SERIE A
Milan, Inter battle on two fronts for Champions League qualification
Locked in battle for a place in the Champions League final, AC Milan and city rivals Inter are also vying with each other in Serie A for a spot among Europe’s elite next season and will treat their remaining league tests as seriously as their semi.
Inter grabbed two early goals through Edin Dzeko and Henrikh Mkhitaryan to secure an impressive 2-0 win over Milan in the first leg of their Champions League last-four tie on Wednesday, taking a significant advantage into next week’s return encounter.
One of the two sides will become the first Italian finalist since Juventus faced Real Madrid six years ago, but a potential showdown against powerhouses Real or Manchester City leaves them no room to relax on the domestic front.
Neither of the Milan-based clubs can be assured of a top-four spot just yet, with Inter fourth in the standings on 63 points and Milan right behind, on 61.
Inter could not have timed their return to form any better as Simone Inzaghi’s men are on a six-game winning streak in all competitions, four of them in Serie A.
A home win against mid-table Sassuolo on Saturday could bring some breathing space ahead of their return leg with their rivals on Tuesday.
For Milan, who face Spezia on Saturday, things are different and last year’s Serie A champions have little room for error left.
Milan have won only two of their last six games on the domestic front, with four draws, and they need to quickly rebound from their Champions League disappointment if they want to return to the competition next season.
“I will try to make the best choices to try to win against Spezia and then overturn this (semi-final) result,” Milan coach Stefano Pioli said following their defeat to Inter.
“Playing as Milan, playing better, with quality and intensity” is the way forward, according to the coach.
As well as lowly Spezia, Milan face already-relegated Sampdoria and struggling Hellas Verona in three of their remaining four league outings but all are must-win matches given Pioli’s side also have to visit second-placed Juventus.
Spezia, who are 18th, have not won any of their last eight games and on Saturday could register their longest ever streak without a Serie A victory.
For third-placed Lazio, three losses in their last four games have shaken things up at the capital club, and a home game against 16th-placed Lecce may help them regain some much needed balance.
“At halftime I saw a disheartened team and this is the aspect that worried me the most,” coach Maurizio Sarri said after their 2-0 loss at Milan last weekend.
Lazio had recorded seven wins and one draw in eight Serie A matches before their form nosedived, which saw them drop from second to third in the table, one point ahead of Inter.
Champions Napoli will travel to Monza on Sunday after their fans got to celebrate the title with a home win over Fiorentina last week.
Juventus will host second-bottom Cremonese on Sunday in between their two Europa League semi-final matches against Sevilla.
-Reuters
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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Pope Leo XIV welcomed Italy’s newly crowned Serie A champions Napoli to the Vatican on Tuesday, joking about his own soccer allegiances.
Napoli won their fourth “Scudetto” on Friday with a 2-0 home victory over Cagliari, edging out Inter Milan by one point in a nail-biting end to the season.
The team, captained by Italian international Giovanni Di Lorenzo, arrived for their papal audience a day after a triumphant open-top bus parade through central Naples.
“The press says I am an AS Roma fan, but you are welcome! This is what the press says. Not everything you read in the press is true,” the pope said, according to a transcript.
Leo, the first pope to come from the U.S., follows and practices sports, including tennis. People who know him have described him to the media as an AS Roma supporter.
Napoli chairman Aurelio De Laurentiis gave him a blue Napoli jersey signed by players, bearing the number 10 and his name in Italian, “Papa Leone XIV”.
“You are a number 10, so you are a great striker”, De Laurentiis said. Leo replied with a chuckle and a simple “thank you”.
Coach Antonio Conte, whom De Laurentiis introduced as “deeply Catholic”, knelt down and kissed the pope’s hand, before Leo told him he had seen him many times on TV.
In a short speech, the pontiff stressed the importance of team spirit and collaboration, and sport’s educational value, especially for young people.
Winning comes “at the end of a long journey, where what matters the most is not a one-time exploit or the extraordinary performance of one champion”, he said.
“The championship is won by the team, and when I say ‘team’ I mean the players, the coach with the whole squad, and the club,” he added.
Leo ended his remarks giving his blessings to players and club officials, and offering congratulations, also on behalf of his personal cook.
“She is from Naples and she says: best wishes! She would like to be here too, Mrs Rosa, (she is) a big fan”, the pope said.
-Reuters
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A second-half goal by substitute Ibrahim Sulemana earned Atalanta a 2-1 home win over AS Roma in Serie A on Monday, securing Champions League qualification for Gian Piero Gasperini’s side.
Sulemana sealed the three points for Atalanta in the 76th minute, scoring with a low strike from just outside the area, after Roma midfielder Bryan Cristante cancelled out an early opener by Ademola Lookman.
Atalanta, who fell behind in the title race, sit third in the standings on 71 points and have a seven-point cushion over fourth-placed Juventus and Lazio in fifth with two games left to play.
Roma, who failed to capitalise on Lazio and Juventus dropping points in a 1-1 stalemate on Saturday, are sixth with 63 points.
Atalanta snapped the visitors’ impressive unbeaten league run of 19 games, with Claudio Ranieri’s side previously having been defeated mid-December at Como.
Things started off brightly for Atalanta as Lookman stroked in past Roma goalkeeper Mile Svilar to put them in front after nine minutes.
Charles De Ketelaere dribbled past the Roma defence to set the Nigerian up with a precise low cross inside the box and the striker controlled the ball to score inside the right post.
It was Atalanta’s 100th goal this season across all competitions.
De Ketelaere had two good chances to double the advantage but Roma midfielder Cristante levelled for the visitors instead, netting with a flicked header after the half-hour mark.
Things slowed down significantly after a lively first half until Roma were awarded a penalty after an hour of play, following a clash between Atalanta’s Mario Pasalic and Manu Kone.
The referee, however, overturned his decision after consulting VAR.
Sulemana eventually restored the lead for Atalanta in the 76th minute, scoring with a low strike from just outside the area — a goal that stood after a VAR check for a potential offside.
Roma host AC Milan next weekend before visiting mid-table Torino in their bid to qualify for Europe’s elite club competition for the first time since the 2018-19 campaign.
Atalanta travel to Genoa on Sunday before welcoming lowly Parma in their final fixture.
-Reuters
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