Luciano Spalletti was delighted to have quietened Napoli s critics after Fabian Ruiz s 94th-minute strike saw off Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico and propelled the visitors to the Serie A summit.
After Lorenzo Insigne had opened the scoring, Pedro s superb late volley looked to have denied Napoli a crucial victory, only for Fabian to curl in a brilliant last-gasp winner to put Spalletti s men ahead in an enthralling title race.
Napoli s return of 18 points from their eight league matches in 2022 is the best in Serie A, as they bid for a first Scudetto since the Diego Maradona era, while the late goal condemned Lazio to just their second home defeat of the league campaign.
Spalletti, who joined in with his players wild celebrations after the goal, said after the co…
Manchester United star Paul Pogba has denied claims that he snubbed his manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer following Sunday’s 5-0 hammering at the hands of Liverpool at Old Trafford.
It was a day that went from bad to worse for the Frenchman after being left out of the starting line-up for a second game running, only to see his team-mates fall four goals behind by the break, which led to his introduction in the second half.
Pogba lasted only 15 minutes as he was sent off by referee Anthony Taylor following a VAR review following a heavy challenge on Naby Keita.
The former Juventus man has experienced highs and lows since coming back to United from Italy in 2016, and rumours about his future persist as he gets closer to the end of his deal in Manchester, which exp…
Harry Redknapp is confident nephew Frank Lampard will be appointed Chelsea s new head coach, despite Derby County s attempt to tie him down to a new deal.
Lampard is the frontrunner to succeed Maurizio Sarri in the Stamford Bridge dugout following the Italian s switch to Serie A champions Juventus.
But Derby are reluctant to let the legendary Chelsea midfielder return to his former club in a coaching capacity just a year into his three-year contract at Pride Park.
The Championship side, who suffered defeat to Aston Villa in this past season s play-off final, are reportedly in discussions with Lampard over extending his deal and chairman Mel Morris said on Monday no approach has yet been made by Chelsea.
On this day in 2001
Frank Lampard became a…
Josh Brownhill struck a dramatic 98th-minute winner as 10-man Bristol City beat Charlton Athletic 2-1 on Wednesday and moved to fourth in the Championship table.
Bristol City are now within three points of Championship leaders West Bromwich Albion after the late show.
Fulham, Hull City and Derby County also won on Wednesday, while Huddersfield Town and Middlesbrough played out a goalless draw.
TENSE AFFAIR AT ASHTON GATE GOES TO THE WIRE
Lee Bowyer s Charlton took a 65th-minute lead at Bristol City through Macauley Bonne but the hosts levelled proceedings thanks to substitute Famara Diedhiou s close-range header.
Diedhiou was then shown a straight red card for violent conduct with just four minutes of normal time remaining after he appeared…
Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois is open to remaining at Stamford Bridge despite being strongly linked with a move.
Courtois, 26, is reportedly a target for LaLiga giants Real Madrid with only a year remaining on his contract with the Premier League side.
But Courtois, who helped Belgium secure third place at the World Cup Saturday, said he may yet remain at Chelsea.
Now I m going to talk to my agent to see what the possibilities are. All options are open for me. I may also stay at Chelsea, he said, via Marca.
People always complain that players don t comply with their contracts, but maybe they do.
I don t think they will keep someone with my qualities on the bench, even if I don t sign [a new contract]. But maybe [staying] is possible, bec…
It has been a difficult period for AC Milan but club icon Kaka is confident the underachieving Italian giants will return to the top of world football.
Kaka enjoyed his best football in Milan, leading the way as the club won Serie A, Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and Club World Cup glory in his first spell at San Siro from 2003 to 2009.
The World Cup winner who returned to Milan in 2013-14 after a four-year stint with Real Madrid also claimed the 2007 Ballon d Or thanks to his exploits with the 18-time Italian champions.
However, Milan have declined badly since winning the Scudetto in 2011, having gone from runners-up in 2012, to third, eighth, 10th and seventh last season.
It is a situation that hurts Kaka but the 34-year-old now captain of MLS outfit…
Juan Mata believes he made the right decision to join Manchester United almost six years ago and insists the club are getting closer to recapturing former glories.
Mata, 31, swapped Stamford Bridge for Old Trafford in January 2014 after falling out of favour under Jose Mourinho at Chelsea.
The pair were reunited when Mourinho took charge of United but attacking midfielder Mata has been unable to add a league title to the FA Cup, EFL Cup and Europa League trophies he has won in five and a half seasons with the Red Devils.
That wait is almost certain to continue this term but the experienced former Valencia playmaker claims he would not have been able to forgive himself had he passed on the opportunity to join the 13-time Premier League champions.
Some pe…
Sergio Aguero will still not be guaranteed a starting spot despite extending his Manchester City contract, according to Pep Guardiola.
City announced on Friday that the club s all-time leading goalscorer Aguero agreed to add another year to his deal, tying him to the club until June 2021.
The 30-year-old established himself as one of the Premier League s top strikers following his arrival from Atletico Madrid in 2011, but Guardiola demanded he do more work for the team shortly after taking over two years ago.
Gabriel Jesus joining from Palmeiras provided Aguero with serious competition, and the Catalan will continue to have no qualms about taking the Argentine out of his line-up when he believes it is required.
Asked if he ever worried Aguero would leave …
LaLiga has called for UEFA to issue immediate sport sanctions against Juventus following the mass resignation of the club s board, including president Andrea Agnelli.
Juve announced after an emergency meeting on Monday that Agnelli, vice-president Pavel Nedved and managing director Maurizio Arrivabene have all quit their roles.
It comes amid an investigation into alleged tax fraud, which Juventus have denied, and on the back of the club registering a record loss of €254.3million for 2021-22.
Now, a statement from LaLiga has called the sport s European governing body to take action in response to the developments.
Following the resignation of the Juventus board of directors, LaLiga demands immediate sports sanctions to be applied on the club, read a le…
Manchester City can win the Champions League this season, according to Feyenoord head coach Giovanni van Bronckhorst.
Dutch champions Feyenoord make their return to the group stages of Europe s premier competition against City at De Kuip on Wednesday after a 15-year absence.
The Premier League club were not a factor among the continent s heavyweights back then, before Sheikh Mansour s 2008 takeover transformed their fortunes.
But, although City won the English top flight in 2011-12 and 2013-14 to sit alongside three domestic cup triumphs over recent seasons, success on the continent has proved elusive, with a 2015-16 run to the semi-finals the only time they have progressed beyond the last 16 in six attempts.
Pep Guardiola oversaw a spending spree in exc…