Goals from Gonzalo Higuain and Jose Callejon sent SSC Napoli top of Serie A after they beat Atalanta BC 2-0 on Saturday, while a stoppage-time Mario Balotelli penalty helped AC Milan come from two goals down to snatch a 2-2 draw at Torino.
A superb equalizer by Arturo Vidal earned Juventus a 1-1 draw at Inter in the day’s early game, an intriguing “Derby of Italy” which suggested Walter Mazzari’s Inter could challenge for the title this season.
Inter took the lead against reigning champions Juventus on 73 minutes through Mauro Icardi’s first goal for the club, but the away side equalized through Vidal two minutes later.
Photo: AFP
Napoli maintained their 100 percent record to move to nine points, while Inter and Juve are two points behind and Milan are in sixth place with four.
Argentine Higuain’s second goal of the season came in the 71st minute of Napoli’s tense match with Atalanta, in which Rafael Benitez’s side struggled to break down the away side and had a flying Pepe Reina save to thank for not going behind to German Denis’ long-range effort two minutes after the break.
The hosts started quickly, but after Goran Pandev failed to convert an easy looking chance in the 13th minute they labored, and it took until the introduction of Jose Callejon and Marek Hamsik midway through the second half for Napoli to take charge.
Hamsik’s aggressive pressing led to the opening goal, with the ball falling to former Real Madrid striker Higuain, who rolled home a calm finish.
“For me, the important thing is that Marek Hamsik is a Napoli player. He came off the bench and made the difference today,” said Benitez, who also praised Callejon’s display. “His [Callejon’s] movement is different to [Lorenzo] Insigne’s, who is different to [Dries] Mertens, Pandev or Hamsik, so we have these five players who can do something different and that gives me something to work with as a coach.”
It was Callejon who sealed the three points with his third goal in as many games, another composed strike following neat play from Insigne and Blerim Dzemaili, who back-heeled a delightful assist to the Spaniard.
Milan looked down and out 71 minutes into their clash with Torino, after two superb goals from Danilo D’Ambrosio and Alessio Cerci.
Brazilian Kaka disappointed on his return to the Milan midfield after his move from Real Madrid, barely making a dent in the Torino defense before being substituted a minute before Cerci struck.
AC Milan know they will have to up their game for the UEFA Champions League visit of Celtic of Scotland on Wednesday.
“I’m not worried at all. There’s things that need sorting out, just like last year there were things that need sorting out,” AC Milan boss Massimiliano Allegri said.
It was a bizarre Sulley Muntari goal eight minutes from time, in which the midfielder scuffed a shot past out-of-position Torino goalkeeper Daniele Padelli, which brought Milan back into the match.
As Milan’s players celebrated, no one appeared to sure if the goal had even been awarded, with Balotelli both looking offside and seemingly having fouled Padelli in the buildup.
Italy international striker Balotelli atoned for missing an easy chance in the 74th minute when he stepped up to slot home the equalizing spot-kick deep into stoppage-time, snatching an unlikely and undeserved point.
After Icaro had fired Inter ahead following fine work from Ricky Alvarez, Juve secured a point when Vidal expertly controlled Kwadwo Asamoah’s drilled cross, before clipping past Inter goalkeeper Samir Handanovic for his third goal in as many games.
West Ham United on Monday advanced to the FA Cup quarter-finals with a 5-3 penalty shoot-out win against Brentford, who paid the price for Dango Ouattara’s spot-kick blunder. Nuno Espirito Santo’s side twice blew the lead as Jarrod Bowen’s double was canceled out by an Igor Thiago brace to force extra-time in the 2-2 draw at the London Stadium, but in the shoot-out, Brentford winger Ouattara attempted a chipped Panenka penalty, but his woeful effort was straight at West Ham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola. It was an awful mistake by the Burkina Faso international and West Ham took full advantage. Bowen, Valentin Castellanos, Callum
MEDVEDEV AWAITS: The world No. 1 Spainiard said that he is ‘finding the right shots’ as he pushed his record so far this year to 16 victories and no losses Carlos Alcaraz on Thursday extended his unbeaten season and got revenge over Cameron Norrie to reach the semi-finals at Indian Wells for a fifth straight year. The world No. 1 from Spain emerged from a see-saw battle with 29th-ranked Norrie with a 6-3, 6-4 victory. In the semis tomorrow, he faces Russian Daniil Medvedev, who pushed his own ATP winning streak to eight matches with a 6-1, 7-5 victory over defending champion Jack Draper. World No. 2 Jannik Sinner powered past Learner Tien 6-1, 6-2 to line up a semi-final with fourth-ranked Alexander Zverev, a 6-2, 6-3 winner over Arthur Fils. Alcaraz, 22, became
Teenage star Lamine Yamal’s superbly-taken goal on Saturday earned Barcelona a 1-0 win at Athletic Bilbao in Spanish La Liga. The champions restored their four-point lead over second-placed Real Madrid, who had on Friday temporarily closed the gap by beating Celta Vigo. Atletico Madrid tightened their grip on third with an entertaining 3-2 win over Real Sociedad. Yamal, 18, curled into the top corner after 68 minutes to split the sides at Athletic’s San Mames stadium. “We’re already seeing what Lamine can do — he puts it right in the top corner, and there’s nothing the keeper can do,” Barca
Thanks to Italy beating Mexico on Wednesday, the US get another chance in the World Baseball Classic (WBC). What looked like a potentially disastrous early exit for US manager Mark DeRosa and his team turned out to be nothing more than substantial worry and significant embarrassment for about 24 hours. It remains to be seen whether the US really want to win badly enough for the reprieve to matter, as if it is just a switch they can flick, but there is little reason for their fans to be optimistic. The team’s attitude and behavior have been all over the place when
RSS