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Ibrahimovic in doubt for Milan derby after new positive COVID-19 test

Zlatan Ibrahimovic of AC MIlan reacts during the Serie A match between AC Milan and Bologna FC at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on September 21, 2020 in Milan, Italy.Zlatan Ibrahimovic looks likely to miss the Milan derby this month after his club AC Milan announced Thursday that the veteran Swede had again tested positive for coronavirus.Ibrahimovic, who went into quarantine two weeks ago when he first tested positive, must test negative twice before he can return to the Milan squad, whose next game is the derby against Inter at the San Siro on October 17.Brazilian defender Leo Duarte, whose last test was also negative, is also continuing his quarantine. The rest of the players are all negative, the club said. City rivals Inter have also been hit by COVID-19, with the club announcing on Thu...
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Napoli fail to turn up for Juventus game after virus row

Cristiano Ronaldo and Roberto Baronio of Juventus arrives at the stadium prior to the Serie A match between Juventus and SSC Napoli at Allianz Stadium on October 04, 2020 in Turin, Italy. Napoli failed to turn up for their Serie A clash against Juventus on Sunday after a coronavirus row involving both clubs and health and football authorities. Gennaro Gattuso's side were not present at Juve's Allianz Stadium for the game's 19:45 GMT kick-off. They were in isolation on the instructions of the regional health authorities of the Campania region which hosts the city of Naples after midfielders Eljif Elmas and Piotr Zielinski both tested positive during the week. Napoli, who had won both their Serie A matches so far this season, risk forfeiting the game 3-0. Club president Aurelio ...
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Five-goal Atalanta crush Cagliari, Juve v Napoli under coronavirus cloud

Alejandro Gomez of Atalanta BC celebrates his goal with his team-mates during the Serie A match between Atalanta BC and Cagliari Calcio at Gewiss Stadium on October 4, 2020 in Bergamo, Italy. Papu Gomez extended his scoring streak as Atalanta crushed Cagliari 5-2 for a third consecutive win this season, but champions Juventus's clash against Napoli later Sunday remains in doubt after coronavirus cases at both clubs. Atalanta struck hard in their first home game this season in Bergamo, bringing their tally to 13 goals in three games played, to sit top of the Serie A table. "This team is going through an excellent period," said coach Gian Piero Gasperini. "They did not suffer much, the goalkeeper was not very busy. The score could have been much bigger. "We've given the maximum ...
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Lukaku scores twice in big Inter win

Romelu Lukaku of FC Internazionale scores the 0-3 goal during the Serie A match between Benevento Calcio and FC Internazionale at Stadio Ciro Vigorito on September 30, 2020 in Benevento, Italy. Romelu Lukaku scored twice as Inter Milan maintained their 100% start to the season by thrashing Benevento. Lukaku struck inside the first minute when he turned in Achraf Hakimi's cross before Roberto Gagliardini drove in to double the lead. Lukaku swept in a third and although Gianluca Caprari pulled one back, Hakimi made it 4-1 before the break. Alexis Sanchez set up Lautaro Martinez for Inter's fifth before Caprari got another consolation goal. Victory means Inter have won two games out of two so far in Serie A, with both being high-scoring encounters. Roberto Mancini's side won t...
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Serie A: Cristiano Ronaldo double rescues a point for Juventus at Roma; Napoli hammer Genoa

Cristiano Ronaldo of Juventus controls the ball against Gianluca Mancini of AS Roma during the Serie A match between AS Roma and Juventus at Stadio Olimpico on September 27, 2020 in Rome, Italy. Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice to salvage a point for 10-man Juventus in a 2-2 draw at Roma as Napoli hammered Genoa 6-0 in Serie A on Sunday. Champions Juventus were trailing 2-1 and a man down after an hour at the Stadio Olimpico after a Jordan Veretout brace for the hosts and Adrien Rabiot's sending off. But a towering Ronaldo header grabbed the equaliser in the 69th minute to avoid handing new Juventus coach Andrea Pirlo a first defeat. "Going behind complicated things but we got an important point," said Ronaldo. "We're at the start of the season, with a new coach. But the team ar...
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Serie A: Inter Milan come from behind with two goals in three minutes to beat Fiorentina 4-3

Lautaro Martinez of FC Internazionale celebrates after scoring the goal, Romelu Lukaku of FC Internazionale, Nicolò Barella of FC Internazionale, Ivan Perisic of FC Internazionale, Marcelo Brozovic of FC Internazionale during the Italian Serie A match between Internazionale v Fiorentina at the San Siro on September 26, 2020 in Milan Italy. Two goals in the final three minutes saw Inter Milan come from behind to beat Fiorentina 4-3 in Serie A on Saturday. Romelu Lukaku and Danilo D'Ambrosio scored late to help Inter get its season off to a winning start. Fellow title hopefuls Atalanta and Lazio also won their first matches. "We do everything to win without having to suffer so much, but the match today immediately got off to a bad start," D'Ambrosio said.  "However, we sho...
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Morata: Happy to be here at Juventus playing for Pirlo

Juventus Unveils New Signing Alvaro Morata at Allianz Stadium on September 25, 2020 in Turin, Italy. Juventus officially unveiled Alvaro Morata as a Bianconeri player for at least this season after completing his loan move to Turin from Atletico Madrid. Speaking to the media, the striker talked about how happy he was to return to the side he played for two years earlier this decade. “Being back here is great. I’m now a more experienced person and player. This is the chance of a lifetime. “Seeing Andrea Pirlo as a coach has been great. I saw it coming because he was made to be one. Juve need him and I’m happy to be here with him. “After the first two training sessions, I was already impressed with how he managed the group. He knows how to get us to play well with the ball. “...
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Ibrahimovic: ‘COVID had the courage to challenge me. Bad idea’

Zlatan Ibrahimovic of AC Milan looks on during the Serie A football match between AC Milan and Bologna FC. AC Milan won 2-0 over Bologna FC. Swedish football star Zlatan Ibrahimovic has tested positive for COVID-19, becoming the highest-profile Serie A player to contract COVID-19 since play in Italy resumed in June following a three-month hiatus because of the pandemic. The 38-year-old AC Milan striker was placed in quarantine at home following the test carried out ahead of the team’s Europa League tie against Norwegian side Bodo/Glimt on Thursday, the Italian club said. The announcement came a day after his Brazilian team-mate Leo Duarte also returned a positive test. “All other team members and staff have tested negative,” the club said in a statement on its website. The vet...
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Suarez facing police investigation over Italian test

Luis Suarez of FC Barcelona drinks mate during the Joan Gamper Trophy match between FC Barcelona and Elche CF at Camp Nou on September 19, 2020 in Barcelona, Spain. Italian financial police and the Perugia public prosecutor's office have opened an investigation into allegations of irregularities regarding Luis Suarez's Italian citizenship exam last week. Suarez flew into Perugia to take the test amid reports he was set to join Juventus from Barcelona. In order to complete the move, the 33-year-old Uruguayan would have needed to have acquired Italian citizenship as Juventus have no available space in their squad for non-EU players. However, it is alleged that Suarez was aware of the contents of the exam before taking it, and that his score was pre-assigned. A statement from the...
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Pirlo ‘gives us more freedom to be aggressive’, says Bonucci

Leonardo Bonucci of Juventus celebrates after scoring to give the side a 2-0 lead during the Serie A match between Juventus and UC Sampdoria at on September 20, 2020 in Turin, Italy. Andrea Pirlo has unleashed the shackles and given Juventus' players a lot more freedom to attack opponents, according to veteran defender Leonardo Bonucci. Juve replaced Maurizio Sarri with first-time coach Pirlo last month and the legendary midfielder kicked off his tenure with a 3-0 win over Sampdoria in Juve's 2020-21 Serie A opener on Sunday. Reigning champions Juve registered 20 shots at Allianz Stadium and scored from three of them, with Cristiano Ronaldo, Bonucci and debutant Dejan Kulusevski finding the back of the net. And after a largely disappointing campaign last time out under Sarri, Bon...
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Serie A: Zlatan Ibrahimovic scores twice as AC Milan begin season with 2-0 Bologna win

Zlatan Ibrahimovic of AC Milan celebrates after scoring the goal during the Italian Serie A match between AC Milan v Bologna at the San Siro on September 21, 2020 in Milan Italy. Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored twice to help AC Milan beat Bologna 2-0 in Serie A on Monday and keep the Rossoneri optimism alive at the start of the new season. Ibrahimovic broke the deadlock 10 minutes from halftime with a powerful header on a Theo Hernandez cross. The veteran forward doubled his tally from the penalty spot five minutes into the second half after Ismael Bennacer was brought down on the edge of the area by Bologna defender Riccardo Orsolini. Ibrahimovic, who turns 39 in less than two weeks, also had chances for a hat trick. "If I was 20 years old, I would have scored two more goals, but l...
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Juventus 3-0 Sampdoria: Pirlo wins first game in charge

Cristiano Ronaldo of Juventus battles for the ball with Omar Colley of UC Sampdoria (C) and Albin Ekdal of UC Sampdoria (R) during the Serie A match between Juventus and UC Sampdoria at Allianz Stadium on September 20, 2020 in Turin, Italy. Andrea Pirlo started his coaching career in Turin with a comprehensive victory, as defending champions Juventus opened their 2020-21 Serie A season by whitewashing Sampdoria 3-0 on Sunday. Pirlo replaced Maurizio Sarri to become the head coach of Juve's senior squad in August, just 10 days after the maestro took charge of the U-23 team. In Sunday's game, Pirlo started new arrivals Dejan Kulusevski and Weston McKennie, with talisman Cristiano Ronaldo leading the attacking line. Kulusevski put Juve in charge in the first half, while Leonardo Bon...
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Luis Suarez to Juventus ‘very difficult’, says Pirlo

Juventus coach Andrea Pirlo during a press conference at Allianz Stadium on September 19, 2020 in Turin, Italy. Andrea Pirlo has admitted that it will be 'very difficult' to secure the transfer of Luis Suarez from Barcelona, as a issue with his Italian passport application looks set to scupper any deal. The Uruguayan has been made surplus to requirements in Catalunya this season, with the Spanish giants making public that they are keen to offload his sizeable £14m salary. Suarez had already turned down a move to MLS with Inter Miami in a deal which would have made him the highest-paid player in the history of US soccer. And a move to Turin looked to be close to completion, with Suarez travelling to complete an interview in order to be granted an Italian passport and allow Juve to...
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Serie A: Gaetano Castrovilli’s lone goal headlines Fiorentina’s win over Torino; Roma held by Hellas Verona

Gaetano Castrovilli of ACF Fiorentina and Simone Zaza of Torino FC battle for the ball during the Serie A match between ACF Fiorentina and Torino FC at Stadio Artemio Franchi on September 19, 2020 in Florence, Italy. Roma played out a goalless draw in their Serie A opener at Hellas Verona on Saturday while Gaetano Castrovilli scored in a 1-0 win for Fiorentina against Torino behind closed doors before the return of a limited number of fans to stadiums 24 hours later. Sports Minister Vincenzo Spadafora has agreed that up to 1,000 spectators will be allowed at open-air sports events in Italy from Sunday. And nine-time reigning Serie A champions Juventus said they would kick off their season against Sampdoria "in the presence of a 1,000 guests" in Turin. "No tickets will be sold for...
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Conte’s Inter on a ‘mission’ to kill off Juve domination

Internazionale coach Antonio Conte looks on during the Pre-Season Friendly match between FC Internazionale and Lugano at the club's training ground Suning Training Center in memory of Angelo Moratti on September 15, 2020 in Como, Italy. Antonio Conte begins his second season as Inter Milan coach with a mission to stop his former club Juventus winning a 10th consecutive Serie A title. Conte led Juve to the first three of their current run of nine straight league crowns starting in 2012 before moving on to coach Italy and Chelsea, taking over Inter in May last year. The 51-year-old’s turbulent first season with Inter was played out against a backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic which caused havoc in northern Italy before spreading across Europe. The fiery Italian looked poised to l...
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Luis Suarez expected in Italy today

Luis Suarez of FC Barcelona scores his team's second goal during the UEFA Champions League Quarter Final match between Barcelona and Bayern Munich at Estadio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica on August 14, 2020 in Lisbon, Portugal. Barcelona striker Luis Suarez is expected in Italy today to sit his Italian language B1 exam but there are still doubts over a move to Juventus. La Gazzetta dello Sport report that the Uruguayan is expected to visit the University of Perugia at some point this afternoon to sit the exam having studied intensively in recent days. According to Gazzetta, the university is one of the most recognized for its campus of non-Italian students and is an accredited institution where a foreigner can take the language exam required for an Italian passport (This is the CELI and...
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‘Shamrock Rovers game scares Milan a lot’ – Paolo Maldini

Paolo Maldini attends pre-match and athletic warm-up of the Partita del cuore 2020 charity match, for the first time ever behind closed doors due to Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, at Marcantonio Bentegodi Stadium on September 03, 2020 in Verona, Italy. AC Milan supremo Paolo Maldini admits the Italian giants are "concerned" about Thursday's Europa League clash with Shamrock Rovers in Dublin due to their lack of match fitness against a fully-fit Hoops squad. While Rovers have their focus on the run-in to the 2020 league title - they are eight points clear with seven games to go - Milan are still in pre-season mode and Thursday's one-off game in Tallaght Stadium will be their first competitive game of the campaign, with their first league match next Monday. Milan are expected to pro...
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AC Milan star Zlatan Ibrahimovic on track to be fit for Shamrock Rovers clash

Zlatan Ibrahimovic of AC Milan during the Club Friendly match between AC Milan v AC Monza at the San Siro on September 5, 2020 in Milan Italy. Zlatan Ibrahimovic is on track to be fit for AC Milan's Europa League clash with Shamrock Rovers on Thursday. Reports from Football Italia say that Ibrahimovic is back in training today after missing two pre-season friendlies with a knock to his right leg. The Swede, who will turn 39 next month having signed a new contract until the end of the season, is said to be on track to line out at Tallaght Stadium. Rovers' reward for a dramatic penalty shootout win against Ilves in the first qualifying round was a glamour tie with the seven-time European Cup winners. And manager Stephen Bradley said after a 3-0 win over Cork City gave them a eig...
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Pirlo: As the Juventus coach, I know I have to win

Juventus coach Andrea Pirlo during a training session at JTC on September 09, 2020 in Turin, Italy. Juventus brushed aside Serie C side Novara 5-0 in a preseason friendly played yesterday, with Cristiano Ronaldo scoring first, Aaron Ramsey and Marko Pjaca adding one each and Manolo Portanova grabbing a brace later. Speaking to the media after the game, coach Andrea Pirlo talked about some of the tactical nuances we saw on the pitch. “We are trying various solutions. In the first half, we played with four at the back, it becomes three in the different phases. “In the second half, we stayed with three, preparing different solutions.” One of the things Pirlo has been stressing since his appointment is enthusiasm from the players. “The team must have it [enthusiasm], the lads a...
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Napoli Will Only Release Koulibaly If Asking Price Is Met

Kalidou Koulibaly of Napoli controls the ball during the Pre-Season Friendly match between SSC Napoli and Pescara at Stadio San Paolo on September 11, 2020 in Naples, Italy. Kalidou Koulibaly is hoping to join Manchester City, but the only way the 29-year-old football player can leave is if SSC Napoli’s asking price is met. Nothing has come close to that, which means the center-back could find himself staying at San Paolo Stadium for now. In the eyes of Napoli head coach Gennaro Gattuso, Koulibaly is likely to stay with them unless City or any other club can meet their asking price demands. Aside from the Sky Blues, other clubs that have been linked to the Senegal player include Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain. "Koulibaly has a precise asking price, and if the club doesn't...
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