SERIE A – Page 41 – Football Flame

SERIE A

SERIE A

Stunning Sassuolo stump Roma

Edin Dzeko (L) of Roma and Pedro Obiang of Sassuolo compete for the ball during the Serie A match between US Sassuolo and AS Roma at Mapei Stadium - Citta del Tricolore on February 01, 2020 in Reggio nell'Emilia, Italy.Sassuolo scored three goals in the first half hour as they upset fourth-placed Roma 4-2 in Serie A on Saturday, their first-ever win vs. the Giallorossi.Mid-table Sassuolo had drawn five and lost eight of their previous 13 meetings with Roma but never looked back after striker Francesco Caputo stunned the visitors with two goals in the first 16 minutes.Caputo broke clear to sweep the ball past Pau Lopez in the seventh minute, then finished off a slick passing move by turning in Jeremy Toljan's pass just nine minutes later. It got worse for Roma as Filip Djuricic latched...
SERIE A

Inter Milan Pay Tribute To Basketball Legend Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bryant #24 of the Los Angeles Lakers adjusts his jersey during the NBA game against the Phoenix Suns at US Airways Center on February 19, 2012 in Phoenix, Arizona.Inter Milan have taken to social media platform Twitter to pay tribute to NBA basketball superstar Kobe Bryant, following his tragic death on Sunday.Bryant, who is widely regarded as one of the best basketball players ever, tragically lost his life in a helicopter crash which claimed the lives of everyone else on board, including his daughter Gianna.Inter have joined many other clubs in mourning the loss of the 41-year-old, who was a two time MVP winner during his storied career.“You were a constant inspiration to anyone who’s ever loved any sport. Losing you leaves an immense hole in our lives. You rose above the boundaries...
SERIE A

Struggling Napoli Shocked Sarri's Serie A leaders Juventus

Cristiano Ronaldo of Juventus vies with Kostantinos Manolas and Piotr Zielinski of SSC Napoli during the Serie A match between SSC Napoli and Juventus at Stadio San Paolo on January 26, 2020 in Naples, Italy.Second-half goals from Piotr Zielinski and Lorenzo Insigne earned Napoli a hard-earned 2-1 win over leaders Juventus in San Paolo.Gli Azzurri’s win marks their first in three Serie A bouts and ended the Old lady’s five-game winning streak.Cristiano Ronaldo managed to extend his goalscoring streak to eight games in the final minutes of the match, but Juventus failed to go six point clear of second best Inter Milan, who drew on Sunday.Following the game, the visitor’s boss, Maurizio Sarri, was delighted for Napoli, who he managed from 2015 to 2018.“I am happy for the lads, as I will alwa...
SERIE A

Iiicic inspires Atalanta to astonishing 7-0 win at Torino

Josip Ilicic of Atalanta BC in action during the Serie A match between Torino FC and Atalanta BC at Stadio Olimpico di Torino on January 25, 2020 in Turin, Italy.Josip Ilic scored a hat-trick - including a free-kick from near the halfway line - as Atalanta thumped Torino 7-0 on Saturday night to leave home players reportedly in tears after the game.Atalanta were fifth heading into the game, 11 points clear of 10th placed Torino, but there was an alarming gulf in quality between the sides from the kick-off as the hosts went on to suffer their heaviest home defeat in history.Goals from Ilic and Robin Gosens made it 2-0 at half-time before Duvan Zapata added a third just after the break. But it was an incredible free-kick from Ilic that broke Torino hearts and prompted the floodgates to ...
SERIE A

Ante Rebic on target as Milan snatch 1-0 win over Brescia

Ante Rebic (2nd R) of AC Milan celebrates with teammates after scoring the opening goal during the Serie A match between Brescia Calcio and AC Milan at Stadio Mario Rigamonti on January 24, 2020 in Brescia, Italy.AC Milan's Croatian forward Ante Rebic scored the winner for the second week running as they beat Brescia 1-0 away in Italian Serie A on Friday, sparing the blushes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic after an extraordinary miss by the 38-year-old.Ibrahimovic had only to tap the ball in from six meters after Theo Hernandez sent in a low cross in the 40th minute but the Swedish striker instead contrived to shoot wide, his only excuse being that the ball might have been slightly behind him.He made amends by setting up the winning goal in the 71st minute. Ibrahimovic pulled the ball back from the ...
SERIE A

Ronaldo scored twice to give Juventus a win over Parma

Cristiano Ronaldo of Juventus celebrates a victory at the end of the Serie A match between Juventus and Parma Calcio at Allianz Stadium on January 19, 2020 in Turin, Italy.Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice on Sunday as Juventus beat Parma 2-1 to move four points clear of Inter Milan at the top of Serie A.The Portugal international's deflected strike wrongfooted goalkeeper Luigi Sepe and handed the hosts the lead two minutes before half-time.Parma hit back after the break when substitute Andreas Cornelius sent a glancing header past Wojciech Szczesny to make it 1-1 after 55 minutes.Yet the hosts responded impressively and restored their lead three minutes later. Paulo Dybala sent Ronaldo through on goal to score his 16th Serie A goal of the season.Juve boss Maurizio Sarri left Gonzalo Higuain ...
SERIE A

Fiorentina beat Napoli to continue Gattuso's nightmare start

Federico Chiesa of ACF Fiorentina scores the 0-1 goal during the Serie A match between SSC Napoli and ACF Fiorentina at Stadio San Paolo on January 18, 2020 in Naples, Italy.Napoli's wretched run in Serie A continued on Saturday evening, as the hosts slipped to a shock 2-0 defeat to struggling Fiorentina at Stadio San Paolo. Federico Chiesa's smart finish and a wonderful effort from Dusan Vlahovic were enough to condemn I Partenopei to their third straight defeat, leaving Gennaro Gattuso's side marooned in the bottom half of the table.Napoli started the game in determined fashion, but they squandered a string of good chances against a Fiorentina side which was extremely short of confidence. La Viola grew into the match however, and Gattuso's men began to rock under the pressure of the...
SERIE A

Ronaldo continues to score streak to place Juve at the top of Serie A

Cristiano Ronaldo of Juventus competes for the ball with Aleksandar Kolarov and Christopher Smalling of AS Roma ,during the Serie A match between AS Roma and Juventus at Stadio Olimpico on January 12, 2020 in Rome, Italy.Cristiano Ronaldo stretched his goal-scoring streak to six consecutive league games as Juventus took top spot in Serie A on Sunday with a 2-1 win at Roma, whose defeat was made worse by the cruciate ligament injury of rising star Nicolo Zaniolo.Juventus move two points ahead of Inter Milan, who were held 1-1 by Atalanta at the San Siro on Saturday, to move top after going two goals up in just 10 minutes in Rome.Turkish defender Merih Demiral found a way through after three minutes when he connected with a Paulo Dybala free-kick.Minutes later Argentine Dybala was hauled dow...
SERIE A

Handanovic saves late as Inter battle Atalanta to draw

Luis Muriel of Atalanta BC kicks and misses the penalty that Samir Handanovic of FC Internazionale saves during the Serie A match between FC Internazionale and Atalanta BC at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on January 11, 2020 in Milan, Italy.Samir Handanovic’s last penalty save on Atalanta’s Luis Muriel bagged a point for top-of-the-table Inter Milan on Saturday, moving them a point clear of second-place Juventus.Lautaro Martinez put Antonio Conte‘s side in front of the visitor’s in the fourth minute, following a pair of passes between the him and Romelu Lukaku.But with with the clock winding down, Robin Gosens tied it up for Atalanta, finishing one of the six clear chances the side had at the San Siro on Saturday.13 minutes later, with two minutes remaining in regular time, the visitor’s had thei...
SERIE A

Zlatan Ibrahimovic scores on first start as AC Milan beats Cagliari

Zlatan Ibrahimovic of Milan celebrates his goal 0-2 during the Serie A match between Cagliari Calcio and AC Milan at Sardegna Arena on January 11, 2020 in Cagliari, Italy.Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored his first goal on his first start back for AC Milan to give the team a 2-0 lead against Cagliari on Saturday afternoon.The Swedish striker returned to Italy after leaving LA Galaxy at the end of the MLS season. Against Sampdoria last Monday he came off the bench but couldn't impact the game as the Rossoneri drew 0-0.On Saturday manager Stefano Pioli handed the 38-year-old his first start for Milan since 2012 and the former PSG striker repaid his manager's faith by scoring the second goal of the game.Ibra first moved to Milan in 2010, joining on loan from Barcelona having previously played for riv...
SERIE A

Report: Ajax want Matthijs de Ligt back on loan from Juventus

Juventus player Matthijs de Ligt during a training session at JTC on December 30, 2019 in Turin, Italy.Ajax have asked Juventus to send Matthijs de Ligt back to the club on loan, according to a report from Portuguese newspaper A Bola.The report details how the Dutch club have been following the 20-year-old Dutch defender’s time in Turin. The player joined the club from Ajax in July of last year in a deal worth around €70 million but has struggled to adapt to life in Italy. De Ligt has come under fire from some in Italy due to his poor adaptation to the league, giving away multiple penalties due to hand balls.Maurizio Sarri, the Bianconeri’s coach, has left the 20-year-old on the bench for Juventus’ last three consecutive games across the league and the Supercoppa Italiana.His replacement, ...
SERIE A

Ibrahimovic Fails to Impress on Second debut for Milan

Zlatan Ibrahimovic of AC Milan in action during the Serie A match between AC Milan and UC Sampdoria at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza.Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s return failed to inspire AC Milan as the fallen giants of Italian soccer were held to a 0-0 draw at home by Sampdoria in Serie A yesterday, failing to score for the third league game in a row.The 38-year-old Swede, who helped Milan win their last major title — Serie A in 2011 — before leaving the following year, was brought on to a rousing reception from the San Siro crowd in the 55th minute.But Milan could still not find a way past their opponents, who are hovering just above the relegation zone, and the match ended amid the familiar sound of jeers from their supporters.Milan were left 12th in the Serie A standings, below Verona on goal differe...
SERIE A

Cristiano Ronaldo Opens 2020 with Hat-trick for Juventus

Cristiano Ronaldo of Juventus in action during the Serie A match between Juventus and Cagliari Calcio at Allianz Stadium.Cristiano Ronaldo scored his first Serie A hat-trick as Juventus beat Cagliari.Ronaldo took advantage of a Ragnar Klavan error early in the second half to give the champions the lead, before scoring a penalty after Marko Rog fouled Paulo Dybala.Portugal legend Ronaldo then set up Gonzalo Higuain to put Juve 3-0 up.And moments later he got his 56th career hat-trick when he slipped the ball under goalkeeper Robin Olsen.The 34-year-old is in his best scoring run since his £99.2m move from Real Madrid in 2018, scoring in each of his last five Serie A games.Juventus overtake Inter Milan to go top in Serie A, but Inter can go back to the summit if they beat Napoli at 19:45 GMT...
SERIE A

Immobile brace gives Lazio ninth straight win

Ciro Immobile of SS LAZIO celebrates with team mates after is penalty goal 1-1 ,during the Serie A match between Brescia Calcio FC and SS Lazio at Stadio Mario Rigamonti.Two goals from Serie A’s leading scorer Ciro Immobile, the second in stoppage time, gave third-placed Lazio a dramatic 2-1 win at 10-man Brescia on Sunday as they chalked up their ninth successive league victory.Simone Inzaghi’s side overcame the absence of several key players as they cut the gap between themselves and leading pair Juventus and Inter Milan to three points after scoring an injury-time winner for the third away game in row.Juventus and Inter, who have 42 points each from 17 games, both play on Monday while Lazio, with 39 from 17, have an outstanding fixture at home to Verona to come in early February.Lazio h...
SERIE A

Ibrahimovic ready to kick-start Milan as Inter seek rare win at Napoli

Milan's Swedish forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic reacts as he receives his new jersey during his official presentation as new AC Milan player at the club's headquarters Casa Milan in Milan.Zlatan Ibrahimovic said he is ready to  help struggling AC Milan reverse their Serie A fortunes as their local rivals Inter Milan recommence a title battle with Juventus this weekend after the end of the winter break.Milan play host to Sampdoria on Monday (tomorrow), their first game since the humiliating 5-0 goal defeat to Atalanta last month which sparked Ibrahimovic’s return.“I’m ready and I really hope I can play,” said the 38-year-old Ibrahimovic as he returned to Milan nine years after his departure for Paris Saint-Germain.“Things need to be improved on the pitch and that’s why I’m here. I know what...
SERIE A

Giuseppe Iachini Appointed Fiorentina Coach

Giuseppe Iachini manager of Fiorentina.Fiorentina have appointed former player Giuseppe Iachini as their new manager.The hierarchy have acted swiftly to replace Vincenzo Montella, who was sacked on Saturday, following a 4-1 thrashing at home to Roma on Friday night, leaving them without a win in seven matches.Iachini, who made 126 appearances for Fiorentina during a five-year spell, has led four sides to promotion out of Serie B, but was sacked as Empoli manager in March."The current situation in the table forced us to change the coach," said Rocco Commisso, the club's billionaire owner."We chose Iachini because he is a great man, linked to Florence and Fiorentina. Now we have to stick together and get back on the right track as soon as possible."The 55-year-old has huge experience in Ital...
SERIE A

AC Milan thrashed 5-0 at Atalanta, worst league loss in 21 years

Alejandro Gomez and Ruslan Malinovskyi of Atalanta BC celebrates after their team-mate Mario Pasalic scored during the Serie A match between Atalanta BC and AC Milan at Gewiss Stadium.AC Milan suffered their heaviest defeat for more than 21 years as they were thrashed 5-0 by Atalanta in Serie A.Stefano Pioli's side are 10th in the table and could go into Christmas in the bottom half if Sassuolo or Bologna win later on Sunday.Alejandro Gomez scored a stunning opener, nutmegging Andrea Conti before firing home, and Atalanta's final three goals came in the last half hour.Mario Pasalic scored and Josip Ilicic netted twice before Luis Muriel struck.Atalanta, who are in the Champions League knockout stages, rise to fifth in the table.Milan had not lost by five goals in any competition since bein...
SERIE A

Flying Ronaldo fires Juventus three points clear

Cristiano Ronaldo (L) of Juventus FC scores a goal during the Serie A football match between UC Sampdoria and Juventus FC. Juventus FC won 2-1 over UC Sampdoria.Cristiano Ronaldo’s scoring streak continued on Wednesday as the Juventus forward netted a soaring header to secure a 2-1 victory at Sampdoria, putting the defending champion back atop the Serie A standings.Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon matched Paolo Maldini’s all-time record of 647 Serie A appearances in the game, but Ronaldo found a way to steal the spotlight once again.The Portugal star leaped above a defender and hung in the air to meet a cross before planting a header into the top of the net for the winning goal on the stroke of halftime. Earlier, Gianluca Caprari had canceled out Paulo Dybala’s opener for Juve.“The goa...
SERIE A

Inter, Conte's post-match comments after Fiorentina draw

Antonio Conte manager of FC Internazionale looks on during the Serie A match between ACF Fiorentina and FC Internazionale at Stadio Artemio Franchi.A win by Juventus and a draw from Inter mean that the two rival clubs are tied for top of the table. The nerazzurri were held without a win away at Fiorentina, drawing 1-1 against the hosts at the Artemio Franchi. Afterwards, Inter coach Antonio Conte gave his thoughts on the match to Sky Sport: "We got back less than we deserved, just like against Barcelona. I'm upset because the team gave a good response, we deserved more. That being said, we must do better in all phases. In the last three matches we are talking about three possible wins which became two draws and a defeat. But this is a process of growth, we must be patient and bui...
SERIE A

Ronaldo scores twice in Juventus win over Udinese

Cristiano Ronaldo of Juventus competes for the ball with Bram Nuytinck of Udinese Calcio during the Serie A match between Juventus and Udinese Calcio.Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice as Juventus beat Udinese to go top of Serie A - for a few hours at least.The Portuguese blasted in a crisp shot from the edge of the area for a fourth goalscoring game in a row.He then smashed in a first-time shot from Gonzalo Higuain's through ball before Leonardo Bonucci headed home to make it 3-0 before the break.Ronaldo almost grabbed his first Serie A hat-trick as he hit the post, before Ignacio Pussetto's late consolation.Juve keeper Gianluigi Buffon made his 646th Serie A appearance, one short of Paolo Maldini's all-time record. It was Buffon's 700th league appearance including Serie B and the French top ...
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