Serie A

Proposal for breakaway competition rejected by European soccer leagues

The organization that represents European soccer leagues rejected latest proposals for a breakaway super league. Detailed plans for a new rival to the Champions League the Unify League were released this week by Madrid-based A22 Sports Management. It was not clear what support there was for the proposed competition, but A22 said it had held discussions with clubs, leagues and other parties." The European Leagues, which represents 39 leagues and associations, said in a statement that it rejects any suggestion that a consultation took place with our organization. It reaffirmed leagues' commitment to the current system by which teams qualify for UEFA competitions like the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League. The A22's competition model, which is not requested and unsubstantiated, would increase the number of international matches in an already congested calendar, it said. Supporters and stakeholders across the game have consistently made it clear that any attempt

Italian Cup: Asllani's rare corner goal takes Inter Milan to quarterfinals

A much-changed Inter Milan side eased to a 2-0 victory over Udinese in the Italian Cup. Marko Arnautovic and Kristjan Asllani netted in the first half to help Inter set up a quarterfinal match against Lazio the team it routed 6-0 in the league on Monday. Inter coach Simone Inzaghi made eight changes to that side. The match was briefly halted shortly before halftime when a spectator collapsed in the stands. The fan was immediately treated as the stadium fell into silence and the players looked on, clearly concerned. A defibrillator had to be used before the fan was carried out on a stretcher to the applause of the San Siro crowd. The fan was reportedly stable in the hospital. When play resumed after a delay of more than five minutes, the Udinese players still seemed distracted as Asllani's corner from the left evaded everyone and went in off the far post. That put Inter 2-0 up as it had broken the deadlock in the 30th minute following an Udinese error. A hideous pass from visiting

AC Milan, Bologna seal Italian Cup quarterfinals with dominant wins

AC Milan and Bologna advanced to the Italian Cup quarterfinals with convincing victories. Milan thrashed Serie B leader Sassuolo 6-1, while Bologna routed Serie A struggler Monza 4-0. The Rossoneri will face either Roma or Sampdoria in the last eight. Bologna will play the winners of Atalanta's match against Cesena. Both those round of 16 matches take place next week. Tuesday's match at San Siro was all but over after less than 23 minutes as Sassuolo was swept away by a double from Samuel Chukwueze and other goals by Tijjani Reijnders and Rafael Leo. It had been a much-changed starting lineup for Milan ahead of a tough Serie A trip to Atalanta on Friday and the Rossoneri made four further changes at halftime. Milan nevertheless extended its advantage through Davide Calabria and Tammy Abraham, either side of a consolation goal for Sassuolo from Samuele Mulattieri. Bologna scored two goals in each half, with Tommaso Pobega and Riccardo Orsolini netting in the first period and Benj

Serie A: Juventus get back to winning ways with a lot of help from the post

Juventus got back to winning ways but needed a lot of help from the post. The Bianconeri on Saturday won 2-0 at Udinese following an own-goal from home goalkeeper Maduka Okoye and Nicol Savona's strike, with the ball bouncing off the right post immediately before both goals. It was only Juve's second win in six matches in all competitions and lifted it up to third, ahead of the rest of the weekend's fixtures. It was four points behind Serie A leader Napoli, which hosts fourth-place Atalanta on Sunday. Udinese slipped to eighth after it was leapfrogged by AC Milan, which won 1-0 at Monza. Only two points separated Udinese and Juventus coming into the match. Juventus took the lead in the 20th minute with a wonderful piece of play from Khphren Thuram, who ran into the box and nutmegged a defender before taking a shot from a tight angle. The ball bounced off the inside of the far right post and in off the back of Okoye. It would have been a first goal in Italy for Thuram, the younger

Pogba willing to give up money in exchange of playtime with Juventus

Paul Pogba says he's ready to give up money to play for Juventus again. The Serie A club may not want him, though, or need him. Pogba recently had his four-year ban for doping reduced to 18 months after appealing to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, meaning the France World Cup winner will be free to resume his career in March 2025. Juventus has not been overly enthusiastic about welcoming him back but Pogba says that is the only club he is thinking about playing for. I am ready to even give up money so that I can still play for Juve, he said in an interview with Italian sports daily Gazzetta dello Sport. I want to return. Juventus sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli and new coach Thiago Motta are dubious about whether Pogba can return to the top level after being out for so long since testing positive for testosterone in August last year. But the 31-year-old Pogba, who said he felt like a caged lion for the past year, has been training hard on his own and is ready to prove the

Goalkeepers save 3 penalty kicks during Fiorentina vs AC Milan match

It was a night for goalkeepers to shine as Fiorentina's David de Gea and AC Milan's Mike Maignan combined to save three penalty kicks during Fiorentina's 2-1 win. Maignan started things off on Sunday when he smothered a poor effort from Moise Kean. Then in first-half injury time, De Gea leaped to his right to push away a spot kick from Theo Hernandez. After the break, De Gea was at it again, this time denying Tammy Abraham. Yacine Adli, who is on loan from Milan, put Fiorentina ahead in the 35th. Christian Pulisic equalized for Milan in the 60th with an acrobatic volley his fourth consecutive league match with a goal and then Albert Gudmundsson won it for Fiorentina with a long-range strike to finish off a counterattack. De Gea, the longtime starter at Manchester United who didn't play anywhere last season, also played a role in Gudmundsson's goal, providing a long ball that Kean knocked down to leave for the Iceland striker. Juventus concedes its first goal of the ...

Juventus' new coach Motta struggling to change Allegri's defensive tactics

Thiago Motta was supposed to bring flair and new ideas to Juventus in the wake of Massimiliano Allegri's old-school defensive tactics. Five rounds into Serie A, the Juventus defence has been perfect without a single goal conceded. The attack, however, is stalled following three straight 0-0 draws. Part of the problem is a slump for centre-forward Dusan Vlahovic, who has scored in only one match this season his brace at Hellas Verona a month ago combined with Federico Chiesa's departure to Liverpool. Juventus isn't conceding goals but it's not scoring them, either. And that's become a problem, Fabio Capello, who played and coached at Juventus, said in a Gazzetta dello Sport editorial on Thursday. Capello added that against Napoli last weekend when Juventus produced only one shot on goal the team was really boring. But, the Bianconeri could be poised for a breakout performance on Saturday at a tired Genoa side coming off a penalty-shootout loss to Sampdoria in an Italian Cup ...

Cesc Fabregas' Como gets 1st Serie A victory in more than 21 years

Como got its first Serie A win in more than 21 years as Cesc Fabregas' team won 3-2 at Atalanta in a rescheduled match. Delightful second-half goals from Gabriel Strefezza and Alieu Fadera, as well as an own goal from Atalanta defender Sead Kolasinac saw newly promoted Como fight back for its first win in the Italian top flight since May 2003. It was a third defeat of the season for Atalanta, which drew 0-0 against Arsenal in the Champions League last week. The match which was a local derby was originally meant to take place on Monday night but had to be postponed by 24 hours due to heavy rains in Bergamo and a waterlogged pitch. Atalanta took the lead in the 18th minute when a corner was headed out but only as far as Davide Zappacosta, who volleyed into the bottom left corner from just outside the area. However, Como got more into the match and managed to level just 20 seconds into the second half with a well-worked move as Sergi Roberto backheeled a pass from Ignace Van der Br

AC Milan beat Venezia 4-0 to hand their new coach Fonseca his first win

New AC Milan coach Paulo Fonseca got his first Serie A win in style. It couldn't have come at a better time for the Rossoneri. A devastating opening half an hour set Milan on its way to a convincing 4-0 win over promoted Venezia on Saturday for its first victory of the season after two draws and a loss. The result and the manner of the victory are a timely confidence boost ahead of a crucial week. Fonseca's team hosts Liverpool in the Champions League on Tuesday followed by a Serie A derby match against defending champion Inter Milan. Also, Bologna remained winless but came from two goals down to salvage a 2-2 draw against Como. Juventus drew at Empoli 0-0. Rafael Leao and Theo Hernandez were benched for Milan's last match but were back in the starting lineup and the pair combined to score the opener after just 90 seconds. Hernandez won the ball in midfield and played it to Leao who gave it back to him with a delicious backheeled flick on the half turn. That sent the France ...

Table toppers across top five European leagues after international break

Teams from the top five European leagues will return to action later this week after a short seven-day international break.

Juventus draw Roma 0-0 to continue their unbeaten run in Serie A

For Thiago Motta's Juventus, it was a well-earned point that kept the Bianconeri unbeaten. For Daniele De Rossi's Roma, it was a step in the right direction after a difficult start to the season. Juventus was held to a 0-0 draw at home by Roma in Serie A on Sunday with each side producing only one shot on goal. Roma dominated the possession early on before Juventus grew more dangerous through Dusan Vlahovic. De Rossi kept former Juventus forward Paulo Dybala on the bench at the start then sent the Argentina international, who recently turned down an offer from Saudi Arabia, on midway through the second half. But Dybala produced little with both sides slowing down by then on a warm evening in Turin. Juventus moved level on seven points with defending champion Inter Milan, Torino and Udinese in Motta's first season since coming over from Bologna. Winless Roma, which was coming off a dispiriting defeat at home to Empoli, has two points in De Rossi's second campaign after replacing

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Real Madrid was able to finally secure Kylian Mbappe's signature earlier this season after three years of push and pull with PSG

Serie A: Debutants grab goals for Juventus and Atalanta in winning starts

It was a good day for debutants in Italy's Serie A as new faces at Juventus and Atalanta gave their teams a winning start to the league season. New Juventus coach Thiago Motta surprised fans by handing a debut to youth academy graduate Samuel Mbangula on Monday and the 20-year-old winger responded by scoring the opening goal in a 3-0 win over Como. Mbangula cut in from the left in the 23rd minute and slotted a low drive into the far corner to give Juventus the lead. US international Timothy Weah scored the second for the Turin club when he smashed a shot in off the underside of the bar just before halftime. It was the American's first league goal for the club. Andrea Cambiaso added a third in injury time to pad the scoreline in Cesc Fbregas' first league game in charge of Como since taking over as head coach this offseason. Atalanta routs Lecce New signings Mateo Retegui and Marco Brescianini both scored twice as Atalanta routed Lecce 4-0 in a blistering start to its ...

Serie A: Late penalty sees Genoa hold defending champion Inter to 2-2 draw

Marcus Thuram's double was not enough to let Inter Milan kick off its title defense with a win as a late penalty helped Genoa draw 2-2 in their Serie A opener on Saturday. Thuram had been a revelation in his first season in Italy with 15 goals and 14 assists across all competitions and he netted once in each half in Genoa to give Inter the lead after Alessandro Vogliacco's surprise opener. However, Genoa was awarded a penalty deep in stoppage time and Junior Messias scored from the rebound after Yann Sommer saved his spot kick. It was a rare Serie A match featuring two coaches who were also in charge of their teams last season. AC Milan is one of 14 teams which have a new coach in the league and Paulo Fonseca's first match in charge saw his team score two very late goals to salvage a 2-2 draw at home to Torino. Simone Inzaghi's Inter ran away with the Serie A title last season and looked strong from the start in Genoa, with both Thuram and Hakan alhanoglu having early chances. But

Serie A side Napoli signs Antonio Conte as new manager for 2024-25 season

He's back. Antonio Conte has returned to Serie A with the mission of helping Napoli recover from one of the worst title defences in Italian league history. Napoli ran away with the title in 2023 but had a torrid time last season and finished a woeful 10th. Instead it was one of Conte's former teams, Inter Milan, which stormed to the Serie A crown, ending up 19 points ahead of closest challenger AC Milan. Conte is Napoli's fourth coach since Luciano Spalletti left after steering the southern team to its first title in more than 30 years. Rudi Garcia, Walter Mazzarri and Francesco Calzona all had spells in charge last season but couldn't stop the slump. They didn't have Conte's pedigree, however. Conte set Juventus on the way to a decade of dominance when he led the Bianconeri to the first three of its nine straight Serie A titles. He was then the man to end that streak in 2021 when in charge of Inter. In between that he also bagged a Premier League title with Chelsea. However, C

Arsenal hosts Man United, Bonucci available for Union Berlin debut

A look at what's happening in European soccer on Sunday: ENGLAND Arsenal hosts Manchester United in a major test for teams looking to challenge Manchester City for the title. Both sides are hoping their first-choice striker will be fit to make a first start to the season, with Gabriel Jesus and United newcomer Rasmus Hojlund having recovered from injuries. Liverpool hosts Aston Villa in another marquee matchup after rebuffing late interest from Saudi Arabia for Mohamed Salah. Crystal Palace welcomes Wolverhampton. SPAIN Portugal players Joo Cancelo and Joo Flix are on Barcelona's squad for its visit to Osasuna after they joined the club just before the close of the summer transfer window on Friday. Iigo Martnez could also make his debut after the former Athletic Bilbao defender recovered from an injury that has kept him from playing since signing for Barcelona this summer. Atletico Madrid hosts a Sevilla side in a nosedive after losing its first four of games in all competitions

EPL: Arsenal visits Palace, AC Milan opens season at Bologna in Serie A

A look at what's happening in European soccer on Monday: ENGLAND Arsenal heads to London rival Crystal Palace for a game between two teams looking for a second straight Premier League victory to start the season. Arsenal has to do without Jurrien Timber, who sustained a long-term knee injury in the season opener, while goalkeeper David Raya is expected to be on the bench after his move from Brentford. Palace manager Roy Hodgson is pleased to still have Michael Olise in his squad after the winger turned down the chance to join Chelsea and signed a new four-year deal at Selhurst Park. SPAIN Sevilla looks to rebound from its loss to Manchester City in the UEFA Super Cup final when it visits Alaves in the Spanish league. Both Sevilla and Alaves opened with defeats last weekend Sevilla at home against Valencia and Alaves at Cadiz. Alaves, back in the first division after a year in the second tier, is winless against Sevilla in its last nine league matches against the rival. Sevilla has

Serie A: AC Milan beats Juventus 1-0 to secure spot in Champions League

AC Milan secured its spot in next season's Champions League by winning 1-0 at Juventus -- barring any off-field developments. Olivier Giroud's goal late in the first half on Sunday was enough for Milan to secure a spot in the top four in Serie A as it left the Rossoneri six points above fifth-place Atalanta with just one match remaining. Milan also moved eight points above Juventus. However, the Bianconeri could still appeal the 10-point penalty it was given for false accounting. Coming into the match, Juventus was the only side that could possibly replace Milan in the top four in the Italian league. But its hopes had imploded last week after the points deduction and a 4-1 loss at Empoli. Milan knew a point would be enough and both sides had chances before Giroud broke the deadlock, five minutes before the break, when he peeled away from his marker to head Davide Calabria's cross into the far bottom corner. Juventus almost snatched an equalizer late on as Danilo's volley from a c

Serie A: Salernitana postpone Napoli's title celebration after drawing 1-1

Napoli should have secured their third Scudetto on Sunday night, but the celebrations were ruined by Salernitana as the Partenopei were held to a 1-1 draw at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.