Category: Italy Serie A

• Milan midfielder hospitalised ahead of 2-1 loss to Napoli
• Inter edge out Udinese 2-1; Barcelona defeat Girona 4-1

The Milan midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek has had successful appendectomy surgery after being diagnosed with acute appendicitis, the Serie A club said on Sunday. Local media reported that during Milan’s training camp in Napoli the England international experienced severe abdominal pain that necessitated hospitalisation for further investigation.

Tests confirmed the diagnosis, prompting the operation, which went well, the club said in a statement. Further details on Loftus-Cheek’s condition have not been provided.

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• Ligue 1 leaders trounce Saint-Étienne 6-1
• Harry Kane scores as Bayern battle past St Pauli

Paris St Germain coach Luis Enrique wants the club to keep their focus on domestic and European titles despite all but securing a fourth consecutive Ligue 1 crown.

PSG thrashed relegation-threatened Saint-Étienne 6-1 to virtually assure themselves of a second straight title under the Spaniard. Only Monaco have a mathematical chance to overhaul them after their 2-1 win over Nice left them 21 points behind PSG with seven games to play.

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• Former Bologna coach leaves after just nine months
• Axe follows heavy defeats by Atalanta and Fiorentina

Juventus have sacked Thiago Motta as manager and appointed Igor Tudor as his replacement. The decision comes after Motta guided the club to consecutive heavy defeats in Serie A, losing 4-0 at home to Atalanta and 3-0 at Fiorentina.

Those losses left Juve fifth in the table, 12 points behind the leaders, Inter. The 42-year-old’s side were also surprisingly knocked out of the Champions League in the playoff round by PSV Eindhoven in February. Less than a week later, they exited the Coppa Italia, knocked out by Empoli after a penalty shootout in the quarter-finals.

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Another costly defeat means Gian Piero Gasperini’s side have not beaten the Nerazzurri from Milan since 2018

There was no timidity left in the city of Bergamo, no desire to hide behind underdog status. The thousand Atalanta fans who descended on the team’s training ground on Saturday brought a banner insisting: “We Believe”. One day later, as their team prepared to kick off against Inter, another was unfurled in the north stand of Gewiss Stadium. “Needle and thread are in the drawer,” it read. “10 finals to stitch it on to our chest.”

The reference of course was to the Scudetto – a badge in the colours of the Italian flag that Serie A’s winners get to wear on their kit. Atalanta have never enjoyed that honour. They have won only two pieces of major silverware in club history – the 1963 Coppa Italia and last season’s Europa League. In Serie A they have never finished higher than third, and even that is a recent development, achieved for the first time in 2019.

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• PSG beat Marseille 3-1 in Ligue 1 top-of-the-table clash
• Leverkusen snatch 4-3 Bundesliga win against Stuttgart

Inter extended their lead at the top of Serie A to three points with a 2-0 win at third-placed title rivals Atalanta on Sunday as both sides finished with 10 men.

An intense opening half ended goalless, with Inter’s Marcus Thuram hitting the upright and Atalanta’s Mario Pasalic forcing goalkeeper Yann Sommer into a save from a header.

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• Milan enjoy thrilling 2-1 comeback against Como
• Bayern held to a 1-1 draw away to Union Berlin

Kylian Mbappé scored twice to help Real Madrid fight back to beat Villarreal 2-1 and move top of La Liga overnight.

The hosts opened the scoring in the seventh minute when Álex Baena’s corner was deflected by Aurélien Tchouaméni, allowing Juan Foyth to score from close range. Real Madrid levelled 10 minutes later when Mbappé pounced on Brahim Díaz’s blocked shot and the ball landed at his feet for a close-range finish.

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After Motta expresses gratitude to his former manager, Atalanta’s 4-0 win may end his plans for a second season

Thiago Motta has never been shy with his gratitude towards Gian Piero Gasperini. He cites the Atalanta manager extensively in the thesis he submitted while studying for his Uefa Pro coaching licence at Coverciano, describing how the season he spent playing under Gasperini at Genoa reshaped his approach to the game.

He offered thanks again on Saturday, recalling how he had arrived in Italy in a delicate moment of his career – seeking a way back from successive knee injuries at Barcelona and Atlético Madrid. “I’d just started training again and Gasperini asked me if I could play,” said Motta. “I said yes, and he said: ‘OK, I’ll bring you tomorrow and maybe you’ll play 10 minutes.’ Then he stuck me on in the first half when [Omar] Milanetto got hurt.

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• Vinícius Júnior also scores in 2-1 win over Rayo Vallecano
• Getafe’s late double stuns Atlético; Napoli beat Fiorentina

Kylian Mbappé and Vinícius Júnior scored in the first half to give Real Madrid an easy 2-1 win over neighbours Rayo Vallecano on Sunday that helped them draw level at the top of the table in the battle to retain their La Liga crown.

Only one point separates Spain’s three biggest clubs in one of the closest title races in recent years with Barcelona leading the pack on 57 points, ahead of second-placed Real on goal difference with Atlético Madrid in third on 56 points after a 2-1 loss at Getafe earlier on Sunday. Barça, who will face Atlético next Sunday, have a game in hand after their match against Osasuna on Saturday was postponed due to the sudden death of their team doctor.

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Internazionale still top the table after draw but leveller restores belief that Antonio Conte’s side can reel in leaders

Billy Gilmour or Philip Billing? That was the dilemma facing Antonio Conte for a season-defining fixture: his second-placed Napoli taking on the Inter side who had just overtaken them with 12 rounds to go. Should he trust in a midfielder who had started only five Serie A games since arriving from Brighton last summer, or one who spent the first half of this season as a backup at Bournemouth?

“I’ve been thinking about it all week,” Conte said with a chuckle at his pre-game press conference, “and I still have 24 more hours to decide.”

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• Robert Lewandowski scores final goal in 4-0 victory
• 10-man Milan lose to 98th-minute Lazio penalty

Barcelona returned to the top of the La Liga table with a comfortable 4-0 home victory over 10-man Real Sociedad on Sunday.

Barça’s sixth straight league win moved them into first place with 57 points from 26 games, one ahead of Atlético Madrid. Real Madrid are third with 54 points after a 2-1 defeat at Real Betis on Saturday.

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• Atlético 1-0 Athletic Bilbao | Real Betis 2-1 Real Madrid
• Napoli 1-1 Inter | Mourinho’s Turkish suspension halved

Real Madrid stumbled in the three-way race for the La Liga title as Isco guided Real Betis to a 2-1 comeback win over the defending champions on Saturday, enabling Atlético Madrid to overtake their neighbours by winning the late kick-off against Real Betis.

Atlético won thanks to a second-half strike from the substitute Julián Álvarez. Atletico came close to taking the lead in the first half through Alexander Sørloth, who missed a header from Antoine Griezmann’s pass. Álvarez, who came on for Sørloth just before the hour mark, gave Atlético the winner in the 66th minute with a precise left-foot shot after being played through by Marcos Llorente.

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• Bayern now 11 points clear of second-placed Leverkusen
• Robin Gosens’ winner moves Fiorentina up to sixth

Bayern Munich fought back from a goal down to maintain their place at the top of the Bundesliga with a 3-1 victory at Stuttgart. The win keeps Bayern comfortably atop the Bundesliga with 61 points, 11 more than Bayer Leverkusen, though they have played one match more.

Stuttgart took the lead in the 34th minute through Angelo Stiller, who struck a left-footed shot into the top corner from the edge of the box. In first-half stoppage time, Bayern equalised as Michael Olise made a perfectly timed run and finished with ease.

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After Ademola Lookman’s miss in midweek, Lorenzo Lucca invited further criticism in ignoring his Udinese teammates

This was the week of the undesignated penalty taker in Italian football. On Tuesday, Ademola Lookman missed a spot-kick against Club Brugge and then listened to his manager, Gian Piero Gasperini, tear him to shreds for having the audacity to step up when teammates encouraged him to. The responsibility was supposed to fall to Charles De Ketelaere, but Lookman claimed the Belgian had told him to go for it.

Gasperini used his post-game press conference to roast Lookman, calling him “one of the worst penalty takers I’ve ever seen,” and adding that: “even in training he has a very low conversion rate. He shoots them really badly.” Four days later, Gasperini claimed surprise that his words had caused the striker to feel disrespected.

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• Italy striker suffered blow to head on pitch
• Napoli’s loss at Como lets Atalanta back into title race

Moise Kean has been discharged from hospital less than 24 hours after he collapsed during Fiorentina’s defeat by Hellas Verona on Sunday. The former Everton and Juventus forward appeared to pass out following an earlier blow to his head.

Italy international Kean had been involved in an accidental collision with Pawel Dawidowicz and Diego Coppola midway through the second half, taking a knee in the face which left him with a cut above his eye. Although Kean returned to the pitch following treatment with his head bandaged, the 24-year-old soon fell, initially appearing unresponsive, before being taken off on a stretcher in the 67th minute.

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• Barça beat Las Palmas 2-0 and Atléti stay on their heels
• Inter move top of Serie A with Napoli to play on Sunday

Dani Olmo and Ferran Torres came off the bench to rescue a 2-0 win for Barcelona at Las Palmas on Saturday that sent them back to the top of the La Liga table after a game that is unlikely to live long in the memory.

Barcelona now lead on 54 points, one ahead of Atlético Madrid. Real Madrid are third on 51 but have a game in hand and will host Girona on Sunday.

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