Penantian 114 tahun Spezia berakhir

KELAB Itali, Spezia berjaya menempah tempat beraksi di Serie A buat kali pertama selepas 114 tahun menunggu apabila berjaya memenangi aksi playoff yang diadakan secara tertutup tapi ribuan penyokong mereka berkumpul di luar stadium.

Pasukan yang dikenali sebagai 'Eagles' berasal dari bandar tepi laut di La Spezia di Liguria, bahagian tenggara Genoa.

Serie A sekarang ini bakal menampilkan tiga kelab dari Liguria, Spezia, Sampdoria dan Genoa.

"Tahniah Spezia, anda mencipta sejarah, sekarang nikmati keseronokan. Jumpa anda nanti," jelas jurulatih Sampdoria, Cludio Ranieri di Twitter.

Walaupun tumpas 1-0 pada aksi kedua di tempat sendiri ketika berdepan Frosinone dan menyaksikan kedudukan agregat terikat 1-1, Spezia layak ke Serie A berdasarkan kedudukan lebih baik berbanding lawan di Serie B.

Mereka menamatkan saingan liga di tangga ketiga, manakala Frosinone yang dilatih pemain antarabangsa Itali, Alessandro Nesta di kedudukan kelapan.

Spezia akan menyertai Benevento dan Crotone ke saingan utama, manakala Leece, Brescia dan SPAL tersingkir ke Serie B menjelang musim baru yang bermula 19 September depan

C.Ronaldo rebranding 1 family dgn team baru JUVENTUS

Cristiano Ronaldo rebrands entire family as girlfriend & four children dress Juventus shirt

• Cristiano Ronaldo posed for a family photo at their Turin home on Tuesday
• The forward dressed in a Juventus shirt along with his girlfriend and four kids
• He got his Juve career off to a winning start last weekend when they beat Chievo

Cristiano Ronaldo is settling into life in Italy quite nicely following his sensational £100million (RM 528,993,396.25)move from Real Madrid to Juventus earlier this summer.

The talismanic forward made his debut for the reigning Italian champions in the thrilling 3-2 victory over Chievo last weekend and has now converted his entire family to support his latest side.

The 33-year-old took to Instagram to show his girlfriend, Georgina Rodriguez, and four children, all wearing the newest Juve shirts for a family photo from their stunning Turin home.

Ronaldo also appeared to commit his long-term future to club when he attached the caption 'The Juventus family! Until the end' to the photo on social media.

The Portugal international has created quite a stir since making his move to Italy and his presence is making waves for the Italian league itself.

His debut for Juventus attracted 2.3million viewers in Italy, the fourth-highest total in Sky Italia's history. 

Ronaldo failed to score but seven-time defending champions Juventus came from a goal behind to win 3-2 thanks to Federico Bernardeshi's late winner.

Roma 1-0 Milan: Radja Nainggolan strikes after Wojciech Szczesny saves penalty to keep up pressure on Juve

• Nainggolan punished Milan for missing a first-half penalty on Monday night
• The Roma midfielder fired home 62nd minute winner at the Stadio Olimpico
• M'Baye Niang had penalty saved after Szczesny fouled Gianluca Lapadula

Roma narrowed the gap on Serie A leaders Juventus to four points ahead of their trip to Turin on Saturday.

The Rossoneri had an opportunity to forge ahead when Gianluca Lapadula was fouled in the box by Wojciech Szczesny. 

The goalkeeper, on loan from Arsenal, made up for the rash decision by diving to his left to save the effort from M'Baye Niang.  

Goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny saves penalty from Milan's M'Baye Niang in the first half

The two sides had begun level on 32 points but Roma's win left them alone in second place, four points behind leaders Juventus who they visit on Saturday. 

At the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, there were few clear-cut openings but Milan were gifted a chance to go in front when Gianluca Lapadula was clumsily tripped by Szczesny when the Milan forward was running into a dead end.

The Polish goalkeeper made up for his mistake by diving to his left to save Niang's weak side-footed effort, producing the biggest cheer of the night from the home fans.

Roma midfielder Nianggolan (centre) celebrates after scoring the winner against Milan

The Poland international revealed afterwards that watching footage of Niang’s penalty taking had given him a few clues about what to do.

“Today it was a matter of watching Niang’s last few penalties and I noticed that every time he misses a penalty he changes the corner,” Szczesny revealed on Roma TV. “He missed right last time so, yes, I just hoped that he did that again and went to the left.

“So it’s not just what happens on the pitch but how you study big players before the game.”

He added: “I wasn’t very happy about saving [the penalty], it was more of a relief - because the penalty came from my mistake. I didn’t have to come out, the least I could do for my team was to correct my own mistake and save the penalty. It was a big relief.”

SERIE A : Gonzalo Higuain brace fuels Juventus; Roma win thriller; Atalanta top Napoli

Juventus ensured they would end the weekend in first place in Serie A with a convincing 3-0 victory at Empoli.

Juve's victory was secured in the space of five second-half minutes, when one goal from Paulo Dybala and two more from the £78 million Gonzalo Higuain built a commanding lead.

Kostas Manolas had the final word in Roma's scintillating 2-1 victory over Inter Milan.

Edin Dzeko lit the touchpaper on an end-to-end encounter at the Stadio Olimpico, which could well have swung Inter's way had Ever Banega managed to add to his lone second-half goal.

Greek defender Manolas kept all three points in the Eternal City with his 76th-minute headed winner.

Gabriel Paletta's first ever AC Milan goal settled a 4-3 thriller against Sassuoloat San Siro.

Sassuolo looked set to copy their shock win of the 2014-15 season when Matteo Politano, Francesco Acerbi and Lorenzo Pellegrini rendered Giacomo Bonaventura's opener for Milan seemingly irrelevant.

But the Rossoneri launched their own comeback with Carlos Bacca converting a penalty before substitute Manuel Locatelli and former Liverpool defender Paletta completed an amazing turnaround.

Andrea Petagna ended Napoli's unbeaten start to the Serie A season by firingAtalanta to a 1-0 win.

Four wins and two draws from six games had kept the southerners within touching distance of leaders Juventus, but they are now four points off the pace after losing at the Stadio Atleti Azzurri d'Italia.

Former AC Milan striker Petagna needed only nine minutes to strike the blow to which Napoli would fail to respond.

Iago Falque scored one goal and set up another as Torino reached eighth place with a 2-1 victory over Fiorentina at the Stadio Olimpico.

The former Tottenham player bagged a brace against Roma last weekend and carried that momentum into Torino's next fixture with a slick early opener.

In the second half he teed up Marco Benassi for the Granata's second, with Khouma Babacar providing Fiorentina fans with some consolation at the death.

Falque continued where he left off against Roma by opening the scoring in the 15th minute.

Giovanni Simeone continues to make an impact in his maiden Serie A season after scoring the only goal as Genoa beat Bologna 1-0.

Cagliari handed out another Serie A defeat to Crotone with a 2-1 victoryagainst the basement club at Stadio Sant'Elia.

Defeat means Crotone have failed to win any of their seven top-flight matches since gaining promotion and they have only picked up a solitary point in the process.

Bruno Fernandes scored a last-gasp equaliser for Sampdoria to earn a 1-1 drawwith 10-man Palermo at Stadio Luigi Ferraris.

Ilija Nestorovski showed composure to slot into the bottom corner to give Palermo the lead on 60 minutes only for Fernandes to clinch a point.

**espn

Pep Guardiola shipping out Joe Hart baffles ex-Man City boss Mancini

Roberto Mancini expects Joe Hart to improve as a goalkeeper at Torino after joining the Serie A club from Manchester City on transfer deadline day but admits he is puzzled by Pep Guardiola's decision to  offload a player who was No. 1 under the Italian at City.

Hart, 29, completed his loan move to Torino on Wednesday after only playing once under new City boss Guardiola this season -- the 1-0 win over Steaua Bucharest in the second leg a Champions League playoff with the Premier League side already 5-0 up in the tie.

"I don't know [why Guardiola demoted him]," Mancini told La Stampa. "But each coach has his own ideas. He will have the chance to redeem himself at Torino.

"In spite of his age, he's going to have the chance to grow further because our coaches here are very good. And then the experience is bound to help him do well."

 

Mancini says he did not play any role in the transfer, although he had heard a rumour before it went through.

"[Torino president Urbano] Cairo has definitely pulled off a great coup anyway," he said. "He's signed himself a reliable goalkeeper."

Mancini added that he fought to keep Hart when the club wanted to sell him, and that move was proved right when he was the club's No. 1 for their title-winning 2011-12 campaign.

"I remember it clearly, it was our first game of the season in 2010 and his first game in the Premier League," Mancini said. "We were playing at Tottenham and it was anything but an exciting game. Joe saved us at least five times. He was still a lad, but I already knew he was going to become great. Thanks to him, that game ended 0-0.

Sirie A : Higuain breaks Serie A season goals record

Gonzalo Higuain broke Serie A's 66-year-old league record for goals in a seasonwith a hat trick in Napoli's 4-0 win over Frosinone.

He broke Gunnar Nordahl's record, set in the 1949-1950 season, with a spectacular overhead kick in the 71st minute.

After Mirko Gori was sent off for the visitors in the 13th minute, Marek Hamsik gave Napoli the lead shortly before the break before Higuain took over in the second half, scoring all three goals in a 20-minute span.

The result secured Napoli's second-placed finish and a spot in the Champions League group stage next year.

Juventus celebrate Serie A title

Juventus celebrated their fifth straight Serie A title in style after a 5-0 thrashing of 10-man Sampdoria on Saturday.

There was a party atmosphere at the Juventus Stadium as Massimiliano Allegri's team were presented with the trophy after the match. Juventus finished on 91 points, having clinched the title on April 25.

Juventus took an early lead when Patrice Evra headed in Paulo Dybala's free kick in the fifth minute.

It swiftly went from bad to worse for Sampdoria, who had Martin Skriniar sent off in the 12th minute for bringing down Mario Mandzukic. Dybala converted the resulting penalty and doubled his tally shortly before half-time.

Goals from Giorgio Chiellini, who was making his first start since April 2, and Leonardo Bonucci capped the win.

Serie A : Napoli 1-1 AC Milan

SERIE A - AC MILAN 2-1 Empoli (espn)

Carlos Bacca and Luiz Adriano carry AC Milan while Mario Balotelli watches

Mario Balotelli watched on as goals from fellow forwards Carlos Bacca and Luiz Adriano earned AC Milan their first win of the new Serie A season -- 2-1 against Empoli.

Italy international Balotelli rejoined the Rossoneri on a season-long loan from Liverpool this week but was an unused substitute as the home side scraped an unconvincing victory.

After a scrappy start, Milan opened the scoring in the 16th minute when a defence-splitting pass from Adriano set Bacca away.

What looked to be a heavy touch from the Colombian striker took him past a defender and then wide of the goalkeeper but he kept his composure to slide in and slot the ball into the bottom corner.

Their joy was short-lived as Empoli equalised four minutes later.

A neat flick from Massimo Maccarone played in former Milan forward Riccardo Saponara and he drilled a low shot between the legs of Diego Lopez.

Ex-Middlesbrough striker Maccarone was marginally offside as he lashed in a shot, Saponara forced a decent save from Lopez and Manuel Pucciarelli did not connect as well as he would have liked with a first-time shot as Empoli took the game to their hosts.

It was more of the same in the early stages of the second half as Daniele Croce fired in a powerful shot which was straight down the throat of Lopez.

Milan made a change in the 56th minute but it was not Balotelli as Giacomo Bonaventura entered the action.

The substitute played a part in the Rossoneri's 69th-minute winner as Adriano attacked his inviting corner and powered a header past goalkeeper Lukasz Skorupski.

Saponara lashed an effort high and wide before Milan replaced the injured Andrea Bertolacci with Andrea Poli, but there was no cameo from Balotelli as the home side held on.

JUVE anggap kejuaraan Serie A kali ke-33 bukan ke -31

 PEMAIN Juventus meraikan kemenangan perlawanan Serie A menentang Sampdoria di stadium Marassi di Genoa, Itali. - Foto REUTERS

MILAN: Juventus mencetus kontroversi baharu selepas berjaya mengesahkan kejuaraan Serie A musim ini, awal pagi tadi apabila menyatakan bahawa itu kejuaraan kali ke-33 diraih kelab itu, bukannya kali ke-31 seperti catatan rasmi. Jumlah 33 kejuaraan Liga Itali yang dimaksudkan Juventus itu termasuklah kejuaraan pada musim 2005 dan 2006 yang menyaksikan trofi mereka ditarik balik ekoran skandal mengatur perlawanan yang membawa hukuman kelab berkenaan diturunkan pangkat beraksi di Serie B. 

Juventus bagaimanapun langsung tidak pernah dapat menerima hakikat itu dan memasukkan juga kejuaraan pada dua musim berkenaan sebagai jumlah 33 kejuaraan di laman web rasmi mereka.

Selepas menewaskan Sampdoria 1-0, awal pagi tadi yang sekali gus mengesahkan kejuaraan musim ini, Juventus menerusi akaun Twitter mereka menulis: "Juara kali ke-33. Empat tahun berturut-turut. Kami tujukan kepada semua ada semua penyokong hitam putih." - Reuters

Inter mengganas di San Siro (kosmo)

ICARDI (kiri) menyumbat hatrik bagi membantu Milan mengalahkan Sassuolo 7-0 pada aksi Serie A semalam.

MILAN - Pengendali Inter Milan, Walter Mazzari kagum terhadap corak permainan yang ditampilkan skuad bimbingannya sejurus membelasah Sassuolo 7-0 pada aksi Serie A di Stadium San Siro awal pagi semalam.

Mazzari menegaskan bahawa beliau sememangnya mahukan corak permainan seperti itu yang menyaksikan penyerang Inter, Mauro Icardi berjaya meledak hatrik pada aksi tersebut.

Dalam aksi itu, Inter berpesta empat gol pada babak pertama perlawanan menerusi dua jaringan Icardi seawal minit keempat dan 29, Mateo Kovacic (22) dan Fredy Guarin (43).

Bersambung di babak kedua, Inter terus mengganas dengan menyumbat tiga lagi gol menerusi Icardi (53), Pablo Osvaldo (72) dan jaringan kedua peribadi Guarin pada minit ke-75.

"Kami tamatkan kempen musim lalu dengan corak permainan sebegini tetapi berlakunya beberapa pertukaran pemain. Saya beritahu mereka perlu lebih pantas dan agresif.

"Bagi saya, beraksi dengan gaya dan tempo sebegini merupakan cara yang ideal. Saya harap kami dapat teruskan persembahan seperti ini.

"Kami mahu mengekalkan sikap, keinginan dan tahap agresif sebegini di atas padang. Kami perlu pantas menggerakkan bola dan tidak memberi ruang kepada pihak lawan untuk berfikir," katanya.

Sementara itu, bekas jurulatih Napoli itu turut memuji persembahan dipamerkan Kovacic dan gembira dengan perkembangan pemain kelahiran Croatia itu.

"Buat masa ini, dia memahami cara untuk bermain di Itali, dia bertahan dan menyerang apabila diperlukan sahaja.

"(Gary) Medel juga bermain cemerlang. Apabila kami menyerang dengan enam pemain, kami memerlukan pemain sepertinya untuk menjaga barisan pertahanan kami.

"Jika semua pemain teruskan aksi sebegini, kami boleh menggunakan corak permainan ini menentang kelab-kelab besar. Saya minta maaf menang 7-0 tetapi Sassuolo ialah pasukan yang baik," jelasnya. - Agensi