Veteran Cesena goalkeeper Francesco Antonioli came back to haunt his former employers as he put in a man-of-the match display to frustrate AS Roma in a 0-0 draw at the Stadio Olimpico on Saturday.
Antonioli was the first-choice goalkeeper in the capital when then-coach Fabio Capello led the Rome-based team to the Italian title in 2001, but the 40-year-old put an early dent in Roma’s current scudetto hopes as he kept last season’s runners-up at bay to give the Serie A new boys a dream start to life back among Italy’s elite.
Having earned successive promotions from the third tier of Italian soccer, Cesena are rank outsiders in the top flight this season, but they produced a spirited display to earn a point.
PHOTO: AFP
Roma coach Claudio Ranieri suggested his team might have paid for being over-eager.
“This wasn’t the start we were dreaming about, we wanted to win and start off on the right footing,” Ranieri said. “Who knows, maybe it was exactly that desire that prevented us from doing things better.”
“We’re satisfied with this draw because Cesena had two or three dangerous chances and we have to know how to accept a draw that gets us moving in the standings,” he said. “We’re working very hard, this was a clear step forward with respect to the Super Cup [a 3-1 defeat by Inter]. We did a lot, but we didn’t manage the next step.”
DOMINATION
While Roma predictably dominated the first period in terms of possession and territory, they were mostly restricted to some pot-shots and crosses from deep and they could have been made to pay on 20 minutes when Cesena broke at pace on the counterattack from a Roma corner.
Emanuele Giaccherini played a pass from right to left for Japan international Yuto Nagatomo, but his pass was slightly over-hit, giving Nagatomo a difficult angle to shoot, although he made the best of it and his effort fizzed just past the far post.
Roma came closest on 35 minutes when Daniele De Rossi’s fierce volley was beaten away by Antonioli, although TV replays showed the midfielder should have been flagged for offside.
Cesena came close again just before the hour mark, but Matias Schelotto blazed high over the bar on the turn.
Antonioli, the oldest goalkeeper in Serie A and just over two weeks away from his 41st birthday, came to Cesena’s rescue 19 minutes from time with a double save.
UNBEATABLE
First, he palmed out a dangerous cross from substitute Rodrigo Taddei and then sprung up to save Mirko Vucinic’s follow-up when a goal looked certain.
From the resulting corner, John-Arne Riise dragged a shot just wide and Vucinic later had another chance, but couldn’t keep his header down.
Antonioli was the hero again 11 minutes from the end when he parried a vicious effort from Francesco Totti and then sprang up to whip the ball off Stefano Okaka’s foot.
The game was opening up and after Erjon Bogdani had clipped an effort just wide at one end, Totti’s header from Taddei’s cross sailed narrowly over the corner of bar and post at the other.
Earlier, substitute Giandomenico Mesto scored the first goal of the new Serie A season as Genoa won 1-0 at Udinese.
Mesto had only been on the pitch for 10 minutes when he snatched an acrobatic winner nine minutes from time.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two