SERIE A

Milan, Inter battle on two fronts for Champions League qualification

Published

1 year ago

May 11, 2023

Champions League - Semi Final - First Leg - AC Milan v Inter Milan - San Siro, Milan, Italy - May 10, 2023 AC Milan's Brahim Diaz and Sandro Tonali in action with Inter Milan's Marcelo Brozovic REUTERS/Claudia Greco

Locked in battle for a place in the Champions League final, AC Milan and city rivals Inter are also vying with each other in Serie A for a spot among Europe’s elite next season and will treat their remaining league tests as seriously as their semi.

Inter grabbed two early goals through Edin Dzeko and Henrikh Mkhitaryan to secure an impressive 2-0 win over Milan in the first leg of their Champions League last-four tie on Wednesday, taking a significant advantage into next week’s return encounter.

One of the two sides will become the first Italian finalist since Juventus faced Real Madrid six years ago, but a potential showdown against powerhouses Real or Manchester City leaves them no room to relax on the domestic front.

Neither of the Milan-based clubs can be assured of a top-four spot just yet, with Inter fourth in the standings on 63 points and Milan right behind, on 61.

Inter could not have timed their return to form any better as Simone Inzaghi’s men are on a six-game winning streak in all competitions, four of them in Serie A.

A home win against mid-table Sassuolo on Saturday could bring some breathing space ahead of their return leg with their rivals on Tuesday.

For Milan, who face Spezia on Saturday, things are different and last year’s Serie A champions have little room for error left.

Milan have won only two of their last six games on the domestic front, with four draws, and they need to quickly rebound from their Champions League disappointment if they want to return to the competition next season.

“I will try to make the best choices to try to win against Spezia and then overturn this (semi-final) result,” Milan coach Stefano Pioli said following their defeat to Inter.

“Playing as Milan, playing better, with quality and intensity” is the way forward, according to the coach.

As well as lowly Spezia, Milan face already-relegated Sampdoria and struggling Hellas Verona in three of their remaining four league outings but all are must-win matches given Pioli’s side also have to visit second-placed Juventus.

Spezia, who are 18th, have not won any of their last eight games and on Saturday could register their longest ever streak without a Serie A victory.

For third-placed Lazio, three losses in their last four games have shaken things up at the capital club, and a home game against 16th-placed Lecce may help them regain some much needed balance.

“At halftime I saw a disheartened team and this is the aspect that worried me the most,” coach Maurizio Sarri said after their 2-0 loss at Milan last weekend.

Lazio had recorded seven wins and one draw in eight Serie A matches before their form nosedived, which saw them drop from second to third in the table, one point ahead of Inter.

Champions Napoli will travel to Monza on Sunday after their fans got to celebrate the title with a home win over Fiorentina last week.

Juventus will host second-bottom Cremonese on Sunday in between their two Europa League semi-final matches against Sevilla.

-Reuters

SERIE A

Ademola Lookman wins Atalanta’s ‘Player of The Season Award

Published

4 weeks ago

June 27, 2024

Kunle Solaja

Nigeria’s Super Eagles winger and silver medal winner with the country at the last AFCON 2023 tournament in Cote D’Ivoire, Ademola Lookman, has emerged as the Atalanta Player of the Season.

The pint-size forward has won the converted award Back-to-back with the Bergamo-based side after his exploit in the domestic and European matches for the side.

Atalanta qualified for two finals with the Nigerian International playing an active role in the campaign.

He was instrumental to Atalanta winning the UEFA Europa League beating Bayer Leverkusen 3-0 in the final with the Nigerian scoring all the goals.

The club announced on its official website on Thursday saying, “It’s him again, Ademola Lookman! The reigning champion defends his title and is crowned straight-a student for the second year in a row after staving off an unsparing competition, to the point of both bringing the contest to an overtime runoff and stepping the pose down up to the Instagram profile after the regular session ended in a tie. Kudos to Mola for his back-to-back Player of the Season!” it noted.
It went further that,” building on his 17 goals and 11 key passes in all competitions (making him the team’s second-best seasonal scorer and wingman) and with the hat-trick scored in the magical Dublin final as his main leg-up, Lookman tips the ItalianOptic branded crown once again,” the web remarked.

Aside from Ademola, the second and third-best positions were also announced as the midfield duo of Jose dos Santo Éderson and Teun Koopmeiners.

The Nigerian had a brilliant AFCON experience with Nigeria where he scored three goals and his exploits so far have put him in strong contention to win the next ‘African Footballer of the Year’ award which will come up before the end of the year at a venue yet to be announced by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

Nigeria’s Victor Osimhen is the reigning winner of the award alongside Asissat Oshoola who retained the version.

SERIE A

Napoli reduces Victor Osimhen’s value

Published

1 month ago

June 24, 2024

Kunle Solaja

Former Serie A champions Napoli are reportedly ready to drop their asking price for Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen as his future grows ever more uncertain.

The 25-year-old is looking for a move away from Serie A but Napoli’s initial €150M release clause has warned off any potential suitors.

Quoting from another Italian outlet, Calciomercato, Getfootballnewsitaly reports that Napoli are ready to lower the initial valuation to €100M, in the hope that they can free up much needed transfer funds for new boss Antonio Conte, who is understood to be desperate to land Belgian international striker Romelu Lukaku this summer.

It is also stated that the English Premier League sides, Chelsea who were understood to be in pole-position to sign the Nigerian international, has never opened any negotiation with the 2023 Serie A champions.

The only avenues open at this time seem to be the Saudi Pro-League, where a reported salary of €40M a season has been offered, or Paris Saint-Germain, with Osimhen not keen on either option, preferring a move to the English Premier League.

SERIE A

Osimhen’s Napoli European hopes end with 0-0 draw against Lecce

Published

2 months ago

May 27, 2024

Kunle Solaja

If Nigeria’s Victor Osimhen remains in Napoli in the next season, he will not have any action in UEFA competitions.

Napoli lost their slim chances to participate in European competitions next season when they were held to a 0-0 home draw by Lecce in their last Serie A game of the campaign on Sunday.

Last season’s champions Napoli finished 10th on 53 points, level with ninth-placed Torino who were beaten 3-0 at Atalanta in a simultaneous kick off on Sunday.

Despite their loss, Torino can now still earn a Europa Conference League playoffs spot if eighth-placed Fiorentina, who have a game in hand, win the Europa Conference League.

Fiorentina face Greece’s Olympiacos for the title on Wednesday.

Napoli needed a win to maintain their European hopes but despite 24 shots, five of them on target, they ended their disappointing campaign winless in their last seven games.

Substitute Cyril Ngonge had a good chance to give Napoli the lead just after the break but his shot from the edge of the box was saved by Lecce goalkeeper Wladimiro Falcone.

Jens Cajuste hit the far post with a low strike shortly before Ngonge hit the bar in the 64th minute.

Europa League winners Atalanta, meanwhile, secured at least fourth spot after Gianluca Scamacca, Ademola Lookman and Mario Pasalic were all on target in a 3-0 win against Torino.

They sit fourth on 69 points but can still leapfrog third-placed Juventus, on 71 points, if they beat Fiorentina in their last remaining game next Sunday.

-Reuters