Ronaldinho sparkled on his debut, but could not prevent AC Milan slumping to a dismal 2-1 home defeat to Serie A newboys Bologna in their opener at the San Siro on Sunday.
Former Milan forward Alberto Gilardino scored an equalizer a minute from time to earn 10-man Fiorentina a 1-1 home draw against Juventus and it was a poor start all round for the scudetto hopefuls as AS Roma were held 1-1 at home to 10-man Napoli.
But it was in AC Milan’s game with Bologna that the real drama took place, as Carlo Ancelotti handed debuts to Gianluca Zambrotta and Mathieu Flamini, as well as Ronaldinho.
PHOTO: EPA
Marco Di Vaio gave the visitors a shock lead on 18 minutes after the ball fell kindly to him in the box. Ronaldinho was at the center of everything that was good for Milan and it was his cross that Massimo Ambrosini headed home to restore parity on 41 minutes.
The Brazilian magician then created two glorious chances for veteran striker Filippo Inzaghi and another for second-half substitute Andrei Shevchenko, back from a two-year nightmare at Chelsea, but neither could finish.
Then Francesco Valiani won it for Bologna 11 minutes from time with a thunderbolt from 25m out into the top right-hand corner.
Juventus took the lead six minutes before the break against Fiorentina, when Czech veteran Pavel Nedved converted a cross from Zdenek Grygera.
A minute from time Gilardino turned Swedish defender Olof Mellberg and squeezed home a shot in off the far post.
AS Roma were no less disappointing than Milan as they were held by a Napoli team that played more than half-an-hour with 10 men. The hosts went in front when Alberto Aquilani ran onto a delicate chip over the defense from Daniele De Rossi and took the ball down on his chest before firing home. Despite having Fabian Santacroce sent off on 54 minutes, Napoli were level soon after through Slovakia midfielder Marek Hamsik.
Lazio are the early pacesetters as they came from behind to win 4-1 at 10-man Cagliari.
Torino are also off to a fine start with a 3-0 home victory against newly-promoted Lecce, while Chievo marked their return to the top flight with a 2-1 success over Reggina.
SSC Napoli will have to wait one more week to seal the Serie A title after on Sunday being held to a goalless draw at Parma, while closest rivals Inter drew 2-2 in a dramatic game with SS Lazio. Antonio Conte’s team stayed one point ahead of Inter and were unfortunate not to win after twice striking the woodwork through Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Matteo Politano, while Scott McTominay also had a free-kick tipped onto the crossbar. The away side thought they would be handed a chance to take the points from the penalty spot in the 96th minute when David Neres
A stunning Lamine Yamal strike on Thursday helped crown Barcelona La Liga champions with a 2-0 win over local rivals RCD Espanyol, with victory ensuring Real Madrid cannot catch them at the top of the table. Yamal’s effort and Fermin Lopez’s goal took Hansi Flick’s side seven points clear of Los Blancos with two matches remaining, to clinch Barcelona’s 28th title and complete a superb domestic treble. Only the UEFA Champions League title escaped an exciting young Barca side this season, as they won the league for the second time in six years, at Espanyol’s ground again just as in 2022-2023. Back then,
Jannik Sinner on Thursday marched into the semi-finals of the Italian Open after destroying Casper Ruud in straight sets 6-0, 6-1, while Coco Gauff won a marathon three-set battle with China’s Zheng Qinwen to advance to the women’s singles final. American Gauff is to face Italy’s Jasmine Paolini in today’s title match after pulling through 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 7-6 (7/4) in a match that lasted over three-and-a-half hours. Ruud was supposed to be Sinner’s toughest test in Rome since he came back from his three-month doping ban, as the Norwegian came into the match in hot form on clay after winning in
Omar Marmoush’s stunning long-range strike on Tuesday upstaged Kevin de Bruyne on the Manchester City great’s Etihad farewell. Marmoush let fly from about 30m to put City ahead in their 3-1 win against AFC Bournemouth in the Premier League. The victory moved Pep Guardiola’s team up to third in the standings and left qualification for the UEFA Champions League in their own hands heading into the last round of the season. “It’s really important. To be in the Champions League after what happened [this season] will be really nice,” the City manager said. De Bruyne was making his final home appearance for City before
RSS