the lead after just three minutes, but a well-worked headed equaliser from Dominik Kohr followed close behind to give the relegation strugglers hope.

Xabi Alonso’s side were spared any further anxiety when Robert Andrich tried his luck from range in the 68th minute and Zentner allowed a gentle effort to squirm through his gloves and over the line.

The relief around the ground was as tangible as the keeper’s despair and, when Jessic Ngankam was sent off late on, the points were secured.

In doing so, Leverkusen stretched their unbeaten run to 33 games in all competitions, a new German record at the expense of rivals Bayern Munich.

The hosts wasted no time stamping their authority on proceedings, Jonas Hofmann winning a free-kick in opposition territory.

Xhaka acted as first receiver before sliding in Alex Grimaldo down the left flank. His cross was deflected back to the Swiss midfielder, who proceeded to swing his weaker left foot and send a curling, dipping first-time effort sailing over a wrong-footed Zentner.

Xhaka marked his first goal since joining the club from Arsenal last summer by feeling for his hamstring.

Alonso briefly looked concerned on the touchline, but as his team-mates joined in it quickly became clear it was an in-joke rather than a genuine fitness setback.

But Mainz were the ones celebrating five minutes later, Nadiem Amiri’s deft chip over the top creating the opening against his parent club.

Silvan Widmar was onside by a whisker as he met the ball with his head and squared it back across the penalty box and, although the ball did not land perfectly for Kohr, he timed his diving header wonderfully well to power the ball home from 10 yards.

Xhaka, Hofman and Grimaldo all had sights of goal as the home side pushed to reclaim the advantage, but Mainz stood their ground.

Mainz came desperately close to going ahead after 50 minutes, Leandro Barreiro stretching to meet Amiri’s free-kick at the far post, only for Jonathan Tah to mop up calmly when he could easily have scored an own goal.

There was another warning when Edmond Tapsoba’s poor pass offered Lee Jae-sung a free strike, only for the South Korean to miss the target completely.

Things were beginning to get scrappy amid a flurry of bookings, when Andrich’s pot shot changed the game. The ball swirled slightly on its way to Zentner, but there was no hiding his culpability as he waved it tamely into the side of his net.

Ngankam saw red with 10 minutes left on the clock, a dangerous slide on Xhaka upgraded from a caution after a review, allowing the league leaders to see out their evening safely.

Florian Wirtz scored the only goal of the 1-0 victory deep in first-half injury time after Robin Gosens was shown a red card.

Union succeeded in keeping it to one but, with Bayern Munich losing again, it was enough to move Xabi Alonso’s side 16 points clear at the top of the table with six games remaining.

Frederik Ronnow had made fine saves from Borja Iglesias and Alex Grimaldo before the game burst into life in first-half injury time.

First Gosens, who had been booked early on, was shown a second yellow card for a foul just outside the box.

The resulting free-kick caused chaos in the Berlin penalty area and, after a VAR check, the referee ruled Christopher Trimmel had handled and pointed to the sport, with Wirtz making no mistake.

Leverkusen had the majority of the play in the second half as they sought a second but Ronnow refused to be beaten again, saving impressively from Nathan Tella and Iglesias.

The Germany international will initially cost Bayern €49million (£44.5m), rising to €60m (£54.5m) and is expected in Munich on Wednesday, Stats Perform News understands.

Sane joined City from Schalke in 2016 in a deal reportedly worth an initial £37m (€40m) and he went on to show flashes of immense ability during his first campaign.

He elevated his game to the next level in 2017-18 and won the Professional Footballers' Association's (PFA) Young Player of the Year award as Pep Guardiola's side clinched the Premier League title.

Sane helped City to another top-flight crown the following year and scored 16 goals across all competitions, though links with Bayern became commonplace towards the end of 2018-19.

Bayern were rumoured to have been interested in bringing the winger back to the Bundesliga last year, however they were said to be unwilling to match City's asking price.

Sane then suffered a serious knee injury in the Community Shield last August and only returned to the pitch in June.

Much of his time on the sidelines coincided with strengthening reports of Sane desiring a move to Munich, and on June 19 Guardiola confirmed the 24-year-old had informed the club he would not be signing an extension to his contract.

As such, Guardiola accepted Sane was either to be sold this year or leave on a free transfer in June 2021.

City have at least avoided the latter scenario, though the reported fee of up to €60m is significantly less than the £137m (€150m) asking price they are alleged to have set in 2019.

Despite Harry Kane cancelling out Raphinha's opener, the German outfit were swept aside at the Camp Nou, losing 4-1 to leave them 23rd in the new league standings.

The defeat saw Barcelona become the first team since Real Madrid in April 2014 to score three first half goals in a Champions League game against Bayern. 

Raphinha also became the fourth player to net a Champions League hat-trick against Bayern, after Roy Makaay, Sergio Aguero and Cristiano Ronaldo. 

Bayern have, however, fared better in the Bundesliga. They remain unbeaten in their seven league games and are top of the table on goal difference, ahead of RB Leipzig.

But Kompany believes the defeat should not see his players lose sight of their aspirations this season as they aim to reclaim their Bundesliga crown from Bayer Leverkusen.

"We conceded four goals. But I would not just talk about that (defence). It's too easy. The responsibility lies with the entire team," Kompany said.

"We have the quality and players. I understand we lost and we have to accept the criticism.

"But I do not want to lose sight of what the boys can achieve if they take the next steps.

"The basis is that the team works and that it learns from such moments.

"We are not surprised that not all was perfect. It is normal. After all we did not win a title last season."

"There are games where it is clear what happened. But that was a game with a lot of moments and not everything went wrong," Kompany continued.

"There were also good moments which we did not use or were not too concentrated."

But Bayern have reason to be confident of recovering from their humbling defeat to Barcelona. 

They travel to the Vonovia Ruhrstadion in impressive form on the road, scoring 17 goals in their first four Bundesliga away games this season, which is a league record. 

Kompany's side have also found the back of the net at least three times in each of their last four top-flight games on their travels and would equal another league record should they do so again this weekend (set by Bayern themselves in 2019-20 under Hansi Flick).

But they have struggled to keep goals out at the other end.

Bayern have kept just one clean sheet in their last 15 Bundesliga away games, with only Bochum (31) conceding more goals on the road in 2024 than the Bavarians (29).

Hernandez opened the scoring for Bayern in Tuesday's 2-0 Champions League victory and played a full part at the Allianz Arena.

However, the 2018 World Cup winner suffered an injury during the match and is now facing a spell on the sidelines.

No timeline has been given by Bayern for Hernandez's recovery, but widespread reports suggest he is facing four to six weeks out of action.

That will see Hernandez miss France's upcoming Nations League games against Austria and Denmark – Les Blues' final fixtures ahead of their World Cup title defence in nine weeks' time.

Didier Deschamps has been hit by a number of injury issues ahead of naming his squad on Thursday, with the likes of Paul Pogba and Karim Benzema also nursing fitness problems.

In more positive news for France and Bayern, Benjamin Pavard has confirmed the knock that forced him off early on against Barcelona is nothing serious.

Hernandez, who can play at both left-back and centre-back, has started eight of Bayern's 10 matches this season.

The England captain, who has netted 20 goals across all competitions this season, suffered a thigh injury in Saturday's 1-1 draw at Borussia Dortmund.

Kane is expected to be out for a couple of weeks but Kompany is hopeful the England captain could still return to action before the winter break.

Bayern are top of the Bundesliga with a four-point lead over Eintracht Frankfurt.

"It is difficult to say at this moment but there is a chance for him to still play this year," Kompany told reporters ahead of Bayern's DFB-Pokal clash with holders and reigning Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen.

"But he will miss several games and to replace him, you know you cannot replace the goals or the player one-for-one. That's why he is a top player."

Thomas Muller, Serge Gnabry, Michael Olise and Leroy Sane have enough experience to fill the gap, according to Kompany.

"We have talent in the team and need to solve it differently. We won't be lacking talent tomorrow but it will look different," Kompany explained.

"We have many options. Thomas Muller, Mathys Tel, Gnabry, Olise, Leroy. I now named almost everyone. Obviously, Harry has scored 20 goals, but we have dangerous players in attack."

Bayern last won the DFB-Pokal in 2020 and have failed to get past the quarter-finals since, losing in the second round in three of the past four seasons.

"We play the holders. One of the top two or three games in Germany, and I hope our performance will match the importance of the game," Kompany said. 

"We have played against almost every team in the league now. Leverkusen's squad is one of the best.

"They defend very deep and did the same against us in our first meeting this season. I don't know if they will approach things in a similar way. I hope that we will build on our strengths and concentrate on ourselves, no matter how Leverkusen play."

The goalkeeper fractured his lower right leg in a fall on Friday and has already undergone surgery, with the calamitous setback coming just days after Germany tumbled out of the World Cup in the group stage.

Bayern must decide whether second-choice keeper Sven Ulreich takes over the gloves for the rest of the season, or if Neuer's injury should prompt a move for an elite replacement in the January transfer window.

Ulreich filled in when a shoulder problem kept Neuer sidelined earlier in the season, and Bayern have won all eight games in 2022-23 when the 34-year-old has started, conceding just six goals.

Former Germany Under-21 goalkeeper Alexander Nubel is in the second year of a two-year loan to Monaco, where he has been a first-team regular, and it is not yet known whether Bayern may look to recall the 26-year-old.

Bayern CEO Oliver Kahn said: "The news of Manuel's injury shocked us all. We will stand by him and accompany him on his way to his comeback.

"He will also overcome this serious injury and return to the pitch as strong as before."

In a statement on the club's website, sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic said: "The fact that Manuel had such an accident is terrible, and of course all our thoughts are with him.

"I spoke with him yesterday and today, and the surgery went as well as possible. Manuel will receive all the support he needs.

"He is a strong personality and will come back. I wish him all the best, he can rely on FC Bayern!"

Germany boss Hansi Flick also sent his best wishes, saying: "We wish Manu a speedy recovery!"

Neuer, 36, would have been hoping to play a key role in Bayern's pursuit of silverware in the Bundesliga and Champions League after the World Cup break.

He said the injury occurred while he was "trying to get my head clear" after the misery of Germany's early exit in Qatar.

Bayern face a daunting last-16 clash with Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League, while they are due to return to Bundesliga action on January 20 against RB Leipzig.

The reigning German champions look set to lose their Bundesliga title to Alonso’s Leverkusen side as they trail their rivals by 10 points.

That situation prompted the early announcement of Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel’s departure at the end of the season but Jurgen Klopp revealing in January he was leaving Anfield in the summer has hastened proceedings as a host of big-name clubs battle to find new managers this summer.

Alonso, 42, is rated as one of Europe’s top young coaches with Leverkusen still unbeaten this season and heading towards their first Bundesliga title and has been installed as the bookmakers’ favourite to replace Klopp at Liverpool.

However, with two of the ex-Spain midfielder’s other former clubs also seemingly in competition for his services, the race is more complicated, although Carlo Ancelotti’s future at Real currently appears secure with the team eight points clear in LaLiga with the Italian signing a contract extension to 2026 in December.

“He’s (Alonso) proven that he can be a coach for the big time. There are hardly any suitable coaches who are currently free,” Hoeness told a panel at the Munich Trade Fair.

“Rather they are coaches who are under contract somewhere and possibly have great success.

“And that makes it much more difficult because clubs like Liverpool, Real Madrid, Leverkusen and FC Bayern are working on it (securing Alonso).

“It’s not so easy to tell them that Bayern is the measure of all things.”

The public comments made by the 72-year-old, who is also a supervisory board member with the Bavarian club, are unlikely to impress Bayern’s new director of sport Max Eberl.

On Wednesday, Eberl gave an interview to German newspaper Bild in which he said he did not want to provoke Alonso headlines and insisted he had not spoken to any potential candidates, which numbered “more than four but not 40 names” on an “unusual” list of successors.

“We have a list that we would like to work through in peace and have conversations in peace,” said Eberl.

Liverpool’s attempts to find Klopp’s replacement are expected to accelerate following Wednesday’s appointment of a new sporting director in Richard Hughes from Bournemouth.

Hughes was the driving force behind the appointment of Cherries head coach Andoni Iraola, whose agent Inaki Ibanez is the long-time representative of Alonso.

However, Hughes would have secured the appointment of Roberto De Zerbi – another being linked with Liverpool – had there not been a delay due in the change of the club’s ownership which allowed Brighton to secure the Italian.

Sporting’s Ruben Amorim is another likely to be on Liverpool’s short list.

The 20-year-old damaged the lateral collateral ligament in his left ankle during training last week and was subsequently ruled out of Canada's upcoming Gold Cup campaign.

Davies has returned to the Allianz Arena for treatment, but it is not yet known how long he will be out of action, although surgery is not required.

"Alphonso Davies faces a period on the sidelines at FC Bayern," a statement on the German club's official website read on Monday.

"The 20-year-old suffered an LCL tear to his left ankle in Canada's build-up to the Gold Cup. Davies has now returned to Munich for rehab. 

"The injury will be managed without invasive treatment."

Davies also missed six weeks of last season with an ankle injury that restricted him to 35 appearances for Bayern in all competitions.

He led defenders in the German top flight last season for dribbles completed per 90 minutes (3.21) – among those to have played at least twice.

However, Bayern won nine, drew three and lost none of the 12 Bundesliga games they started without Davies in 2020-21.

The German champions, now coached by Julian Nagelsmann, could also be without fellow left-sided defender Lucas Hernandez for the start of the new season.

Hernandez underwent surgery last week after tearing the medial meniscus of his left knee during France's 2-2 draw with Portugal at Euro 2020, ruling him out "for a few weeks".

Bayern, who saw David Alaba join Real Madrid on a free transfer in May, begin their title defence away to Borussia Monchengladbach on August 13.

Musiala, who played in the second half of the 1-0 loss at Villa Park, has been ruled out for Bayern's upcoming Bundesliga fixture against Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday.

He will also miss Germany's Nations League fixtures against Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Netherlands, with Julian Nagelsmann replacing the 21-year-old in his squad with Stuttgart's Jamie Leweling. 

Musiala has been in fine form for Vincent Kompany's side, scoring three goals and laying on three assists in eight appearances in all competitions. 

The midfielder also has the joint-most completed dribbles in the Bundesliga this season (seven), while only Michael Olise (14), Joshua Kimmich (13) and Harry Kane (10) have created more chances for Bayern than Musiala (seven). 

He has also impressed for Germany on the international stage, scoring six times in 36 games for his country, playing a starring role in their Nations League opener against Hungary last month, scoring once and providing three assists in the 5-0 victory. 

"Following an examination by the club's medical staff, Jamal Musiala will be sidelined for the time being with a hip problem," Bayern said on their social media accounts.