Juventus remained top of Serie A after long-time leaders AS Roma spurned the chance to overtake the champions following a scoreless home draw to struggling Cagliari on Monday.
Juventus’s 2-0 away win at AS Livorno on Sunday sent Antonio Conte’s men top of the pile for the first time this season with a two-point lead over Rudy Garcia’s men.
Roma were widely expected to retake the lead, but despite dominating the Sardinians at the Stadio Olimpico the Giallorossi were left counting the cost for failing to get the ball past impressive Cagliari goalkeeper Vlada Avramov.
Photo: Reuters
To add to their woes, Garcia was sent to the stands with 18 minutes remaining after an altercation on the touchline.
“Maybe I was just too involved in the game,” Garcia told Sky Sport Italia. “This was an unexpected result. People often say if you can’t win the next best thing is not to lose, but we had a really good game, created a lot of chances and in the end showed that the best player on the park was their goalkeeper.”
What will go down as a stirring performance from Cagliari was also one that was to help soothe the pain brought by flash floods which swept through the island last week, killing 16 people, coach Diego Lopez said.
Photo: EPA
“Last week we suffered a catastrophe ... the lads ran their legs into the ground tonight to help pay tribute to the people of Sardinia,” Lopez said. “The point we took tonight was also for them.”
It was the first time this season Cagliari had kept a clean sheet and Lopez added: “It’s difficult to come to a ground such as this. I asked a lot of my defense tonight and I’m really happy because it’s our first game this season without conceding a goal.”
Roma welcomed Gervinho back to the fray following a month on the sidelines and after just five minutes the Ivorian striker broke through the defense, only to be denied by Avramov at the goalkeeper’s near post.
Maicon saw a shot stopped five minutes later and the Brazilian defender was later involved in a move which set up Miralem Pjanic, only for the Bosnian to miss the target.
Cagliari had shown some threat earlier in the half, but came closest when Victor Ibarbo’s header was met with a superb one-handed save by Roma goalkeeper Morgan de Sanctis.
Roma then spurned two chances just before the break, Gervinho hitting the upright with a header from close range and then Alessandro Florenzi seeing his half-volley blocked by Avramov.
Six minutes after the restart Maicon came close again, but saw Avramov pull off a superb save to deny his swerving strike.
Roma were frustrated for almost the remainder of the half and Cagliari were next to threaten five minutes from time, only for De Sanctis to parry Sebastian Eriksson’s drive.
Roma then spurned the chance for a late winner when Avramov parried Leandro Castan’s goal-bound header.
Juventus have a one-point lead over Roma, with SSC Napoli remaining third a further five points adrift.
SS Lazio on Monday fired the far-right sympathizer who handles their eagle mascot after he posted online a series of videos and pictures of his erect penis. Falconer Juan Bernabe, who has been present at Lazio home matches with Olimpia the eagle since the 2010-2011 season, posted the footage on social media after having surgery on Saturday to implant a penile prosthesis to improve his sexual performance. Lazio said that they had “terminated, with immediate effect” their relationship with Bernabe “due to the seriousness of his conduct,” adding that they were “shocked” by the images. The Serie A club added that Bernabe’s dismissal
‘TOUGH TO BREATHE’: Tunisian three-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur suffered an asthma attack in her 7-5, 6-3 victory over Colombia’s Camila Osorio Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday cruised into the second round of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Iga Swiatek romped into a third-round women’s singles showdown with Emma Raducanu and Taylor Fritz was just as emphatic in his pursuit of a maiden Grand Slam title. Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, the third seeds, defeated Slovakia’s Tereza Mihalikova and Olivia Nicholls of Britain 7-5, 6-2 in 90 minutes in Melbourne. Ostapenko and Hsieh — who won the women’s doubles and mixed doubles at the Australian Open last year — hit 25 winners and converted five of nine break points to set
Dubbed a “motorway for cyclists” where avid amateurs can chase Tadej Pogacar up mountains teeming with the highest concentration of professional cyclists per square kilometer in the world, Spain’s Costa Blanca has forged a new reputation for itself in the past few years. Long known as the ideal summer destination for those in search of sun, sea and sand, the stretch of coast between Valencia and Alicante now has a winter vocation too. During the season break in December and January, the region experiences an invasion of cyclists. Star names such as three-time Tour de France winner Pogacar, Remco Evenepoel and Julian Alaphilippe
AGING WELL: Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen, 22, was sent packing after being dispatched by world No. 97, Laura Siegemund, the second-oldest player in the draw at 36 Novak Djokovic yesterday created a slice of Grand Slam history on his way into the Australian Open third round, but last year’s women’s finalist Zheng Qinwen was knocked out in the biggest shock so far. Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka, in-form Coco Gauff, two-time Melbourne winner Naomi Osaka and a rampant Carlos Alcaraz were all victors on a rainy day four. Play was suspended on the outside courts for a couple of hours in the early evening because of the wet weather. That led to the rescheduling of a women’s doubles match between wild-cards Tsao Chia-yi of Taiwan and Thailand’s Peangtarn Plipuech and 11th
RSS