Category: Italy Serie A

• Xabi Alonso blames ‘soft defending’ for last-gasp draw
• Napoli extend unbeaten run and go five points clear

Bayer Leverkusen’s sloppy performance in their 2-2 draw at Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga on Saturday that included conceding a 90th-minute equaliser was down to the German champions’ weak defending, Xabi Alonso said.

Werder twice came from a goal down to snatch a point and leave Leverkusen with a third draw in their last four league games. “The fact that Werder could come back was down to both sides,” Alonso, who led his team to an unbeaten domestic league and cup double last season, said. “We were too soft in defending and they used their chances.

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A surprise signing from Genoa, the striker has immediately integrated in Bergamo thanks to his manager’s brilliance

Mateo Retegui is not afraid to make a snap decision. When Roberto Mancini phoned to ask if he would consider representing the Italian national team last March, the striker “didn’t have to think about it. I just said yes right away”. Born and raised in Argentina, he had never lived in Italy nor did he speak the language, yet within days he marked his international debut with a goal against England in Naples.

A choice that shifted his whole life’s trajectory. Twenty-three years old and playing for Tigre on loan from Boca Juniors, Retegui was hardly at the forefront of most European scouts’ minds. He scored 23 goals across all competitions in 2022, yet domestically there were doubts as to his ceiling. His parent club had declined their option to bring him back at the end of the year, while the Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni was indifferent to Retegui declaring for Italy.

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• Fans of Klopp’s former club display banners at game
• Kane hat-trick sinks Stuttgart; Celta Vigo 1-2 Real Madrid

Jürgen Klopp has been criticised by fans of his former club Mainz for his decision to join the energy drinks company Red Bull and oversee its network of clubs. Mainz supporters held banners during their team’s Bundesliga game against Leipzig – a Red Bull-backed club – in which they addressed their former hero.

“Have you forgotten everything we gave you?” asked one huge banner behind one of the goals, referring to Klopp’s tearful farewell speech when he left the club after 18 years as a player and coach in 2008.

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