ACF Fiorentina conceded a late goal, had David Pizarro sent off and lost their 100 percent Serie A record in a 1-1 draw at home to Cagliari on Sunday, with an injury to Mario Gomez compounding their frustration.
Germany international striker Gomez suffered a partial tear to the medial collateral ligament in his right knee after colliding with Cagliari goalkeeper Michael Agazzi as he shot wide of the goal.
Antonio di Natale celebrated his 300th Serie A appearance for Udinese by scoring a late equalizer in a 1-1 draw at home to Bologna, while SS Lazio efficiently swept aside AC Chievo Verona 3-0 with three first-half goals.
Photo: AFP
Genoa outclassed their neighbors UC Sampdoria to win their derby 3-0 and pick up their first points of the season.
Luca Antonini’s ninth-minute opener was followed by second-half goals from Emanuele Calaio and Francesco Lodi, who curled in an exquisite free-kick which prompted coach Fabio Liverani to run on to the pitch and join the celebrations.
Fiorentina, who dominated most of their match, but struggled to find a way past a well-organized Cagliari defense, finally broke through in the 71st minute when Borja Valero headed in Giuseppe Rossi’s cross from close range.
However, the Sardinians, had looked dangerous throughout the second half and they equalized in the 89th minute when Chilean forward Mauricio Pinilla, a second-half substitute, headed in Victor Ibarbo’s cross from the right.
Fiorentina had a penalty appeal turned down in stoppage-time when Rossi went down under a challenge and Pizarro, who had been on the pitch for 20 minutes, was shown a second yellow card for dissent.
“I can accept technical mistakes, but I don’t accept it when referees fail to judge the players’ behavior in a uniform manner,” Fiorentina coach Vicenzo Montella said. “Other players were saying much worse things and that’s what I told the referee at the end. Tactically, it was a very good game, but Pinilla’s goal was a shame because Cagliari were not creating anything at that point in the match.”
The draw left Fiorentina level with Inter and Juventus on seven points from three games, two behind SSC Napoli who have won all three games. Cagliari have four points.
Lazio, AS Livorno and Hellas Verona all won at home to move on to six points from three games.
Lazio created three goalscoring chances in the first half and converted them all, through Antonio Candreva, Luis Cavanda and Senad Lulic, at a half empty and rain-lashed Stadio Olimpico in Rome.
Two goals from Brazilian forward Paulinho gave promoted Livorno a 2-0 win over Catania, while his compatriots Raphael Martinho and Romulo scored in each half as Hellas Verona beat US Sassuolo 2-0 in a battle of two promoted sides.
Alessandro Diamanti’s superb free-kick put Bologna ahead midway through the second half at Udinese, but 35-year-old Di Natale was not to be outdone, volleying home after Luis Muriel skipped between three defenders and chipped the ball to him.
SSC Napoli’s Italian Serie A title hopes suffered a late setback on Sunday when they were held to a 2-2 draw at home against Genoa, setting up a thrilling season finale with closest rivals Inter just one point behind. The hosts remain top with 78 points, holding a slim lead over Inter, who won 2-0 at Torino earlier on Sunday, with two rounds remaining. To make matters worse for Napoli, midfielder Stanislav Lobotka, struggling with an ankle injury, was forced off just minutes after the match began. Scott McTominay delivered a perfect pass into the box where Romelu Lukaku got
Harry Kane opened the scoring ahead of lifting his first career silverware as Bayern Munich beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-0, with veteran Thomas Mueller playing his last home game for the club. Bayern officially won the title on May 4 when defending champions Bayer Leverkusen were held to a 2-2 draw at Freiburg, but were presented with the Bundesliga shield in front of their home fans at full-time. Dripping wet after being showered with beer by teammates, Kane said the title win was “an incredible feeling,” and hoped it would be “the first of many.” “It’s been lot of hard work, a lot of
INTER AWAIT: Superb saves by PSG ’keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma inspired the victory, as Arsenal were punished for misses, including one by Bukayo Saka Arsenal on Wednesday fell short on the big stage again as their painful UEFA Champions League semi-final exit against Paris Saint-Germain left Mikel Arteta to rue his club’s failure to provide him with enough attacking options. Arteta’s side were unable to reach the Champions League final for the first time in 19 years as PSG clinched a tense 2-1 win at Parc des Princes. Trailing 1-0 from last week’s first leg in London, the Gunners made a blistering start to the second leg, but could not convert their chances as Gianluigi Donnarumma’s superb saves inspired PSG’s 3-1 aggregate victory. Arsenal were punished for
Taiwanese e-sports veteran Lin “ET” Chia-hung yesterday successfully defended his King of Fighters XV title at this year’s Evolution Championship Series: Japan (EVO Japan), securing his second consecutive championship. Lin claimed victory with a 3-1 win over Japanese pro gamer “mok” in the grand final, repeating his earlier 3-1 win against the same opponent in the winners’ final. The 40-year-old earned a ￥1 million (US$6,897) cash prize at the two-day tournament, which drew 294 competitors. Mok, Lin’s toughest rival in the bracket, took home ￥400,000 as runner-up. Lin remains undefeated in match sets against mok in King of Fighters XV, holding a 10-0 record,
RSS