Skip to main content

Ronaldo rescues Turin derby draw, Milan held by 10-man Samp Milan (AFP) – Cristiano Ronaldo nodded in a late equaliser to rescue a point for Juventus in a hard-fought 2-2 derby draw at Torino on Saturday, while AC Milan’s Serie A title challenge faltered with a 1-1 draw with 10-man Sampdoria.     Ronaldo struck in the 79th minute but couldn’t stop Juve dropping further points in their bid for a 10th consecutive league title. Andrea Pirlo’s side slip to fourth, nine points behind leaders Inter Milan, who travel to Bologna later on Saturday, and four points back from second-placed Milan. Atalanta moved third after a 3-2 win over Udinese while fifth-placed Napoli are equal on points with Juventus after a 4-3 win over Crotone. Federico Chiesa had given Juventus the advantage in the 13th minute at the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino, racing through following a give-and-go with Alvaro Morata to finish between Salvatore Sirigu’s legs. But an Antonio Sanabria brace looked set to give the hosts their first derby win in six years. The Paraguayan nodded in the leveller in the 27th minute after Juve keeper Wojciech Szczesny had pushed out a long-range Rolando Mandragora effort. Sanabria struck a second time just after the break when he intercepted a misplaced Dejan Kulusevksi back pass and raced forward to beat Szczesny. A Ronaldo header was pushed over by the Torino keeper after 53 minutes with the Portuguese striker sending another one over the bar with 20 minutes to go. But the Serie A top scorer finally got his 24th league goal this campaign following a VAR review when he nodded home a Giorgio Chiellini cross from close range. Rodrigo Bentacur rattled the post late with Juventus keeper Szczesny also denying Sanabria and Daniele Basselli’s hopes of a late winner. – ‘No excuses’ for Milan – Milan’s miserable recent form at the San Siro continued in their draw with Samp. A terrible Theo Hernandez pass across midfield in the 57th minute allowed Sampdoria veteran Fabio Quagliarella to pounce and send a long-range lob over Donnarumma who was out of his goal. It was the 38-year-old Quagliarella’s 10th goal this campaign, reaching double figures for the fifth consecutive league season. Claudio Ranieri’s mid-table Samp side went a man down just after their goal with Adrien Silva sent off after picking up a second yellow card. Hakan Calhanoglu was denied by Sampdoria goalkeeper Emil Audero before substitute Jens Petter Hauge levelled the scores three minutes from the end, beating the rival defence and curling the ball into the corner. The hosts were denied a late winner when Franck Kessie rattled the woodwork. “There are no excuses,” said Pioli, whose team’s push for a first league title since 2011 has been hampered by just two wins from eight home games in the league in 2021. “There is disappointment, bitterness and anger.” – Atalanta, Napoli close in – The seven-time European champions’ hopes of Champions League football next season are also threatened. Atalanta continued their push for a third season of elite European football against Udinese which came thanks to a first-half Luis Muriel brace and Duvan Zapata adding a third after the hour mark in Bergamo. Napoli claimed their fourth consecutive win, but not without a battle from bottom side Crotone who lost a dramatic seven-goal contest. Lorenzo Insigne picked up a Giovanni Di Lorenzo pull back for the opener the 19th minute in Naples, and then had a role in Victor Osimhen’s second minutes later. The points looked to be secured for Napoli when club record scorer Dries Mertens added a third from a free-kick after half an hour. However Crotone fought back to 3-3 largely thanks to a double from Nigerian Simy the 25th and 48th minutes. But Di Lorenzo made sure the home side did take the win with his 72nd-minute strike. Roma stretched their winless run to a three matches with a 2-2 stalemate at Sassuolo. The Romans drop to seventh behind city rivals Lazio, who beat Spezia 2-1 thanks to a Felipe Caicedo penalty awarded after a VAR review in the 88th minute.


Milan (AFP) – Cristiano Ronaldo nodded in a late equaliser to rescue a point for Juventus in a hard-fought 2-2 derby draw at Torino on Saturday, while AC Milan’s Serie A title challenge faltered with a 1-1 draw with 10-man Sampdoria.    

Ronaldo struck in the 79th minute but couldn’t stop Juve dropping further points in their bid for a 10th consecutive league title.

Andrea Pirlo’s side slip to fourth, nine points behind leaders Inter Milan, who travel to Bologna later on Saturday, and four points back from second-placed Milan.

Atalanta moved third after a 3-2 win over Udinese while fifth-placed Napoli are equal on points with Juventus after a 4-3 win over Crotone.

Federico Chiesa had given Juventus the advantage in the 13th minute at the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino, racing through following a give-and-go with Alvaro Morata to finish between Salvatore Sirigu’s legs.

But an Antonio Sanabria brace looked set to give the hosts their first derby win in six years.

The Paraguayan nodded in the leveller in the 27th minute after Juve keeper Wojciech Szczesny had pushed out a long-range Rolando Mandragora effort.

Sanabria struck a second time just after the break when he intercepted a misplaced Dejan Kulusevksi back pass and raced forward to beat Szczesny.

A Ronaldo header was pushed over by the Torino keeper after 53 minutes with the Portuguese striker sending another one over the bar with 20 minutes to go.

But the Serie A top scorer finally got his 24th league goal this campaign following a VAR review when he nodded home a Giorgio Chiellini cross from close range.

Rodrigo Bentacur rattled the post late with Juventus keeper Szczesny also denying Sanabria and Daniele Basselli’s hopes of a late winner.

– ‘No excuses’ for Milan –

Milan’s miserable recent form at the San Siro continued in their draw with Samp.

A terrible Theo Hernandez pass across midfield in the 57th minute allowed Sampdoria veteran Fabio Quagliarella to pounce and send a long-range lob over Donnarumma who was out of his goal.

It was the 38-year-old Quagliarella’s 10th goal this campaign, reaching double figures for the fifth consecutive league season.

Claudio Ranieri’s mid-table Samp side went a man down just after their goal with Adrien Silva sent off after picking up a second yellow card.

Hakan Calhanoglu was denied by Sampdoria goalkeeper Emil Audero before substitute Jens Petter Hauge levelled the scores three minutes from the end, beating the rival defence and curling the ball into the corner.

The hosts were denied a late winner when Franck Kessie rattled the woodwork.

“There are no excuses,” said Pioli, whose team’s push for a first league title since 2011 has been hampered by just two wins from eight home games in the league in 2021.

“There is disappointment, bitterness and anger.”

– Atalanta, Napoli close in –

The seven-time European champions’ hopes of Champions League football next season are also threatened.

Atalanta continued their push for a third season of elite European football against Udinese which came thanks to a first-half Luis Muriel brace and Duvan Zapata adding a third after the hour mark in Bergamo.

Napoli claimed their fourth consecutive win, but not without a battle from bottom side Crotone who lost a dramatic seven-goal contest.

Lorenzo Insigne picked up a Giovanni Di Lorenzo pull back for the opener the 19th minute in Naples, and then had a role in Victor Osimhen’s second minutes later.

The points looked to be secured for Napoli when club record scorer Dries Mertens added a third from a free-kick after half an hour.

However Crotone fought back to 3-3 largely thanks to a double from Nigerian Simy the 25th and 48th minutes.

But Di Lorenzo made sure the home side did take the win with his 72nd-minute strike.

Roma stretched their winless run to a three matches with a 2-2 stalemate at Sassuolo.

The Romans drop to seventh behind city rivals Lazio, who beat Spezia 2-1 thanks to a Felipe Caicedo penalty awarded after a VAR review in the 88th minute.



from World Soccer Talk https://ift.tt/3uiFahV
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Xavi under no illusions ahead of fairytale on Barcelona return Barcelona (AFP) – Xavi Hernandez said he is prepared for the “biggest challenge of his career” before leaving Qatar for Spain on Saturday, as Barcelona’s legendary former midfielder returns home to take over as coach. Xavi’s appointment was confirmed by Barca in the early hours of Saturday morning and the 41-year-old will be presented to fans at Camp Nou on Monday. “I’m very happy as you can imagine, it’s the biggest challenge of my career,” Xavi told Spanish journalists at Doha airport. “I’m going home and I am very happy.” Xavi faces a huge challenge, with Barcelona adrift of La Liga’s top four, struggling to make the knock-out stages of the Champions League and grappling with debts of more than a billion euros. “I have also experienced bad situations,” Xavi said. “It’s not the best moment in the history of the club but I want to explain what my idea is and to work hard, to make a team. Obviously the first thing is to talk to the players to see how they are.” Xavi left Camp Nou to play for Qatari club Al Sadd in 2015, after making 767 appearances for Barcelona, with eight La Liga titles and four Champions Leagues among his 25 trophies. “It’s time to come home. Welcome, Xavi,” Barca tweeted in the early hours of Saturday morning, as Spain slept.  “It wasn’t goodbye, it was see you later,” it wrote, along with a video montage of the player’s departure in 2015. Barcelona said in a statement they had reached an agreement with Xavi to become first-team coach for the rest of the season and two more seasons, replacing the sacked Ronald Koeman. “It is expected that Xavi Hernandez will arrive in Barcelona this weekend and that on Monday 8, November his presentation as new FC Barcelona first team coach will take place in an event open to the public at Camp Nou,” it said. Nicknamed the “Maquina” (the Machine), Xavi is widely considered one of the club’s greatest players and there is huge excitement about his potential as a coach after his influence on the iconic Barca team managed by Pep Guardiola. His passing style was seen as the embodiment of Guardiola’s “tiki-taka” team that won the treble in 2009. “One of the greatest midfield maestros of all time, he helped redefine the art with his creative mind, pinpoint passing and sublime ability to read the game,” Barca said in their statement, heralding the return of “an absolute legend”. Al Sadd, which Xavi had coached since 2019, hours earlier said they had reached an agreement with Barca and posted photos on social media of the Spaniard saying goodbye to the players and staff. – ‘The dream’ – Barcelona’s attempt to appoint Xavi as Koeman’s successor had been held up on Friday over his Al Sadd release clause, with Xavi and Barca considering splitting the payment to complete the deal. Al Sadd said Barca had agreed to pay the clause in Xavi’s contract, which is reportedly set at around five million euros ($5.8 million), but Barcelona did not give any details of the deal in their statement. Spanish sports daily Marca headlined the club hero’s return and estimated the cost to Barca of sacking recent managers Ernesto Valverde, Quique Setien and Koeman at 32 million euros. Xavi had made no secret of his desire to return to Barcelona, which he joined through the club’s La Masia academy at the age of 11. “My main objective, when I can do it, is Barca,” Xavi told Marca last year. “It’s my home, that’s the dream.” Barcelona sat ninth in La Liga on Saturday morning, with concerns growing they might not qualify for next season’s Champions League. The club are also in dire financial straits, having posted debts of 1.35 billion euros. They could not afford to renew Lionel Messi’s contract in the summer, and the Argentine left for Paris Saint-Germain. Xavi will also be charged with improving the team’s style of play, which was a key criticism during the tenure of Koeman, another former Barca player. Xavi’s flight is due to touch down as Barca take on Celta Vigo in La Liga in Juan Barjuan’s last game as caretaker coach before he hands over to the man the fans are pinning their hopes on to turn the club around.

Barcelona (AFP) – Xavi Hernandez said he is prepared for the “biggest challenge of his career” before leaving Qatar for Spain on Saturday, as Barcelona’s legendary former midfielder returns home to take over as coach. Xavi’s appointment was confirmed by Barca in the early hours of Saturday morning and the 41-year-old will be presented to fans at Camp Nou on Monday. “I’m very happy as you can imagine, it’s the biggest challenge of my career,” Xavi told Spanish journalists at Doha airport. “I’m going home and I am very happy.” Xavi faces a huge challenge, with Barcelona adrift of La Liga’s top four, struggling to make the knock-out stages of the Champions League and grappling with debts of more than a billion euros. “I have also experienced bad situations,” Xavi said. “It’s not the best moment in the history of the club but I want to explain what my idea is and to work hard, to make a team. Obviously the first thing is to talk to the players to see how they are.” Xavi left...
Post a Comment
Read more

Bayern down Mainz to go six points clear in the Bundesliga Berlin (AFP) – Defending champions Bayern Munich extended their lead at the top of the Bundesliga to six points on Saturday after coming from behind to seal a 2-1 home win against Mainz. Second-half goals by Kingsley Coman and 18-year-old Jamal Musiala sealed the victory behind closed doors at Munich’s Allianz Arena after Mainz had taken a shock lead. Bayern remain firmly on course to win the German league for the tenth straight season after stretching their lead at the top of the table as second-placed Dortmund were held 1-1 at Bochum. 

Berlin (AFP) – Defending champions Bayern Munich extended their lead at the top of the Bundesliga to six points on Saturday after coming from behind to seal a 2-1 home win against Mainz. Second-half goals by Kingsley Coman and 18-year-old Jamal Musiala sealed the victory behind closed doors at Munich’s Allianz Arena after Mainz had taken a shock lead. Bayern remain firmly on course to win the German league for the tenth straight season after stretching their lead at the top of the table as second-placed Dortmund were held 1-1 at Bochum.  from World Soccer Talk https://ift.tt/3lVLPNa
Post a Comment
Read more

Rangers brush aside title rivals Hearts Glasgow (AFP) – Alfredo Morelos and Joe Aribo fired Rangers to a 2-0 win at Hearts on Sunday as the Scottish Premiership leaders extended their strong start under new boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst. Van Bronckhorst has won four successive league games since replacing Steven Gerrard after his predecessor’s move to Aston Villa. Morelos and Aribo scored in the early stages at Tynecastle, giving Rangers six consecutive league victories encompassing the end of Gerrard’s reign. Hearts had Josh Ginnelly sent off late on as they squandered a chance to close the gap on the champions. Rangers are 12 points clear of third placed Hearts and seven ahead of second placed Celtic, who host Motherwell later on Sunday. Van Bronckhorst made six changes to the Rangers side that began Thursday’s 1-1 draw at Lyon in the Europa League. Liam Boyce had a great chance to open the scoring for Hearts in the third minute when he ran on to John Souttar’s clipped ball over the top, but the Northern Ireland striker saw his lob tipped over by Allan McGregor. It was Rangers who scored with their first chance of the match after nine minutes when Ryan Kent’s cross reached Fashion Sakala and the Zambian cut the ball back to Morelos, who fired home from six yards out. Sakala shot just wide from close range moments later before Morelos headed wide from James Tavernier’s corner. Rangers’ second goal came in the 13th minute when Aribo ran on to a brilliant long diagonal from Connor Goldson and fired an angled low shot beyond the exposed Craig Gordon. Gary Mackay-Steven saw his angled shot pushed behind by McGregor early in the second half. Rangers had a let-off in the 53rd minute when Calvin Bassey knocked a Ginnelly cross off the underside of his own crossbar. Rangers remained a threat, however, and Scott Arfield and Sakala were both denied by saves from Gordon. Boyce fired over from close range after being set up by Mackay-Steven before Stephen Kingsley cracked a free kick off the bar from 30 yards out. In the 80th minute, Ginnelly was sent off after being shown a second yellow card for squaring up to Borna Barisic.

Glasgow (AFP) – Alfredo Morelos and Joe Aribo fired Rangers to a 2-0 win at Hearts on Sunday as the Scottish Premiership leaders extended their strong start under new boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst. Van Bronckhorst has won four successive league games since replacing Steven Gerrard after his predecessor’s move to Aston Villa. Morelos and Aribo scored in the early stages at Tynecastle, giving Rangers six consecutive league victories encompassing the end of Gerrard’s reign. Hearts had Josh Ginnelly sent off late on as they squandered a chance to close the gap on the champions. Rangers are 12 points clear of third placed Hearts and seven ahead of second placed Celtic, who host Motherwell later on Sunday. Van Bronckhorst made six changes to the Rangers side that began Thursday’s 1-1 draw at Lyon in the Europa League. Liam Boyce had a great chance to open the scoring for Hearts in the third minute when he ran on to John Souttar’s clipped ball over the top, but the Northern Ireland stri...
Post a Comment
Read more