SERIE A
JUVE SET TO CLINCH SERIE A TITTLE WITH MILAN CLASH
Juventus will have a first shot at clinching an eighth successive Serie A title at the weekend although they will need help from the only team to have beaten them in the league this season.
Second-placed Napoli’s shock defeat at Empoli on Wednesday has left the Turin side a massive 18 points clear, meaning it is time to get the calculators out almost two months before the end of the season.
In one of the most lop-sided championships in history, Juventus will clinch the title if they beat AC Milan at home on Saturday and then Napoli lose at home on Sunday to Genoa, who ended Juve’s hopes of an unbeaten league season three weeks ago.
That combination would leave Massimiliano Allegri’s side 21 points clear with seven games each to play and a better head-to-head record over Napoli.
They would also remain on course to break their own Serie A record of 102 points set in 2013-14, the last season before Antonio Conte left and was replaced by current coach Allegri.
Helped by the signing of five times World Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo, Juventus have been utterly dominant this season, winning 26 of their 30 matches, drawing three and losing one.
They have the best attack and defence with 62 goals for and 19 conceded although they have been ruthless rather than sparkling.
Twelve of their wins have been by one-goal margins, nine by two goals and five by three goals and they have only once scored more than three goals in a league game.
There have been a handful of impressive comebacks and dramatic wins but mostly it has been a case of getting the job done as efficiently as possible and leaving enough energy for their main aim, which is winning the Champions League.
Ronaldo will miss the Milan game with a thigh injury and is doubtful for the Champions League quarterfinal first leg away to Ajax Amsterdam on Wednesday.
However, Allegri said after the 2-0 win to Cagliari on Tuesday that their injury crisis was easing with Mario Mandzukic available and Leonardo Spinazzola, Douglas Costa and Paulo Dybala all close to returning.
The game will be a severe test for Gennaro Gattuso’s AC Milan who are fourth, the lowest of the Champions League slots, but have followed a run of five league wins in a row by taking only one point out of their last three matches.
“The strength that we’ve had for three or four months was missing,” said Gattuso after Tuesday’s 1-1 draw at home to lowly Udinese.
“We gave the feeling of fragility. We must remain calm. We know that we’re going through a tough spell and we must get out of it.”
Gattuso said his team were going through one of those phases where the ball feels heavier.
“When you win five matches but then face some difficulties, the ball starts to weigh heavily,” he said. “Things that happen that should be prevented and this is the moment we’re in.”
The man in charge of assigning Serie A and B referees, Gianluca Rocchi, has suspended himself from the role with immediate effect while under investigation for sports fraud by Milan’s Public Prosecutor’s Office.
VAR supervisor Andrea Gervasoni has taken similar action for the same reasons, and the investigation is looking into incidents during last season’s Serie A campaign.
“This choice, painful, difficult but shared with my family, is intended to allow the legal proceedings to run their course properly, from which I am sure I will come out unscathed and stronger than before,” Rocchi’s statement to Italy’s referees’ association (AIA) said.
According to Italian media reports, Rocchi is accused of interfering with VAR protocols along with selecting referees preferable to Inter Milan.
“We are learning everything from the media, so we are stunned by the declarations,” Inter President Giuseppe Marotta told Sky Sports before his side’s game at Torino on Sunday.
“We do not have referees that we favour or are unfavourable towards, we are confident that we acted entirely fairly, which should reassure everyone.
“We are safe in the knowledge that Inter are not involved in this situation and will not be involved in the future.”
The news has sparked fears in Italy of another crisis, similar to the Calciopoli match-fixing scandal which saw Juventus stripped of the 2004-05 Serie A title and relegated to Serie B, with AC Milan, Fiorentina, Lazio and Reggina also involved.
-Reuters
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Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen has opened up on the breakdown of his relationship with SSC Napoli, revealing how a controversial social media post, racial abuse and strained transfer dealings ultimately ended his time in Naples.
In an interview with Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport, Osimhen described the turning point as a TikTok video posted by Napoli in September 2023 that appeared to mock him for missing a penalty.
“After Napoli posted that video on TikTok, something broke forever,” he said.
The video showed Osimhen appealing for a penalty with a squeaky, sped-up voice dubbed over the footage, followed by the clip of his missed spot kick. Although the post was quickly deleted after his representatives labelled it offensive and reportedly considered legal action, the damage, according to the striker, had already been done.
Osimhen said the incident triggered a wave of toxic online reactions, including racist insults directed at him. He also recounted how some supporters confronted him at his residence, demanding explanations over the controversy.
For the 2023 African Footballer of the Year, the episode marked a decisive rupture in trust.
“I’m not a puppet,” he said, describing a period in which he felt humiliated and sidelined despite his contributions to the club.
Beyond the social media row, Osimhen suggested that tensions over his future compounded the fallout. He indicated that there had been an understanding with Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis regarding a potential departure in a future transfer window, but he felt the club did not honour that understanding.
“They treated me like a dog,” he said, adding that decisions were being made about his career without what he considered basic respect.
By late summer 2024, relations had deteriorated sharply. Reports indicated that Napoli excluded him from their Serie A squad list amid transfer uncertainty. The impasse eventually led to a season-long loan move to Galatasaray, bringing the standoff to a temporary close.
Osimhen was instrumental in Napoli’s historic 2022–23 Serie A title triumph, finishing as the league’s top scorer with 26 goals and becoming one of the defining figures of that championship campaign.
His departure, therefore, marked a dramatic reversal — from talismanic hero to sidelined star.
Now rebuilding his career in Turkey, Osimhen said his decision to speak publicly was driven by a desire to reclaim his narrative.
He explained that he had remained silent for months out of respect for Napoli supporters, but felt compelled to address the circumstances that led to his exit.
The episode underscores how a combination of social media missteps, fan reaction and unresolved transfer negotiations can unravel even the most successful partnerships in modern football.
For Osimhen, a relationship that once delivered a Scudetto ended not with celebration, but with controversy.
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Croatia captain Luka Modric, who left Real Madrid after 13 years at the LaLiga club, has completed his move to AC Milan on a one-year deal with an option to extend until June 2027, the Serie A side said on Monday.
The midfielder’s arrival was confirmed by newly-appointed Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri earlier this month.
“Very happy to be here to start a new chapter in my career,” said Modric, who turns 40 in September, in an Instagram video shared by Milan.
Milan said Modric will wear the number 14 shirt, which he previously wore during his four years at English side Tottenham Hotspur to honour Dutch great Johan Cruyff.
“It’s an immense honour for them to compare me to (Cruyff)… I wore the no. 14 at Tottenham in honour of him, and because the no. 10 wasn’t available,” Modric had said after winning the Ballon d’Or award in 2018.
Modric, regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of all time, announced in May that he would leave Real after the Club World Cup. He has made 597 appearances for the Spanish club, winning 28 trophies including four LaLiga and six Champions League titles.
He played his last game for Real on Wednesday, coming on as a second-half substitute during a 4-0 loss to Paris St Germain in the Club World Cup semi-finals.
“It’s a bitter end… he’s a legend of world football and of Real Madrid. He’ll be remembered for many more good things than for the 25 minutes he played today,” Real Madrid manager Xabi Alonso said after the match.
Modric, considered Croatia’s greatest player of all time, has represented the country a record 188 times, scoring 28 goals. He won the Golden Ball at World Cup 2018, where he led Croatia to the final for the first time.
He won the Ballon d’Or in December that year, becoming the first player other than Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to win the prestigious annual award since 2007.
Modric’s arrival reinforces a Milan midfield that also features Youssouf Fofana, Yunus Musah and Ruben Loftus-Cheek, with Samuele Ricci joining from Torino earlier this month.
Milan, who failed to qualify for a European competition after finishing eighth in the Italian top-flight league last season, begin their Serie A campaign against newly-promoted Cremonese on August 23.
-Reuters
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