Defensive horror shows at three corners saw AC Milan humiliate Juventus 3-0 at Turin’s Stadio Olimpico and all but end their rivals’ Serie A title hopes and leave coach Ciro Ferrara’s job on the line.
The victory meant Milan moved to within eight points of leaders Inter with a game in hand and the Milan derby to come in two weeks time.
A victory for the rossoneri in that would ensure the champions come under greater pressure than they have had in their previous four title triumphs.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Juve are 12 points back and have lost six of their last eight matches in all competitions while they are also out of the Champions League.
Fans protested after the second goal and some clashed with police afterwards outside the ground but Ferrara remained defiant.
“It’s clear that the 3-0 was a fair result, this is a very difficult time for us,” he said. “But I honestly don’t think my job is at risk, I’m totally concentrated on it.”
“It’s not up to me to make decisions, my energies need to be concentrated on the team and trying to overcome this moment,” he said. “I understand [the fans’] disappointment, it’s understandable because we’re not getting results, it has to be up to us to change these things.”
Alessandro Nesta and a Ronaldinho brace settled the affair, but all three goals were because of Juve’s inept defending at corners.
It was an unsurprisingly tentative start from both teams, but Juve playmaker Diego tried to spark the game into life on 13 minutes as he cut in from the left and curled a right-foot shot just wide of the far post.
However, “The Old Lady” fell behind on 29 minutes after a defensive disaster.
Andrea Pirlo’s corner was poor and sent in low to the near post, but Christian Poulsen left it, Felipe Melo missed it, and goalkeeper Alex Manninger was caught unawares, leaving Nesta — whose marker Zdenek Grygera had stopped — the simple task of tapping home from two yards out at the back post.
Juve did belatedly react, but it was centerback Giorgio Chiellini, their best player, whose shot was straight at goalkeeper Dida after his central defensive partner Fabio Cannavaro’s weak effort fell to him.
Milan, though, finished the half on a high as Manninger parried Thiago Silva’s long-range strike before Ronaldinho’s header from David Beckham’s corner was deflected behind.
Juve failed to exert much pressure after the break despite the introduction of Alessandro Del Piero on the hour mark and Chiellini was proving their most dangerous threat from set-pieces, without actually troubling Dida.
The win was secured on 72 minutes as another unimpressive Pirlo corner found Ronaldinho six yards wider than the near post but his flicked header skimmed off Paolo De Ceglie’s head and beat Manninger at his front post.
Two minutes from time Beckham took a short corner and then crossed from the right with Juve’s hapless defensive again missing the ball and a surprised Ronaldinho tapping home at the back post from six yards.
In earlier games, Napoli extended their unbeaten run under coach Walter Mazzarri to 14 games following a 1-0 home victory against Sampdoria that boosted their growing challenge for a top four finish.
German Denis’ second half goal earned the southerners three points that leaves them fourth in the Serie A table, just goal difference behind Juventus and a point above AS Roma.
They have not been beaten since October — 13 league games and one cup match — when former Sampdoria boss Mazzarri took over from the sacked former Italy coach Roberto Donadoni.
Mazzarri refused to get carried away, though.
“We’ll add up the points at the end of the season, this league is very balanced, it’s the details that will make the differences,” he said.
French goalkeeper Sebastien Frey made two crucial second half stops to help Fiorentina beat Bari 2-1 in Florence and go sixth.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
The Minnesota Timberwolves, with so many promising performances spoiled by late mistakes fresh in their memory bank, sure timed this strong finish well. Jaden McDaniels scored a career playoff-high 30 points and spearheaded Minnesota’s stifling defense on an ailing Luka Doncic, and the Timberwolves beat the Los Angeles Lakers 116-104 to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference first-round series in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Friday night. “Jaden never looks tired. He looks like he could play 48 minutes,” said teammate Anthony Edwards, who had 29 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Julius Randle added 22 points for the Wolves, who outscored
RSS