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
SERIE A
Osimhen left out of Napoli squad for season
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Victor Osimhen has not been included in Napoli’s official 23-man Serie A squad for this season, after the Nigerian striker’s expected move away from the club failed to materialise.
Osimhen’s 26 goals helped Napoli to their Scudetto win two seasons ago, but it has all turned sour since and although the want-away player is still at the club, for now he plays no part in their plans.
The 25-year-old signed a contract extension with Napoli last December, keeping him at the club until 2026 and with a reported release clause of 130 million euros.
A month later, club president Aurelio De Laurentiis said Osimhen would leave at the end of the season, and in recent days his expected destination appeared to be Chelsea or Saudi Pro League club Al-Ahli.
Negotiations went on until the transfer window closed in both Italy and England on Friday, but with Osimhen’s wage demands apparently not met by Chelsea it appeared he was on his way to Saudi Arabia.
Napoli, however, did not accept the offer from Al-Ahli, who then signed Ivan Toney from Brentford for a reported 40 million pounds, and signed Belgian Romelu Lukaku from Chelsea
-Reuters
SERIE A
Osimhen’s replacement, Lukaku fires up Napoli for late win over 10-man Parma
![](https://sportsvillagesquare.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/lukaku.jpg)
Napoli’s Romelu Lukaku and Andre Zambo Anguissa scored in stoppage time to snatch a dramatic 2-1 comeback win over promoted Parma in Serie A on Saturday.
Antonio Conte’s side moved up to fourth in the standings following their second victory of the campaign.
Feisty Parma, who beat Milan last week, looked to be on their way to a second surprise win of the season thanks to a 19th-minute penalty from Ange-Yoan Bonny.
The visitors had chances to extend the lead but Napoli looked more threatening after the break when new signing Lukaku came on to the pitch.
The momentum changed significantly when Parma keeper Zion Suzuki was shown a second yellow card for a foul on David Neres, causing defender Enrico Del Prato to take over in goal with no further substitutions available.
Napoli thought they had won a penalty for a foul on Giovanni Simeone, only for it to be overturned by VAR in the 90th minute.
But Lukaku grabbed the equaliser two minutes later with a low shot from 12 yards from a Leonardo Spinazzolla through ball before Zambo Anguissa’s header sealed the win in front of an ecstatic home crowd in the 96th minute.
“It is an honour to play for this club, these fans and also for these lads, who gave me a really warm welcome,” former Chelsea and AS Roma forward Lukaku told DAZN.
“We worked really hard and the effort we put into training paid off. It is something of a habit that I score on my debut, but we won and that’s the most important thing.
“I am very happy, but now we need to work and keep winning.”
-Reuters
SERIE A
Ademola Lookman wins Atalanta’s ‘Player of The Season Award
![](https://sportsvillagesquare.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ademola-lookman.jpg)
Nigeria’s Super Eagles winger and silver medal winner with the country at the last AFCON 2023 tournament in Cote D’Ivoire, Ademola Lookman, has emerged as the Atalanta Player of the Season.
The pint-size forward has won the converted award Back-to-back with the Bergamo-based side after his exploit in the domestic and European matches for the side.
Atalanta qualified for two finals with the Nigerian International playing an active role in the campaign.
He was instrumental to Atalanta winning the UEFA Europa League beating Bayer Leverkusen 3-0 in the final with the Nigerian scoring all the goals.
The club announced on its official website on Thursday saying, “It’s him again, Ademola Lookman! The reigning champion defends his title and is crowned straight-a student for the second year in a row after staving off an unsparing competition, to the point of both bringing the contest to an overtime runoff and stepping the pose down up to the Instagram profile after the regular session ended in a tie. Kudos to Mola for his back-to-back Player of the Season!” it noted.
It went further that,” building on his 17 goals and 11 key passes in all competitions (making him the team’s second-best seasonal scorer and wingman) and with the hat-trick scored in the magical Dublin final as his main leg-up, Lookman tips the ItalianOptic branded crown once again,” the web remarked.
Aside from Ademola, the second and third-best positions were also announced as the midfield duo of Jose dos Santo Éderson and Teun Koopmeiners.
The Nigerian had a brilliant AFCON experience with Nigeria where he scored three goals and his exploits so far have put him in strong contention to win the next ‘African Footballer of the Year’ award which will come up before the end of the year at a venue yet to be announced by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
Nigeria’s Victor Osimhen is the reigning winner of the award alongside Asissat Oshoola who retained the version.
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