AS Roma's stunning 2-1 victory at the Santiago Bernabeu to knock Real Madrid out of the Champions League has got everyone believing that there is once again a title race in Italy.
Roma travel to Napoli tomorrow a week after their hosts did them a huge favor by becoming the first team this season to beat leaders Inter Milan and help reduce Roma's deficit at the top to six points.
With confidence high following their 4-2 Champions League aggregate victory over the Spanish champions, and with Inter in the midst of an injury crisis in defense, Roma are understandably feeling confident.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Their players even believe they can win three trophies this season, as they are also through to the Italian Cup semi-finals.
"You can not choose. It is normal that the championship and the Champions League are slightly more important objectives," midfielder Daniele De Rossi said.
"But once you get to the semi-finals of the Italian Cup it would be stupid not to go for it. We're going forward and looking to win everything because those who set their sights lower can miss out on a goal. We've got to fight for everything," he said.
Roma are riding high, but must be wary of Napoli who came flying out of the blocks against Inter and dominated from start to finish, even missing a penalty in their 1-0 win.
Having gone three league games without a win, and four games in all competitions without a success, Inter are starting to look brittle.
Inter do at least have a seemingly straight forward home match against lowly Reggina today which they will be eager to win in style.
They celebrate their centenary this weekend and boss Roberto Mancini is unlikely to rest players like he did against Napoli.
However, with their crunch Champions League second round, second leg tie against Liverpool on Tuesday, where they trail 2-0 from the first leg, Mancini will be wary of taking any unnecessary risks with players carrying knocks.
AC Milan travel to Empoli tomorrow with their season hanging in the balance.
Out of the Champions League and languishing in fifth place in the league, four points off the top four and a qualification position for Europe's premier competition next season, they simply have to find their form.
Milan are battling with Juventus, who travel to Genoa, and Fiorentina, who visit Siena, for the third and fourth places in the league, but they trail the pair by five and four points respectively.
Manchester United on Tuesday confirmed Michael Carrick as interim manager until the end of the season, tasking him with leading the Red Devils back into the UEFA Champions League. “Having the responsibility to lead Manchester United is an honor,” said Carrick, 44, who won 12 major trophies in his 12-year playing career at United. The former midfielder previously had an unbeaten three-game stint as caretaker boss at Old Trafford in 2021. Carrick then took on his first permanent managerial role at second-tier Middlesbrough in October 2022 and was sacked in June last year after the club finished 10th in the
James Harden on Friday scored 31 points and came up big in overtime to help the Los Angeles Clippers erase a double-digit deficit on the way to a 121-117 NBA victory over the Toronto Raptors. Harden scored 16 points in the fourth quarter and overtime as the Clippers pushed their wining steak to five games despite the absence of star Kawhi Leonard with a sprained right ankle. The Clippers trailed by 11 entering the fourth quarter, but Harden drilled a pair of free-throws with 1:24 left in regulation to tie it and after misses from both teams, they went to
Dallas Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg on Wednesday was ruled out for the second half of their 118-109 loss to the Denver Nuggets after the No. 1 pick sprained his left ankle in the first half. Flagg was called for a foul while defending against Peyton Watson and turned the ankle as he fell to the floor with 6 minutes, 1 second left in the second quarter. Flagg limped to the bench and continued to the locker room, but returned for the final 2 minutes, 35 seconds before the break. The 19-year-old did not come out for the second half before the announcement that
Yassine Bounou on Wednesday saved two penalties, while Youssef en-Nesyri netted the decisive spot-kick as hosts Morocco secured a 4-2 shoot-out victory over Nigeria following a 0-0 draw in a tense Africa Cup of Nations semi-final in Rabat. Morocco, seeking their first continental title in 50 years, are to face 2021 winners Senegal in Sunday’s decider in Rabat, while Nigeria take on Egypt in the third-place playoff tomorrow. The 120 minutes before the shoot-out had few clear-cut chances for either side, but it was Morocco who created more opportunities, although they were denied by some fine saves from Nigeria goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali. Nigeria
RSS