Maverick forward Mario Balotelli’s impressive return to Serie A continued when he scored a late penalty for the second straight game on Sunday to give his new club AC Milan a 1-1 draw at Cagliari.
The Italy international won the penalty after being pulled down by Davide Astori and he sent Michael Agazzi the wrong way to make it three goals in two games for fifth-placed Milan since his move from Manchester City.
Astori, already booked for a previous foul on Balotelli, was sent off as Cagliari faded in the second half after dominating the opening 45 minutes and taking the lead with a Victor Ibarbo header.
Photo: AFP
Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri described his team’s result as “a useful point against a good team.”
US Citta di Palermo and AS Roma, who fired their coaches after losing their previous games, failed to win, but Inter beat AC Chievo Verona 3-1 to ease the pressure on coach Andrea Stramaccioni.
Pablo Osvaldo missed a penalty for Roma in their 3-1 defeat at UC Sampdoria as they remained winless in the league this year.
Photo: EPA
Palermo stayed level on points at the bottom with AC Siena after drawing 1-1 with Delfino Pescara 1936, who are also down in the relegation zone.
Alberto Malesani, taking over as Palermo’s third coach of the season following the dismissal of Gian Piero Gasperini, saw his side fall behind to a 73rd-minute header by Birkir Bjarnason.
Diego Fabbrini, signed on loan from Udinese last month, leveled in the 80th minute for the Sicilians, who have 18 points from 24 games, three behind Pescara who are 18th in the table.
Paraguay midfielder Marcelo Estigarribia gave Sampdoria the lead against Roma in the 55th minute as Aurelio Andreazzoli moved into the hot seat on an interim basis following the dismissal of Zdenek Zeman.
Osvaldo then won a penalty for Roma, insisted on taking it, despite protests from the usual taker Francesco Totti, and weakly sent it into the arms of Sergio Romero.
That was followed by three goals in five minutes as Gianluca Sansone curled in a free-kick for Sampdoria, Erik Lamela volleyed one back and 19-year-old Argentine Mauro Icardi restored the two-goal lead with a header.
Diego Milito scored his first goal of the year early in the second half to complete Inter’s win over Chievo.
Antonio Cassano, overlooked by Italy since Euro 2012, gave Inter a second-minute lead, helped by a blunder by Chievo goalkeeper Cristian Puggioni.
Luca Rigoni leveled in the 21st minute after being left unmarked to head in, but Inter, who had won only one of their previous seven league games, quickly regained the lead when Andrea Ranocchia headed in from a corner.
Siena drew 1-1 at Bologna after going ahead through midfielder Innocent Emeghara. Panagiotis Kone replied for 15th-placed Bologna, both goals coming in an eight-minute spell before halftime.
Genoa’s point from their 0-0 draw at Parma kept them one point clear of the danger zone in 17th place.
Also on Sunday, Udinese beat Torino 1-0 and Atalanta BC were held to a goalless draw at home by Catania.
Additional reporting by staff writer
TAIWANESE EXITS: Fellow Australian Christopher O’Connell joined Tristan Schoolkate as a winner following his 6-1, 6-2 defeat of Tseng Hsin-chun Australian qualifier Tristan Schoolkate on Monday dispatched rising Brazilian talent Joao Fonseca 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 at the ATP Toronto Masters, ensuring a breakthrough into the world top 100. The 24-year-old from Perth moved to 98th in the ongoing live rankings as he claimed his biggest career victory by knocking out the ATP NextGen champion from November last year. Schoolkate, son of a tennis coach, won his first match over a top-50 opponent on his sixth attempt as he ousted the world No. 49 teenager from Brazil. The qualifier played a quarter-final this month in Los Cabos and won through qualifying for his
Top seeds Alexander Zverev of Germany and American Coco Gauff on Tuesday advanced to the third round of the Canadian Open after both players were pushed hard by their opponents. World No. 3 Zverev, playing in his first match since his first-round loss at Wimbledon, was far from his best, but emerged with a 7-6 (8/6), 6-4 win over Adam Walton under the lights in Toronto. Momentum shifted firmly in Zverev’s favor when he won a 52-shot rally in the first set tiebreak and he sealed the win on a double fault by the Australian in the second set. “It was a very
Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko upset top-seeded Coco Gauff 6-1, 6-4 on Saturday night to reach the National Bank Open quarter-finals. “Your support was incredible,” Mboko told the crowd in French after a chorus of “Ole, Ole, Ole” chants echoed around the venue. “I’m really happy to win today ... It’s incredible. I’m so happy to beat such a great champion.” Gauff dropped to 2-3 since winning the French Open. She followed the major victory with opening losses in Berlin and Wimbledon, then overcame double-fault problems to win two three-set matches in Montreal. Gauff had five double-faults on Saturday after having 23 in
Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen on Thursday said that he is staying with the Red Bull team next year, ending months of speculation over his future. “Some people just like to stir the pot, some people just like to create drama, but, for me, it’s always been quite clear, and also for next year,” the four-time champion said ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix. “I’m discussing with the team already the plans — the things that we want to change for next year, so that means that I’m also staying with the team for next year,” he said. Verstappen has a contract with
RSS