PARIS (AP) — Monaco's strong start to the French league has coincided with Eliesse Ben Seghir's return to form.
The 19-year-old Morocco midfielder is catching the eye in coach Adi Hütter's Monaco side, which is unbeaten and level on points with defending champion Paris Saint-Germain and Marseille after five rounds.
Against Le Havre last Sunday, Ben Seghir scored Monaco's second goal in a 3-1 home win with a fine curling shot into the top corner after cutting inside onto his right foot.
He joked after the match that his teammates call that shot “The Special” because it's his signature finish. It was his second goal this season.
There was a lot of special ability on display when Ben Seghir scored twice on his league debut two years ago.
At the club which launched the careers of France stars Thierry Henry and Kylian Mbappé, expectations were immediately raised because of the well-taken goals — including a Mbappé-style curler after cutting in from the left.
He scored twice more that season. But in the following campaign the slender Ben Seghir was hit by nagging hamstring and shoulder injuries, limiting him to a handful of starts.
“Last season was very tough for me. I'm not really used to being injured and being away from the field,” he told sports daily L'Equipe. “I took it very badly. But thanks to the staff, the coach, and my teammates, I got my form back.”
The technically gifted Ben Seghir, who best operates from the left side of midfield, said he used the time away to work on strength and conditioning training.
“When I started out maybe I was a bit frail,” he said. “I got stronger, I beefed up a bit (and) tried to work on my weaknesses.”
In June, he netted his first international goal for Morocco in a World Cup qualifier against Zambia. He then helped free-scoring Morocco earn a bronze medal at the Paris Olympics with a 6-0 rout of African rival Egypt.
Ben Seghir's physical improvement benefits his teammates at the other end of the field. In a recent Champions League win against Barcelona, he tracked back to help defender Vanderson cope with Spain prodigy Lamine Yamal.
In a longer Champions League format, Ben Seghir should have plenty of more chances to impress.
He's not the only one, because eight-time French champion Monaco has a youthful look about it.
Midfielder Maghnes Akliouche, who is 22, scored Monaco's first goal against Le Havre after dribbling in from the right side and finishing confidently.
The winner against Barca came from 18-year-old striker George Ilenikhena, who set up Monaco's third goal against Le Havre for striker partner Folarin Balogun.
Wilfried Singo, 23, has been solid in central defense and 20-year-old Soungoutou Magassa — a silver medalist for France at the Paris Games — is impressing in midfield after coming through Monaco's youth academy.
Next up for Monaco's young guns is a home game against Montpellier on Saturday.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Barcelona's Jules Kounde, background, is challenged by Monaco's Eliesse Ben Seghir during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Monaco and Barcelona at the Louis II stadium, in Monaco, Monaco, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani)
Barcelona's Pedri, center, fights for the ball with Monaco's Eliesse Ben Seghir during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Monaco and Barcelona at the Louis II stadium, in Monaco, Monaco, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani)
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. flu infections showed signs of a slight decline last week, but health officials say it is not clear that this severe flu season has peaked.
New government data posted Friday — for flu activity through last week — showed declines in medical office visits due to flu-like illness and in the number of states reporting high flu activity.
However, some measures show this season is already surpassing the flu epidemic of last winter, one of the harshest in recent history. And experts believe there is more suffering ahead.
“This is going to be a long, hard flu season,” New York State Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald said, in a statement Friday.
One type of flu virus, called A H3N2, historically has caused the most hospitalizations and deaths in older people. So far this season, that is the type most frequently reported. Even more concerning, more than 91% of the H3N2 infections analyzed were a new version — known as the subclade K variant — that differs from the strain in this year’s flu shots.
The last flu season saw the highest overall flu hospitalization rate since the H1N1 flu pandemic 15 years ago. And child flu deaths reached 289, the worst recorded for any U.S. flu season this century — including that H1N1 “swine flu” pandemic of 2009-2010.
So far this season, there have been at least 15 million flu illnesses and 180,000 hospitalizations, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates. It also estimates there have been 7,400 deaths, including the deaths of at least 17 children.
Last week, 44 states reported high flu activity, down slightly from the week before. However, flu deaths and hospitalizations rose.
Determining exactly how flu season is going can be particularly tricky around the holidays. Schools are closed, and many people are traveling. Some people may be less likely to see a doctor, deciding to just suffer at home. Others may be more likely to go.
Also, some seasons see a surge in cases, then a decline, and then a second surge.
For years, federal health officials joined doctors' groups in recommending that everyone 6 months and older get an annual influenza vaccine. The shots may not prevent all symptoms but can prevent many infections from becoming severe, experts say.
But federal health officials on Monday announced they will no longer recommend flu vaccinations for U.S. children, saying it is a decision parents and patients should make in consultation with their doctors.
“I can’t begin to express how concerned we are about the future health of the children in this country, who already have been unnecessarily dying from the flu — a vaccine preventable disease,” said Michele Slafkosky, executive director of an advocacy organization called Families Fighting Flu.
“Now, with added confusion for parents and health care providers about childhood vaccines, I fear that flu seasons to come could be even more deadly for our youngest and most vulnerable," she said in a statement.
Flu is just one of a group of viruses that tend to strike more often in the winter. Hospitalizations from COVID-19 and RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, also have been rising in recent weeks — though were not diagnosed nearly as often as flu infections, according to other federal data.
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
FILE - Pharmacy manager Aylen Amestoy administers a patient with a seasonal flu vaccine at a CVS Pharmacy in Miami, Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)
