The winger looked set to join Napoli from Sassuolo in January but the paperwork never arrived and his goal for the Neroverdi in a draw leaves the Partenopei trailing in wake of JuventusDid the title race turn on a clerical error? Matteo Politano looked…
• Neymar taken off on stretcher against Marseille• Milan beat Roma 2-0 with impressive showNeymar was carried off on a stretcher in Paris St Germain’s Ligue 1 game against Marseille at the Parc des Princes on Sunday night. The world’s most expensive pl…
• Inter win 4-2 after leading 3-0 after 19 minutes in Serie A
• Napoli’s title hopes hit by 1-1 draw against Sassuolo
Internazionale held on to beat 10-man Fiorentina 4-2 and hand their manager, Stefano Pioli, his first win since taking charge.
Four days after throwing away a two-goal lead to lose to Hapoel Be’er Sheva and exit the Europa League, Inter were almost pegged back in Serie A despite leading 3-0 after 19 minutes.
• Milan derby ends 2-2 and Roma beaten 2-1 by Atalanta
• Lazio defeat Genoa 3-1 and Fiorentina thump Empoli
Ivan Perisic’s stoppage-time equaliser denied Milan victory as Internazionale salvaged a 2-2 draw.
Two maiden San Siro goals from the Spanish schemer Suso had put Milan on a course to claim second place in the Serie A table but, with Antonio Candreva grabbing Inter’s first leveller at the start of the second half, Perisic put the brakes on the Rossoneri.
Sassuolo have spent most of their history playing in amateur leagues but after a dramatic rise they are now beating some of Europe’s most prestigious clubs
By Karan Tejwani for These Football Times, part of the Guardian Sport Network
On 15 September 2016, the small town of Sassuolo in the north west of Italy geared up for something special. With a population of 41,000, the town in the Province of Modena is not accustomed to major sporting events. But last month they welcomed Athletic Bilbao to the Stadio Città del Tricolore for Sassuolo’s first ever European outing – something the town could never have imagined a decade ago.
The story of the club’s transformation will make you believe in miracles. They were playing in the fourth tier of Italian football in 2006 with little or no ambition of making it this far, this quickly. But on that fine evening last month, reality hit and the 7,000 fans who gathered in the stadium created an atmosphere that will not be forgotten in a hurry. As the town mayor Claudio Pistoni put it: “The image that Sassuolo Calcio is giving to the town is huge. It is a matter of pride for all, even for those who do not love football.”
The Swede’s Serie A scoring record of 35 goals had stood for 66 years, but Napoli’s Argentinian surpassed it with his final-day hat-trick against Frosinone
Leonardo Blanchard was not about to depart Serie A without a proper memento. This has been a chastening season for the 28-year-old, starting most weeks in central defence for a Frosinone side that conceded 76 goals in 38 league games. This was his first-ever taste of the top flight and, with the Canarini relegated in 19th place, might well turn out to be his last.
So who could blame him for wanting to take a little piece of Italian football history with him? Frosinone had, in a funny way, helped to write it – as they were mauled 4-0 by Napoli at San Paolo. Three of the hosts’ goals were scored by Gonzalo Higuaín – enough for him to break Serie A’s single-season scoring record. Blanchard asked the Argentinian if he would be willing to swap shirts afterward.
• Napoli pip Roma to second place in Serie A
• Juventus end triumphant campaign with 5-0 rout of Sampdoria
Gonzalo Higuaín wrote himself into the Serie A record books as his hat-trick fired Napoli to a 4-0 win over 10-man Frosinone that sealed a second-placed finish.
Higuain’s 19-minute second-half treble made him the first player to score 36 goals in a Serie A campaign, nudging ahead of Milan’s Gunnar Nordahl, who scored 35 in 1949-50.
• Juventus restores nine-point Serie A lead with 3-0 win over Lazio
• Francesco Totti’s two late goals give Roma victory over Torino
Paulo Dybala scored twice as Juventus closed in on a fifth successive Serie A title with a 3-0 win against 10-man Lazio.
Mario Mandzukic opened the scoring for Juventus with his third goal in four matches by redirecting a cross within the box from Paul Pogba near the end of the first half.
Related: Leonardo Bonucci in the spotlight as Inter cannot stop remarkable Juventus Gianluigi Buffon is three minutes away from equaling a 22-year record after Juventus beat Sassuolo 1-0 to move six points clear at the top of Serie A on Friday. Contin…
Featuring an overhead kick from the US, a counterattack from China, a passing move from Germany, a 40-yard strike from Spain and dribbler from England Continue reading…
• Striker scores two in 5-0 win that takes Giallorossi fourth
• Fiorentina beat Atalanta 3-2 after second-half flurry
Edin Dzeko atoned for a glaring first-half miss with a goal in each half in Roma’s resounding 5-0 win over Palermo, with Seydou Keita and Mohamed Salah – providing his own acrobatic brace – propelling the capital club above Inter Milan into fourth place.
Exiled Roma captain Francesco Totti watched from the stands as the Giallorossi enjoyed an emphatic Serie A victory without him. The 39-year-old striker has barely featured this season and found himself cut from the squad completely after publicly criticising head coach Luciano Spalletti, and Roma more than proved they can cope without their talisman.
• Juventus are two points behind leaders Napoli after 1-0 win in Turin
• Gonzalo Higuaín scores 21st goal in Napoli’s defeat of Sampdoria
Paulo Dybala unlocked a tense match with Roma in Turin to keep Juventus in close pursuit of the Serie A leaders, Napoli.
Massimiliano Allegri’s champions strengthened their title aspirations after registering a 10th straight victory last time out but they found win No11, a 1-0 triumph, harder to achieve.
Gonzalo Higuaín scored twice as Napoli went four points clear at the top of Serie A after coming from behind to defeat Sassuolo 3-1 at home. Related: Internazionale swap own goals with Atalanta and miss chance to top Serie A Continue reading…
The top team as Serie A reaches its halfway point has won the past 12 titles and Napoli’s 5-1 rout of Frosinone leaves them as this season’s front runners
Maurizio Sarri is not much one for birthdays. You could imagine him lighting a cigarette off the candles on a cake sooner than stopping to blow them out. But even he would concede that his 57th was a little bit special. He celebrated it by taking his childhood team back to the top of Serie A.
Born in Naples, but raised in Tuscany, Sarri was the only Napoli supporter in his class at school and could hardly have imagined that he might one day wind up as their manager. Indeed, he might have struggled to believe in that scenario as recently as 2012, a year that he began without a job after being sacked by third-tier Sorrento. He certainly would have done so a decade earlier, back when he was still working for a bank.
The top team as Serie A reaches its halfway point has won the past 12 titles and Napoli’s 5-1 rout of Frosinone leaves them as this season’s front runners
Maurizio Sarri is not much one for birthdays. You could imagine him lighting a cigarette off the candles on a cake sooner than stopping to blow them out. But even he would concede that his 57th was a little bit special. He celebrated it by taking his childhood team back to the top of Serie A.
Born in Naples, but raised in Tuscany, Sarri was the only Napoli supporter in his class at school and could hardly have imagined that he might one day wind up as their manager. Indeed, he might have struggled to believe in that scenario as recently as 2012, a year that he began without a job after being sacked by third-tier Sorrento. He certainly would have done so a decade earlier, back when he was still working for a bank.
Internazionale lead Serie A heading into the Christmas break but a 2-1 defeat to Lazio means their advantage is only one point.
Antonio Candreva opened the scoring and Mauro Icardi’s second-half leveller was rendered redundant when Candreva stuck away his own saved penalty with three minutes remaining to condemn Roberto Mancini’s team to defeat.
