SERIE A
Juventus back on top after clinical win against wasteful Osimhen’s Napoli
Juventus delivered an efficient performance as they moved back to provisional top spot in Serie A on Friday, securing a 1-0 home win against a wasteful Napoli thanks to a header from Federico Gatti.
Six minutes into the second half, Juve broke the deadlock when Gatti collected an Andrea Cambiaso cross at the back post, outjumping his marker to head it into the back of the net.
Napoli had numerous opportunities but Khvicha Kvaratskhelia missed a huge chance, while Juventus goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny made several saves to thwart the visitors’ clear scoring chances.
Juve top the standings with 36 points, one ahead of Inter Milan who host lowly Udinese on Saturday.
“We did well in the first half, moving the ball side to side, then in difficult moments the team becomes a block of granite,” Juve manager Massimiliano Allegri told DAZN.
“I have a group of players who work hard. We need to slow things down, not always try to make it one-touch football. We should control the ball better in some moments of the match.”
Asked about Juve’s stated hopes of a top-four finish, Allegri said: “We can even say in the dressing room that we have the ambition to win the Scudetto but you need to get results. There’s no point talking about what might be, we need to focus on what is.”
NAPOLI MISS CHANCES
For Napoli, the match highlighted their struggling form, marking three consecutive defeats across all competitions for the first time since October 2016. They are fifth with 24 points.
“Anyone who knows football realises there are moments. The guys played a great game, I think they dominated the match and forced Juventus to defend in their own area for almost the entire second half,” manager Walter Mazzarri said.
Napoli’s intense start saw them creating several early chances, with Giovanni Di Lorenzo denied by Szczesny’s goal-line save and Matteo Politano narrowly missing the post moments later.
Juve had their best chance of the first half when Dusan Vlahovic’s close-range attempt was blocked by Natan, and Weston McKennie’s subsequent rebound with an overhead kick was denied by Napoli goalkeeper Alex Meret.
Just before the half-hour mark, Kvaratskhelia found himself alone with Szczesny inside the box after being set free by Victor Osimhen. However, the Georgian winger sent the ball over the bar, much to the surprise and relief of the home fans, and causing visible frustration for Mazzarri.
“I have seen a team that always played good football, better than the opposition, but we don’t seem to be able to score goals. If we do not score that Kvara chance, it is a clear sign we are in a negative period. Bad luck happens too,” Mazzarri said.
“I am convinced that if we play like this, we will have a run of positive results and really climb the table.”
Napoli’s difficulties in front of the goal continued when Di Lorenzo struck a powerful shot from close range just before the break, only to be denied by Szczesny’s exceptional diving save.
After Gatti’s goal, Napoli’s momentum dropped and they struggled to create chances or mount an offensive to equalise.
Osimhen put the ball into the net for Napoli after Szczesny’s pass was intercepted and knocked back to the Nigerian, but the offside flag was raised.
Napoli host Braga in their last Champions League group-stage match on Tuesday and need at least a draw to qualify for the knockout stage. Juve travel to Genoa on Friday for their next Serie A match.
-Reuters
Croatia captain Luka Modric, who left Real Madrid after 13 years at the LaLiga club, has completed his move to AC Milan on a one-year deal with an option to extend until June 2027, the Serie A side said on Monday.
The midfielder’s arrival was confirmed by newly-appointed Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri earlier this month.
“Very happy to be here to start a new chapter in my career,” said Modric, who turns 40 in September, in an Instagram video shared by Milan.
Milan said Modric will wear the number 14 shirt, which he previously wore during his four years at English side Tottenham Hotspur to honour Dutch great Johan Cruyff.
“It’s an immense honour for them to compare me to (Cruyff)… I wore the no. 14 at Tottenham in honour of him, and because the no. 10 wasn’t available,” Modric had said after winning the Ballon d’Or award in 2018.
Modric, regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of all time, announced in May that he would leave Real after the Club World Cup. He has made 597 appearances for the Spanish club, winning 28 trophies including four LaLiga and six Champions League titles.
He played his last game for Real on Wednesday, coming on as a second-half substitute during a 4-0 loss to Paris St Germain in the Club World Cup semi-finals.
“It’s a bitter end… he’s a legend of world football and of Real Madrid. He’ll be remembered for many more good things than for the 25 minutes he played today,” Real Madrid manager Xabi Alonso said after the match.
Modric, considered Croatia’s greatest player of all time, has represented the country a record 188 times, scoring 28 goals. He won the Golden Ball at World Cup 2018, where he led Croatia to the final for the first time.
He won the Ballon d’Or in December that year, becoming the first player other than Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to win the prestigious annual award since 2007.
Modric’s arrival reinforces a Milan midfield that also features Youssouf Fofana, Yunus Musah and Ruben Loftus-Cheek, with Samuele Ricci joining from Torino earlier this month.
Milan, who failed to qualify for a European competition after finishing eighth in the Italian top-flight league last season, begin their Serie A campaign against newly-promoted Cremonese on August 23.
-Reuters
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Pope Leo XIV welcomed Italy’s newly crowned Serie A champions Napoli to the Vatican on Tuesday, joking about his own soccer allegiances.
Napoli won their fourth “Scudetto” on Friday with a 2-0 home victory over Cagliari, edging out Inter Milan by one point in a nail-biting end to the season.
The team, captained by Italian international Giovanni Di Lorenzo, arrived for their papal audience a day after a triumphant open-top bus parade through central Naples.
“The press says I am an AS Roma fan, but you are welcome! This is what the press says. Not everything you read in the press is true,” the pope said, according to a transcript.
Leo, the first pope to come from the U.S., follows and practices sports, including tennis. People who know him have described him to the media as an AS Roma supporter.
Napoli chairman Aurelio De Laurentiis gave him a blue Napoli jersey signed by players, bearing the number 10 and his name in Italian, “Papa Leone XIV”.
“You are a number 10, so you are a great striker”, De Laurentiis said. Leo replied with a chuckle and a simple “thank you”.
Coach Antonio Conte, whom De Laurentiis introduced as “deeply Catholic”, knelt down and kissed the pope’s hand, before Leo told him he had seen him many times on TV.
In a short speech, the pontiff stressed the importance of team spirit and collaboration, and sport’s educational value, especially for young people.
Winning comes “at the end of a long journey, where what matters the most is not a one-time exploit or the extraordinary performance of one champion”, he said.
“The championship is won by the team, and when I say ‘team’ I mean the players, the coach with the whole squad, and the club,” he added.
Leo ended his remarks giving his blessings to players and club officials, and offering congratulations, also on behalf of his personal cook.
“She is from Naples and she says: best wishes! She would like to be here too, Mrs Rosa, (she is) a big fan”, the pope said.
-Reuters
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A second-half goal by substitute Ibrahim Sulemana earned Atalanta a 2-1 home win over AS Roma in Serie A on Monday, securing Champions League qualification for Gian Piero Gasperini’s side.
Sulemana sealed the three points for Atalanta in the 76th minute, scoring with a low strike from just outside the area, after Roma midfielder Bryan Cristante cancelled out an early opener by Ademola Lookman.
Atalanta, who fell behind in the title race, sit third in the standings on 71 points and have a seven-point cushion over fourth-placed Juventus and Lazio in fifth with two games left to play.
Roma, who failed to capitalise on Lazio and Juventus dropping points in a 1-1 stalemate on Saturday, are sixth with 63 points.
Atalanta snapped the visitors’ impressive unbeaten league run of 19 games, with Claudio Ranieri’s side previously having been defeated mid-December at Como.
Things started off brightly for Atalanta as Lookman stroked in past Roma goalkeeper Mile Svilar to put them in front after nine minutes.
Charles De Ketelaere dribbled past the Roma defence to set the Nigerian up with a precise low cross inside the box and the striker controlled the ball to score inside the right post.
It was Atalanta’s 100th goal this season across all competitions.
De Ketelaere had two good chances to double the advantage but Roma midfielder Cristante levelled for the visitors instead, netting with a flicked header after the half-hour mark.
Things slowed down significantly after a lively first half until Roma were awarded a penalty after an hour of play, following a clash between Atalanta’s Mario Pasalic and Manu Kone.
The referee, however, overturned his decision after consulting VAR.
Sulemana eventually restored the lead for Atalanta in the 76th minute, scoring with a low strike from just outside the area — a goal that stood after a VAR check for a potential offside.
Roma host AC Milan next weekend before visiting mid-table Torino in their bid to qualify for Europe’s elite club competition for the first time since the 2018-19 campaign.
Atalanta travel to Genoa on Sunday before welcoming lowly Parma in their final fixture.
-Reuters
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