Martinez scores again as Inter beat Milan in Serie A derby

Martinez scores again as Inter beat Milan in Serie A derby
Inter Milan's Argentinian forward Lautaro Martinez (R) and AC Milan's French defender Pierre Kalulu (L) during their Italian Serie A football match on Sunday at the San Siro stadium in Milan. (AFP)
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Updated 06 February 2023

Martinez scores again as Inter beat Milan in Serie A derby

Martinez scores again as Inter beat Milan in Serie A derby
  • It was Martinez’s 12th league goal of the season, putting him four behind leading Serie A goalscorer Victor Osimhen

MILAN: World Cup winner Lautaro Martinez continued his roaring start to the year as he set Inter Milan on their way to a 1-0 victory over AC Milan in the Derby della Madonnina on Sunday.

Martínez has been in fantastic form since helping Argentina win the World Cup in December and he netted his seventh goal in his last eight matches as Inter consolidated second spot in Serie A with a second win over their fierce rival in less than three weeks.

It was Martinez’s 12th league goal of the season, putting him four behind leading Serie A goalscorer Victor Osimhen, who scored another two on Sunday to help runaway leader Napoli win 3-0 at lowly Spezia.

Inter are 13 points behind Napoli and three points above third-place Roma. They are five points above Lazio, Atalanta and Milan, which has slipped to sixth after a woeful start to the year.

The Rossoneri’s winless run extended to seven matches. That streak included elimination from the Italian Cup and a 3-0 loss to Inter in the Super Cup.

Before the derby, Milan had also conceded an unprecedented nine goals in their past two Serie A matches.

With that perhaps playing in their minds, the Rossoneri defended deep from the start and rarely got out of their own half. Milan had to wait almost an hour for its first shot, and that was off target.

Inter almost took the lead in the 10th minute but Martínez headed just wide of the right upright.

Martinez did better in the 34th as he got away from Simon Kjær at the near post to get his head to a corner and it took a deflection off the Milan defender on the way in.

Romelu Lukaku thought he had scored his first league goal since August, late on, but the whistle had already gone for a foul by him on Malick Thiaw.

Martínez also had a goal ruled out for offside.

Osimhen appears to be firing Napoli to the Serie A title as the Nigeria forward netted for the fifth straight league match.

Spezia had defended well against Napoli’s stellar attack but gifted the visitors a penalty less than 10 seconds after the break when defender Arkadiusz Reca was trying to hold off Matteo Politano but didn’t anticipate that the bounce of the ball would take it onto his outstretched arm.

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia converted the penalty, prompting the game to open up.

Osimhen had a goal ruled out in the 62nd for pulling back Mattia Caldara but he headed in his first in the 68th and doubled his tally five minutes later following another assist from Kvaratskhelia.

Spezia remained five points above the relegation zone.

Torino beat Udinese 1-0 to leapfrog their opponent into the Europa Conference League qualifying spot.

Torino are one point above Udinese and Bologna, who won 2-1 at Fiorentina for its first victory in Florence in 13 years.


Mane scores on return to action with Senegal

Mane scores on return to action with Senegal
Updated 1 min 2 sec ago

Mane scores on return to action with Senegal

Mane scores on return to action with Senegal
  • Mohamed Salah netted Egypt’s opener in a 2-0 win over Malawi

CAPE TOWN, South Africa: Sadio Mane put his World Cup disappointment behind him by scoring on his return to international action as Senegal swept past Mozambique 5-1 in African Cup of Nations qualifying on Friday.

Mane darted behind the defense to poke home a pass by Youssouf Sabaly with his left foot for the reigning African champion’s second goal in Dakar.

Mohamed Salah netted Egypt’s opener in a 2-0 win over Malawi.

And there was also a successful return for Ivory Coast striker Sebastien Haller, who scored to help his country beat Comoros 3-1 in his first international since his comeback after receiving treatment for testicular cancer.

Mane smiled as he celebrated his goal with teammates, who had to do without their star player at the World Cup last year after he was injured just before the tournament.

Without Mane, Senegal was knocked out by England in the round of 16 at the World Cup. But the convincing win over Mozambique, Mane’s first game for Senegal since before the World Cup, kept the Cup of Nations titleholder at the top of Group L with three wins from three and on course to qualify for the continental championship next year in Ivory Coast.

Sabaly scored the first goal in the ninth minute, Mane made it two in the 16th, and Iliman Ndiaye and Boulaye Dia ensured Senegal led 4-0 at halftime. Habib Diallo sent a diving header in for the fifth with two minutes to go.

Gildo Vilanculos got Mozambique’s only goal when he headed a parry by Alfred Gomis straight back past the Senegal goalkeeper to make it 4-1 early in the second half.

Senegal didn’t allow that to threaten its dominance and controlled the rest of the game, with Mane at one point urging his team not to settle for 4-1 and go forward in search of more goals. Diallo eventually delivered one.

Salah took his goal with a first-time shot from a cross in the 20th minute to give Egypt the lead against Malawi in Cairo. Omar Marmoush was credited with the second but his low shot took a wicked deflection off a Malawi defender and looped over goalkeeper Charles Thom.

Egypt had 21 shots to Malawi’s five and 75 percent possession, and the win revived the record seven-time African champion’s qualifying campaign after it lost to Ethiopia in the last round to slip to the bottom of Group D on goal difference.

Earlier Friday, Nigeria struggled to a 1-0 loss at home to Guinea-Bissau, ending the Super Eagles’ winning start to qualifying and seeing Guinea-Bissau take top spot in Group A. Nigeria aare still in position to qualify for the African Cup as the top two teams from each group qualify.

South Africa cruised to a 2-0 lead over Liberia with a double by striker Lyle Foster, but Liberia fought back for a draw with Mohammed Sangare’s equalizer coming in injury time at Soccer City in Soweto. That hurt South Africa’s hopes of qualifying and deeply frustrated coach Hugo Broos, who walked out of a news conference after telling reporters he wouldn’t answer any of their questions.

“There is too much disappointment, too much frustration, too much anger in my body,” Broos said. “If I should say now what I think, it would not be nice.”
 


Mbappe delivers for France again in first game as captain

Mbappe delivers for France again in first game as captain
Updated 33 min 59 sec ago

Mbappe delivers for France again in first game as captain

Mbappe delivers for France again in first game as captain
  • Romelu Lukaku underlined his enduring value to Belgium by scoring all three goals in a 3-0 win at Sweden in the other notable victory on Friday

PARIS: Kylian Mbappe delivered for France again, this time wearing the captain’s armband.

Leading a new era for Les Bleus, there was something very familiar about the way Mbappe slotted home two unforgiving finishes to headline a 4-0 win over the Netherlands in European Championship qualifying on Friday.

France showed no lasting effects from that painful penalty-shootout loss to Argentina in the World Cup final three months ago. Nor did Mbappe, the scorer of a hat trick in a losing cause that day.

One of his first touches against the Dutch was to slip a pass inside for Antoine Griezmann, his hair dyed pink, to finish first time for the opening goal inside two minutes at the Stade de France. The two stars embraced, showing there was no lingering feud after Griezmann — the more experienced of the pair — was overlooked for the captaincy in favor of Mbappe following Hugo Lloris’ retirement.

Dayot Upamecano bundled in the second in the eighth minute, and the third goal in a dazzling opening 20 minutes by France was scored by Mbappe. He ran in behind the Netherlands defense and shot inside the near post after Randal Kolo Muani let a pass from Aurelien Tchouaméni roll past him.

Mbappe completed the thrashing in the 88th with a solo goal, picking up the ball 40 meters out and producing a series of feints on the edge of the area before blasting a low shot beyond goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen.

It took the Paris Saint-Germain striker onto 38 international goals, above Karim Benzema into fifth place on France’s all-time list. While Benzema’s time might be up for the national team, Mbappe — aged 24 and the leader of the new wave of soccer superstars after Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo — is really only getting started.

Speaking of starts, this was a disappointing way for Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman to begin his second spell in charge of the team. Robbed of key midfielder Frenkie de Jong because of injury and five players during the week because of a flu virus, the Dutch were swarmed all over in a one-sided Group B game as qualifying for Euro 2024 continued.

Their misery was complete when Memphis Depay had a penalty saved by France goalkeeper Mike Maignan with virtually the last kick of the match.

Lukaku hat trick

Romelu Lukaku underlined his enduring value to Belgium by scoring all three goals in a 3-0 win at Sweden in the other notable victory on Friday.

It was a successful start to Domenico Tedesco’s tenure as coach of Belgium, which is also playing under a new captain in Kevin De Bruyne.

Tedesco will know the importance of having Lukaku healthy if the Red Devils are to finally win an international trophy.

The striker wasn’t fully fit at the World Cup and that was a big reason why Belgium went out in the group stage. Lukaku has been playing regularly for Inter Milan since then, and was a constant threat against Sweden as he scored in the 35th, 49th and 83rd minutes.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Sweden’s 41-year-old striker, came off the bench for his first national team appearance in nearly a year and had a couple of chances to score.

Loss for Lewandowski

Euro 2024 could be the last major international tournament for 34-year-old Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski, though Poland’s bid to make it to Germany got off to a sticky start.

Poland lost 3-1 at the Czech Republic, which went ahead when Ladislav Krejcí scored after 27 seconds — the earliest goal netted by the national team in its history.

Tomas Cvancara and Jan Kuchta also were on target for the Czechs as Lewandowski was kept scoreless in the Group E game.

Austria beat Azerbaijan 4-1 in the group containing Belgium and Sweden, with on-loan Manchester United midfielder Marcel Sabitzer scoring twice, and Greece won at Gibraltar 3-0 in France’s group.

There were wins for Serbia (2-0 at home to Lithuania) and Montenegro (1-0 at Bulgaria) in Group G.


Tough night for the Green Falcons as they suffer Venezuela friendly defeat

Tough night for the Green Falcons as they suffer Venezuela friendly defeat
Updated 5 min 43 sec ago

Tough night for the Green Falcons as they suffer Venezuela friendly defeat

Tough night for the Green Falcons as they suffer Venezuela friendly defeat
  • The last time the Saudis faced South American opposition they shocked Argentina at the World Cup, but this time they received a lesson in clinical finishing

JEDDAH: The last time Saudi Arabia met South American opposition, in November at the World Cup in Qatar, they shocked billions around the world by coming from behind to defeat eventual champions Argentina.

On Friday, however, there was no such comeback as the Green Falcons were brought down to earth with a bump, losing 2-1 in a friendly against Venezuela in Jeddah.

Much of the damage was done in the first half, during which the visitors, who also defeated Herve Renard’s men 1-0 last June in the build up to the World Cup, gave the hosts a lesson in clinical finishing.

It was the Saudis’ first game on home soil since the World Cup, but as a homecoming it was not quite what anyone had in mind. There was plenty of energy and effort on display from the hosts but they struggled to create clear, meaningful chances against determined opponents, although in the end they did come close to equalizing.

The first goal came came in the 26th minute courtesy of Josef Martinez. Salomon Rondon floated a ball over from the left and Martinez, at full stretch, volleyed it home with a low shot from the edge of the area.

Just eight minutes later, Rondon, who now plays his club football for River Plate in Argentina after saying goodbye to the English Premier League in December, made it two. The former Everton star received the ball 18 yards out, and then turned smartly to fire a low shot into the bottom corner.

The night could have gotten worse for Saudi Arabia as Martinez once again found the back of the net three minutes before the break but the goal was ruled out by the video assistant referee.

Haroune Camara came closest to getting the home fans on their feet during the first half but the Al-Ittihad forward’s shot was saved by Alain Baroja in the Venezuelan goal.

As the second half progressed, coach Renard, linked recently with the vacant position of coach for the French women’s national team, threw on several substitutes. Just after the hour mark, Abdullah Al-Khaibari, who scored his first goal for Al-Nassr during a recent 3-1 win over Abha, took over from Hussein Al-Qahtani and Camara was replaced his Al-Ittihad club colleague Abdul Aziz Al-Bishi.

Almost immediately, Saudi Arabia thought they deserved a penalty when Samuel Sosa barged over Saleh Al-Shehri in the area. After VAR took a look, however, the appeal was waved away.

Then, with 17 minutes remaining, Salem Al-Dawsari pulled a goal back in style. The 30-year-old, who scored the winning goal against Argentina, received the ball with his back to goal just inside the area and turned quickly to curl a lovely shot into the corner and finally get the fans in Jeddah cheering and believing.

Suddenly there was a renewed sense of urgency from the players in green and soon after, Baroja was diving to save a twisting header from Abdullah Al-Hamdan.

The goalkeeper was busy again three minutes from the end, as he palmed away a powerful header from Al-Shehri. As much as the two-time Asian champions tried, however, they could not get the all-important equalizer.

Despite all their efforts, in the end it was not quite enough. With the Asian Cup taking place next January, the result was not the most important aspect of this game but Saudi Arabia will look to get back to winning ways against Bolivia on Tuesday.
 


Jabeur crashes out to Gracheva in Miami

Jabeur crashes out to Gracheva in Miami
Updated 24 March 2023

Jabeur crashes out to Gracheva in Miami

Jabeur crashes out to Gracheva in Miami
  • Tunisian Jabeur, beaten finalist at Wimbledon and the US Open last year, has been working her way back from injury
  • Jabeur underwent surgery after suffering a knee injury at the Australian Open

MIAMI GARDENS, United States: Fourth seed Ons Jabeur crashed out of the Miami Open on Friday, losing her opening match to Russian qualifier Varvara Gracheva 6-2, 6-2.
Tunisian Jabeur, beaten finalist at Wimbledon and the US Open last year, has been working her way back from injury and on her return earlier this month went out in the third round at Indian Wells.
Jabeur underwent surgery after suffering a knee injury at the Australian Open, and subsequently missed the WTA Tour’s Middle East swing.
She looked well short of her best against the 22-year-old Gracheva and had two medical visits during the one hour 11 minute match.
The win was the biggest scalp yet for Gracheva, who earlier this month reached her first WTA final, losing in Austin to Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk.
“The plan was, of course like all matches, to be as stable as possible, to try to make her work as much points as possible, and of course wait for comfortable ones to attack,” Gracheva said after her third career win over a top ten opponent.
“I’ve just probably caught this wave where I’m stable, where I always have a chance to play my game, be aggressive, cause troubles for the others by the game style. I’ve just got to try to keep rolling on this way,” she added.
Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic advanced with a 6-2, 6-4 win over China’s Wang Xinyu and her compatriot Barbora Krejcikova also enjoyed a straight sets win, 6-3, 6-2 against Belarusian Aliaksandra Sasnovic.


Thomas Tuchel: brilliant tactician with ‘challenging’ streak

Thomas Tuchel: brilliant tactician with ‘challenging’ streak
Updated 24 March 2023

Thomas Tuchel: brilliant tactician with ‘challenging’ streak

Thomas Tuchel: brilliant tactician with ‘challenging’ streak
  • The 49-year-old former Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain coach has a reputation as a brilliant tactician who is not afraid to overhaul his side constantly
  • Yet Tuchel's turbulent CV has also shown that he has the capacity to bounce back to lead subsequent top flight clubs

MUNICH, Germany: Welcomed with fanfare by Chelsea but then sacked just over a year later, Thomas Tuchel, who is returning to Germany as Bayern Munich’s new coach, is one of Europe’s most sought-after bosses but is not without controversy.
The 49-year-old former Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain coach has a reputation as a brilliant tactician who is not afraid to overhaul his side constantly.
But he also has a streak of sackings behind him — with a bad-tempered exit at Borussia Dortmund in 2017 followed by an acrimonious parting from PSG in December 2020, and most recently in September, a tumultous departure from Chelsea.
Yet Tuchel’s turbulent CV has also shown that he has the capacity to bounce back to lead subsequent top flight clubs.
The announcement Friday that he is taking over the reins at Bayern, Germany’s most successful club, from Julian Nagelsmann is yet another testimony to Tuchel’s employability.
“Tuchel is not interested in marketing, in his image. He is interested by his work, he just wants to be judged by his work and only that,” said Daniel Meuren, who wrote a biography on the German coach.
On the field, the verdict so far is unanimous — every club that Tuchel has handled has obtained results and play attractive football.
He led Chelsea to Champions League glory, won two French titles with PSG and lifted the German Cup with Dortmund.
At once charismatic and prickly, Tuchel, by his own admission, can be a challenging personality.
“I wasn’t easy to deal with as a player,” he admitted in a 2009 interview.
A knee injury cut short Tuchel’s playing career as a defender at third-division Ulm in 1998 and he turned his hand to coaching.
He cut his coaching teeth in the youth academies at VfB Stuttgart and Augsburg but his career took off at Mainz where he was promoted from Under-19s boss to first-team head coach two days before the start of the 2009-2010 season despite having no Bundesliga experience.
Like his role model, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, Tuchel is not afraid to switch formation or tactics two or three times during a game, making it impossible for opposing coaches to second-guess him.
But he is also not shy about picking fights with club management.
After a pipe bomb attack that rocked Dortmund’s team bus ahead of a Champions League quarter-final match against Monaco in 2017, Tuchel lashed out at the club’s bosses for agreeing to play the game a day later rather than give players more time to recover from the shock.
At Qatar-owned PSG, the central issue for Tuchel was his relationship with sporting director Leonardo, with whom he did not see eye-to-eye and who was eager to bring in his own man.
Tuchel was eventually pushed out, despite having won the Ligue 1 title in his first season and then, in 2019/20, he secured a clean sweep of domestic honors before reaching the Champions League final in Lisbon, where PSG lost narrowly to Bayern Munich.
Given his record, his relationship with Bayern’s sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic and outspoken chairman and former Germany goalkeeper Oliver Kahn will be closely scrutinized.
After all, it was also Salihamidzic and Hansi Flick’s tense relationship that eventually led the former coach to leave Bayern to become Germany’s national coach in the summer of 2021.