AC Milan returned to form with a thumping 4-1 victory over previously unbeaten Lazio at the San Siro on Sunday to ease the pressure on under-fire coach Carlo Ancelotti.
He had been feeling the strain after his team lost their first two Serie A encounters. But a midweek UEFA Cup success against FC Zurich restored Milan’s self-confidence and goals from Clarence Seedorf, Gianluca Zambrotta, Pato and Kaka earned them a much-needed first three league points of the season.
But despite the victory, Ancelotti is not about to start relaxing.
PHOTO: AP
“I’m not sure the crisis is over yet,” he warned before praising his side’s attacking endeavor.
Milan went in front as Seedorf tried to play a pass to Marco Borriello on the edge of the box only to see the ball rebound to him off a defender’s chest before finishing with aplomb.
Lazio forward Mauro Zarate restored parity after running through a gaping hole in the Milan backline but fullback Zambrotta netted a howitzer from 30m to give Milan a 2-1 lead at the break.
Pato converted a Marek Jankulovski cross soon after the restart with a diving header before Kaka curled home a sumptuous fourth.
Earlier in the day, Jose Mourinho continued his fine start to life at Inter Milan as his side won 3-1 at Torino to go top.
An own goal by Marco Pisano, a fierce drive from Maicon and a clever finish with the outside of his boot from Zlatan Ibrahimovic provided further proof that the marriage between Inter and Mourinho is quickly bearing fruit.
Torino’s Elvis Abbruscato scored a consolation goal 14 minutes from time.
The top of the tree is taking on a familiar look with Juventus moving up to second after their 1-0 success at Cagliari. Juve were without injured forward David Trezeguet but new signing Amauri proved he is more than an ample replacement as he volleyed home Vincenzo Iaquinta’s flick-on after 39 minutes.
In Florence, Antonio Gilardino scored for Fiorentina against Bologna in a 1-0 victory, thumping home a header from Mario Santana’s cross eight minutes before the break.
Serie A
Team P GD PTS
1 Inter 3 3 7
2 Juventus 3 2 7
3 Lazio 3 2 6
4 Palermo 3 1 6
5 Catania 3 1 6
6 Atalanta 3 1 6
7 Napoli 3 1 5
8 Roma 3 1 4
9 Torino 3 1 4
10 Siena 3 1 4
11 Udinese 3 1 4
12 Fiorentina 3 0 4
13 Chievo 3 -1 4
14 Lecce 3 -1 4
15 AC Milan 3 0 3
16 Genoa 3 0 3
17 Bologna 3 -1 3
18 Sampdoria 3 -2 2
19 Reggina 3 -4 1
20 Cagliari 3 -6 0
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB