Maurizio Sarri was pleased to be able to help out former club Napoli as his Lazio side s 4-0 thrashing of Milan on Tuesday gave the Serie A leaders another boost in their title charge.
Sarri was born in Naples and managed the Partenopei between 2015 and 2018, who under Luciano Spalletti now look set to end a 33-year wait for Scudetto success.
Napoli s lead at the top was 12 points heading into Milan s game with Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico, and that remained the case following a rampant display from the hosts.
Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Mattia Zaccagni had Sarri s men cruising at the break, and Luis Alberto and Felipe Anderson added second-half goals as Milan s bid to close the gap to the Serie A summit to nine points fell woefully short.
While Sarri was…
Joaquin: Practical joker gets serious as dream Copa del Rey final offers Betis legend chance of fitt
There was a surprise guest at the wedding of Real Betis star Joaquin in July 2005 – surprise because this particular appearance hinged on the outcome of a football match five weeks earlier.
As Joaquin and his new wife stood at the front of the church in his hometown of Puerto de Santa Maria, Cadiz, something else couldn t help but hog attention.
The Copa del Rey trophy, draped in green and white ribbons stood tall – literally, because it s huge – and proud.
That s right, the Copa del Rey was an especially notable guest at Joaquin s wedding, as the winger – then 23 years old – had only recently helped Betis to just their second success in the competition and first since 1977.
Joaquin has always been regarded as something of a practical joker, wit…
Arsenal continued to recover after a dreadful start to the season with a successful trip to Burnley, but Manchester City dropped points at home to Southampton.
City s failure to find the net was a welcome boost for Liverpool, who cruised past Crystal Palace thanks in part to Sadio Mane making Premier League history with his 100th goal for the Reds.
Brentford became the 14th promoted side to accrue eight or more points after five games, and the first since Wolves, as they recorded a 2-0 win at Molineux in the early kick-off, while Norwich City remain stuck without a point to their name after going down 3-1 at home to Watford.
Using Opta data, Stats Perform takes a look at the key statistics from Saturday s most notable fixtures.
44 With…
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola will be looking to seal top spot in Group A of the Champions League on Wednesday with a win against Paris Saint-Germain at the Etihad Stadium, having lost the reverse fixture 2-0 in the French capital in September.
Carlo Ancelotti and Real Madrid will also be seeking revenge as they visit Sheriff after the Moldovan outfit famously won 2-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu on matchday two.
After losing their first league game of the season at the weekend, Milan must find the first win of their European campaign if they are to keep their hopes of qualification alive when they travel to Atletico Madrid.
Stats Perform picks out the key Opta facts ahead of Wednesday s Champions League action.
Manchester City v Paris Saint…
Jose Mourinho believes his time with Manchester United may have been more successful had he been afforded the same level of support and trust as current manager Erik ten Hag.
Mourinho won the Carabao Cup and Europa League in his first season at Old Trafford before finishing second in the Premier League the following campaign.
But the Portuguese, who revealed he endured a difficult working relationship with former United chief executive Ed Woodward, was sacked in December 2018 after a poor run of results.
The fortunes of the 20-time English champions have improved little since his departure, with Dutchman Ten Hag taking over in 2022 following the tenures of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and interim coach Ralf Rangnick.
“My relationship with Ed Woodward was good �…
Atalanta have confirmed striker Gianluca Scamacca has ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his left knee.
Scamacca was substituted 50 minutes into Atalanta s 4-1 friendly defeat to Parma on Sunday, La Dea s penultimate pre-season outing before they face Real Madrid in the UEFA Super Cup on August 14.
The striker enjoyed a fine season upon his return to Serie A in 2023-24, following a frustrating one-year spell with West Ham.
He scored 19 goals and provided eight assists last term as Atalanta finished fourth in Serie A and won the Europa League.
In Serie A, Scamacca scored 11 times from chances worth just 6.54 expected goals (xG), with only Lautaro Martinez (+6.36) and Teun Koopmeiners (+5.47) overperforming their underlying figures by a great…
Pep Guardiola s departure from Barcelona was influenced by his hostile relationship with then-Real Madrid head coach Jose Mourinho, according to Blaugrana defender Gerard Pique.
Guardiola won 14 trophies – including three league titles and two Champions Leagues – in a four-year spell at Camp Nou, developing a legendary side featuring academy graduates including Lionel Messi, Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Pique.
However, Guardiola s final season at the helm saw the Catalan giants finish second to Los Blancos in LaLiga, as Mourinho s side broke the league s points tally record by earning 100 points in 2011-12, also scoring a yet-to-be-matched 121 league goals. The points tally was equalled by Tito Vilanova s Barcelona in the following season.
The two coaches cl…
Coventry halted their four-match losing run with a 0-0 Sky Bet Championship draw against Stoke.
The Sky Blues had been on a miserable run which culminated in a 3-2 loss against Preston last time out, but could have taken all three points as Ellis Simms hit the post in the first half.
Stoke left the West Midlands with their own unbeaten run intact as their second stalemate in succession left them six unbeaten.
Simms came closest to giving Coventry a much-needed three points when Jake Bidwell hung up an inviting cross to the back post which the former Everton man headed against the woodwork.
It was a much-changed Coventry side that saw Simms partnered by Matty Godden and Haji Wright up front, with all three strikers starting together for the first time in a…
Ajax and Brazil forward David Neres has been ruled out for the remainder of the year with a knee injury sustained against Chelsea, head coach Erik ten Hag has confirmed.
The 22-year-old has featured 20 times for the Dutch champions in all competitions this season, scoring six times and providing a couple of assists.
Neres played 72 minutes of Ajax s 4-4 Champions League draw with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday, but he damaged his meniscus in the first half and is sidelined until 2020.
We will have to make do without David until the winter break, Ten Hag said at a news conference ahead of Sunday s home meeting with Utrecht.
At half-time [against Chelsea] I asked everybody if they were okay and everybody said yes. Directly after the game it was cle…
Pornographic noises disrupted Saturday evening’s Euro 2024 draw in Hamburg.
The interruption, which sounded like sexual moaning, was initially heard after Switzerland were drawn in the same group as Scotland, Hungary and hosts Germany, prompting smirking faces among the audience.
Draw host Giorgio Marchetti, the deputy general secretary of UEFA, attempted to take control of the situation, saying: “There is some noise here that…has now stopped. No noise anymore.”
All set for EURO 2024!
— UEFA EURO 2024 (@EURO2024)
But further sporadic interruptions were heard as the draw continued.
Similar noises disrupted the BBC’s live coverage of an FA Cup match between Wolves and Liverpool in January, which was hosted by Gary Lineker.
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