Lens Club wins the Champions Cup and health concerns surround Jamal Musiala

Lens, runner-up to Paris Saint-Germain and champion of the French Cup last season, enters the new season of the French League and the European Champions League in high spirits, a few days after winning the local Champions Cup.

At the end of last May, Lens fans left the Stade Felix Poulart at around 5 am, after a crazy night during which they celebrated winning the French Cup. On Sunday, they once again tasted the euphoria of victory in their fiery stadium, after the team nicknamed “Blood and Gold” narrowly won over the star-studded Paris Saint-Germain (1-0), despite the numerical deficiency since the 39th minute.

This was the “very special” first coronation for new coach Dino Topmüller with Lens, which includes Saudi international full-back Saud Abdul Hamid.

The German, who arrived in the Artois region in mid-June, got a perfect start in a mission that was not easy. Due to the high ceiling of expectations after the 2026 season, which was ideal and unexpected.

Lens remained in a title struggle with Paris Saint-Germain for a long time, before securing qualification for the Champions League and winning the first French Cup title in its history, and its first title overall in 27 years.

But after this unprecedented coronation, enthusiasm subsided for a while. Pierre Sage, the architect of Lens' success, sparked a lot of controversy about his future before he succumbed to the temptations of Crystal Palace, fearing that the opportunity to realize his dream of coaching a team in the "English Premier League" would not be repeated.

After the departure of the coach who rebuilt the team after only one season at the helm of the coaching staff, Lens officials turned to Topmüller.

Although he is not well known in France, the 45-year-old German coach worked as an assistant to Julian Nagelsmann at Leipzig and then Bayern Munich, before starting his career as a first coach at the highest levels with Eintracht Frankfurt, where he played in the Champions League.

Topmüller speaks French, adopts a clear attacking style, and quickly adopted one of the key phrases in the Lens club culture: “hard work.” In the club offices or in the team’s training center in “La Gayette,” he spends his days “until about 8 p.m.,” and he seems completely attuned to his new environment.

He also expressed his admiration for a group that has a “wonderful mentality” and knows, as was demonstrated against Paris Saint-Germain, how to “play with the heart” in order to please its fans.

Florian Thuffin confirmed the existence of this chemistry between the coach and his players. After a successful season in his return to France, the player with a strong personality returned to his brilliance in the “Champions Cup” by scoring the winning goal and carrying the captaincy that Topmüller gave him.

The 2018 world champion said: “The relationship between me and the coach is excellent. When he was hired, he quickly called me during vacation. We have the same vision for football. “We get along great, and we look at things the same way.”

Toufan is the cornerstone of the Lens lineup, which witnessed extensive modifications during the summer.

Club president Joseph Ogurlian had confirmed that Lens “would not risk” raising the salary bill after qualifying for the Champions League, and therefore it was not able to retain a number of its pillars who were in increased demand after this distinguished season.

After the departure of Pierre Sage, midfielders Adrien Thomasson and Malian Mamadou Sangari, defender Malang Sarr, and strikers Wesley Said and Alain Saint-Maximan also left.

In order to provide his coach with a competitive squad at a reasonable cost commensurate with participation in the Champions League, Lens made some smart deals, such as Michael Cuisance and Belgian Thorgan Hazard, and also bet on promising young talents, such as Algerian Yacine Titaroui and Croatian Franjo Ivanovic.

After an exceptional season, it will be difficult for Lens to achieve better results, but he continues to dream.

“We are competitors by nature,” Cuisance said. The ambitions are there automatically,” especially after winning a title at the expense of Paris Saint-Germain.

Sources at the German football club Bayern Munich confirmed to the German News Agency on Wednesday that the career of German national team player Jamal Musiala is not in danger, after he was diagnosed with absence seizures.

Musiala (23 years old) collapsed on the field during Bayern Munich's 4-2 friendly victory over Heidenheim, a competitor in the second division, yesterday, Tuesday, after he was exposed to the same situation during the 3-1 victory over Leipzig last Saturday. Musiala wrote on social media after the Heidenheim match that he suffers from “short and temporary absence spells, but they are treatable, resulting from a neurological disorder,” stressing that he is “optimistic.” Bayern sources have now said there are no indications that the attacking midfielder is unable to continue his career at the highest level. Musiala also suffered a broken leg in July 2025, and since then he has been on a journey to regain full fitness. Bayern will play its first official match of the season next Saturday, when it faces Borussia Dortmund in the Franz Beckenbauer Super Cup.

Fans of Bayern Munich and the German national team wished recovery and safety for star Gamal Musiala on social media on Wednesday.

This comes after a year of health problems for the player, who suffered a serious break in his leg in July 2025, and has since struggled to regain full fitness.

The repeated cases of dizziness caused great concern among the fans, as social media users wondered whether Musiala would be able to return to his best levels, and why he was allowed to participate against Heidenheim after the incident he suffered on Saturday.

Musiala also took to the Instagram platform to try to calm the fans’ fears, where he wrote: “First of all, I am fine. “I feel very grateful for your messages and support.”

He added: “I understand that many of you are concerned. Today, I would like to reassure you and clarify the situation: I have been diagnosed with short and temporary absence seizures, but they are treatable, as a result of a neurological disorder.

He explained: “These seizures can lead to such incidents that occurred recently, as happened during the Leipzig match or the Heidenheim match.”

He continued: “I know that it may seem disturbing when I see it for the first time, but now it has become part of my daily life. I receive excellent medical care, and I remain very optimistic. Bayern Munich and my support team are completely by my side and helping me get through this stage.”

Doctors say that absence seizures are short and sudden cases of loss of consciousness, and do not usually cause long-term problems, and are more common among children. It can be classified as a form of epilepsy.

Bayern Munich players Manuel Neuer and Dayot Upamecano reacted to Musiala's health update by placing emojis in the shape of hearts, in light of their awareness of the extent of the suffering that the player went through during the past year.

During the Club World Cup in Atlanta in July last year, Musiala suffered a fracture in his fibula and a serious ankle injury, during Bayern's loss to Paris Saint-Germain in the quarter-finals, after colliding with goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.

After returning to the field, Musiala was unable to regain his amazing level, and last March he suffered a painful reaction in his ankle, and was forced to take a period of rest.

Analysts wondered whether Musiala should not participate in the World Cup, but he was selected on the list and suffered again, like the German national team, which did not perform at the level hoped for.

After exiting in the round of 32 against Paraguay, the player underwent a simple surgery to remove a metal plate from his foot, which was placed during an operation last year.

Bayern hoped that this move would help Musiala regain his best levels, but fans are now wondering whether the absence spells will pose a new obstacle for him.