Substitute Giacomo Raspadori scored late in the second half to secure their first back-to-back wins in five months.

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia put Napoli in front three minutes before halftime, volleying inside the near post.

Federico Chiesa levelled for Juventus in the 81st minute, scoring into the far bottom corner from the edge of the box.

But Raspadori wrapped up the points for the hosts two minutes from time, firing home a rebound into the roof of the net from close range.

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This was after Juventus goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny denied Osimhen from the penalty spot.

Napoli moved up to seventh in the standings on 43 points, while Juventus remained second with 57 points after 27 games as their cushion over third-placed AC Milan narrowed to a point.

Source: NAN

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This was after the English clubside owned up to “incomplete financial reporting” under the Roman Abramovich regime.

A new ownership group led by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital completed their take-over of the club in May last year from Abramovich.

The Russian was sanctioned over his links to Russia president Vladimir Putin.

UEFA, which has also banned Juventus from competing in the Europa Conference League this season due to financial irregularities, confirmed it was approached “proactively” by the Boehly-led consortium.

They detected instances of partial financial information being submitted in historical transactions occurring between 2012 and 2019, breaching UEFA Club Licensing and Financial Fair Play regulations.

A UEFA statement said: “Following its assessment, including the applicable statute of limitations, the CFCB (Club Financial Control Body) First Chamber entered into a settlement agreement with the club.

“It has agreed to pay a financial contribution of 10 million euros to fully resolve the reported matters.”

The sanction represents another blow for Chelsea’s current owners after a disappointing first year at the helm.

The club’s 12th-place finish in the Premier League last term their worst since 1993/1994.

Chelsea have forked out around 600 million pounds (770 million dollars) in transfers since Boehly’s arrival.

Also, former Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino has been tasked with turning around their on-pitch fortunes.

Chelsea said in a statement the owners became aware of potential impropriety when carrying out a “thorough due diligence process” prior to the purchase.

It said upon completion of the take-over, they reported this to UEFA.

The statement added: “In accordance with the club’s ownership group’s core principles of full compliance and transparency with its regulators, we are grateful that this case has been concluded by proactive disclosure of information to UEFA and a settlement that fully resolves the reported matters.

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“We wish to place on record our gratitude to UEFA for its consideration of this matter.

“Chelsea greatly values its relationship with UEFA and looks forward to building on that relationship in the years to come.”

Juventus have also been reprimanded after a separate UEFA investigation and as well as throwing the Italian giants out of European football, they have been fined 20 million euros.

However, half of that fine has been suspended and Juventus will only have to pay if their financial records for the next three years do not comply with the accounting requirements.

Juventus were docked 10 points last season over their past transfer dealings, effectively ending their hopes of UEFA Champions League qualification.

They were found to have violated the framework of a settlement agreement with UEFA in August last year.

Juventus president, Gianluca Ferrero, said in a statement on the club’s website: “We regret the decision of the UEFA Club Financial Control Body.

“We do not share the interpretation that has been given of our defence and we remain firmly convinced of the legitimacy of our actions and the validity of our arguments.

“However, we have decided not to appeal this judgment. In spite of this painful decision, we can now face the new season by focusing on the field and not on the courts.”

Source: dpa/NAN

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The centre-back’s rasping second-half drive sealed three precious points, boosting Roma’s hopes of qualifying for the 2023/2024 UEFA Champions League.

After a week dominated by off-field headlines for head coach Jose Mourinho and former Juve playmaker Pablo Dybala, the Giallorossi claimed what could prove to be a huge victory.

Defeat will be a bitter pill to swallow for Massimiliano Allegri’s Juve side after a performance in which they will feel they did enough to earn a point.

Moise Kean was sent off in the closing stages, less than a minute after coming on, for kicking out at Mancini.

Knowing victory would edge them above AC Milan and into the top four on goal difference, Roma sought to impose themselves upon their visitors early on.

Yet Juventus were stubbornly defiant in front of a partisan crowd, and did their best to take the initiative themselves.

It was the Bianconeri who came closest to a breakthrough in the first half, when Adrien Rabiot saw his header saved by Wojciech Szczesny near the left post in the 43rd minute.

Emboldened by their support from the stands, the hosts broke the deadlock eight minutes after the interval.

That was when Mancini let fly from long range with his right foot and gave Szczesny no chance.

Juan Cuadrado almost levelled matters on the cusp of the hour with a superb free-kick that struck the post.

Juventus were unable to salvage a point and Kean was shown a straight red card for lashing out at Mancini soon after coming on, adding insult to injury.

Source: dpa/NAN

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The Spanish side were eliminated from the UEFA Champions League and were only third in their group after a disappointing campaign.

Manchester United, meanwhile, were second in their Europa League group, behind Real Sociedad.

Juventus, another giant coming from the UEFA Champions League ranks, will face Nantes following the draw on Monday.

German sides Union Berlin and Bayer Leverkusen will face Ajax and AS Monaco respectively.

Other match-ups include Sporting Lisbon versus Midtjylland, Shakhtar Donetsk versus Rennes, Sevilla versus PSV Eindhoven and Red Bull Salzburg v AS Roma.

The first leg matches of the ties are scheduled for Februrary 16, with the second leg matches a week later on February 23.

The Europa League knockout round play-offs were introduced last season.

The eight runners-up from the competition’s group stage face the third-placed teams from the Champions League group stage.

The winners of the ties advance to the round of 16, joining the eight Europa League group winners.

Source: dpa/NAN

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The hosts were well off the pace in the first half and fell behind to a fine team goal from Sassuolo, two minutes before the break, with Davide Frattesi finishing well when put through on goal.

Juventus stepped it up in the second half with Juan Cuadrado having a powerful effort cleared off the line while Federico Chiesa also missed with a header.

The equaliser finally came when Weston McKennie powered a header into the net in the 76th minute, much to the relief of everyone in the Juventus Stadium.

Juventus threw everything at Sassuolo to find a winner, but they were caught on the break in the 95th minute, as Lopez raced clear before lofting a fine finish into the net to secure victory for his team.

The surprise defeat dropped Juventus to seventh in the standings with 15 points.

They trail leaders AC Milan by 13 points after 10 games.

Sassuolo climbed to ninth, a point adrift of Juve,

Allegri told reporters: “There are games that if you don’t win you can’t afford to lose.

“A draw would have meant we extended the unbeaten run and we would not have lost twice at home (this season) already.

“We have to be realistic. We have to play in another way and be more careful, especially if you meet teams like Sassuolo.”

Allegri also challenged his side to get among the goals against Sassuolo, with Juventus having not scored more than once in a match in their previous five encounters.

But even with forwards Alvaro Morata, Chiesa and Paulo Dybala all starting, they struggled to create many clear cut chances.

Dybala did almost break the deadlock with a fizzing strike from distance that clipped the outside of the post in the first half, before Frattesi made his moment count.

Visiting goalkeeper Andrea Consigli was keeping Juve at bay, as were several last-ditch defensive interventions before McKennie’s first of the season levelled things up on the end of a pinpoint Dybala cross.

Juventus pressed for that winner but, with everyone committed down the other end of the pitch, they were left short at the back as Sassuolo picked up their first-ever win in the Juventus Stadium thanks to Lopez’s calm finish under pressure.

Source: Reuters/NAN

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Manchester United reached an agreement with Juventus for the transfer of the player, subject to agreement of personal terms, his visa and medical.

Ronaldo had previously told Juventus he wanted to leave.

“Everyone at the club looks forward to welcoming Cristiano back to Manchester,” the club said in a statement.

According to media reports, the striker will sign a two-year deal and Manchester United will pay the Italian club 15 million euros (17.7 million dollars).

This is in addition to eight million euros as a bonus to have the player.

On his Instagram, Ronaldo wrote a farewell message to Juventus, now his former club.

“I gave my heart and soul for Juventus and I’ll always love the city of Turin until my final days.

“The ‘tiffosi bianconeri’ always respected me and I tried to thank that respect by fighting for them in every game, every season, every competition,” he wrote.

“In the end, we can all look back and realise that we achieved great things. Not all that we wanted, but still, we wrote a pretty beautiful story together.”

Manchester United’s local rivals Manchester City were reportedly set to be the striker’s destination, but Pep Guardiola’s team had abandoned the negotiation talks, according to media reports.

Ronaldo won his first UEFA Champions League honour with Manchester United in 2008.

That was when he was also named world’s best player by ruling body FIFA and won his first Ballon d’Or award

Ronaldo moved to Manchester United from Portuguese side Sporting Lisbon.

In his first run for the English team, he scored 118 goals in 292 games, winning the EPL three times and also the FIFA Club World Cup in 2008.

He left Old Trafford in 2009 for Real Madrid for 94 million euros.

At that time, it was the most expensive transfer in football history.

Ronaldo played for the Spanish club for nine years and won the UEFA Champions League four times before moving to Juventus.

At the Italian club, he was expected to bring Juve their first UEFA Champions League title since 1996 but failed in this mission.

The team could only secure fourth place in Serie A last season.

Source: dpa/NAN

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It has been a disappointing first season in charge for Andrea Pirlo, with the Bianconeri knocked out of the UEFA Champions League at the last-16 stage by FC Porto.

Also, their hopes of qualifying for next season’s competition hang by a thread ahead of the final round of Serie A fixtures this weekend.

And they looked set for more despair when Ruslan Malinovskiy cancelled out Dejan Kulusevski’s fine strike before half-time.

Juve stormed back in the second half, though, and sealed victory in their 20th Coppa Italia final thanks to Chiesa’s composed finish with 17 minutes remaining.

Atalanta did most of the pressing in the early stages, with Duvan Zapata and Remo Freuler both flashing efforts narrowly wide of Gianluigi Buffon’s goal.

It was Juve who went ahead, though, Kulusevski superbly whipping past Pierluigi Gollini after being picked out on the right-hand side of the penalty area by Weston McKennie.

Gian Piero Gasperini’s side deservedly pulled level four minutes before the interval when Malinovskiy collected Hans Hateboer’s pass and lashed a powerful strike past Buffon from just inside the area.

Gollini got down well shortly before the hour mark to paw away Kulusevski’s near-post flick, while Chiesa curled against the post after a slick move involving Cristiano Ronaldo.

Chiesa was not to be denied in the 73rd minute however, collecting Kulusevski’s pass and then sliding home his 13th goal in all competitions this season.

Atalanta battled in the closing stages, but they never really came close to finding a goal that would have forced extra time, with Juve holding on to consign last season’s final defeat to Napoli to history.

Source: dpa/NAN

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It was also their first major title since winning the Coppa Italia in 2011.

Inter Milan last claimed the Scudetto in the 2009/2010 season, when Jose Mourinho led the Italian giants to a historic treble.

AC Milan then topped Serie A the following year, before Juventus established an era of dominance by winning nine consecutive titles.

The Nerazzurri temporarily went 13 points clear on the table after a 2-0 victory over already-relegated Crotone on Saturday.

Antonio Conte’s side were expected to end the title drought with four games remaining once Atalanta failed to beat Sassuolo.

The 1-1 draw was then enough for Inter Milan to secure the championship.

“We are, yes, we are. Champions of Italy. We can finally scream it, after dreaming of it, after keeping it hidden in the depths of our hearts, after holding on to it like a precious dream that we did not want to waste.

“We wear this Scudetto. Beautiful, emphatic, deserved. Long-awaited and yearned for,” Inter Milan wrote on their website.

And the newly-crowned champions also warned the fans to “celebrate responsibly.”

While the Scudetto has been secured, the top-four race is still wide open as Juventus fight for a UEFA Champions League spot.

The Bianconeri were 1-0 down just 10 minutes into the game as Nahuel Molina gave Udinese an early lead.

But Juve started to push forward and it paid off in the last minutes.

Cristiano Ronaldo ended his goal drought with a penalty kick and a header, helping the Old Lady finish the comeback.

Atalanta, Juventus, and AC Milan rank second to fourth all with 69 points.

Fifth-placed Napoli with 67 points also have Champions League aspirations after a 1-1 draw with Cagliari on Sunday.

In Sunday’s other fixtures, Lazio edged Genoa 4-3, Sampdoria conquered Roma 2-0, and Bologna shared the spoils with Fiorentina 3-3.

Source: Xinhua/NAN

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The visitors travelled to Udine on a high after beating title rivals, Juventus, 2-0 last weekend.

However, they couldn’t break down the determined hosts, who became the first team to keep a clean sheet against Inter in Serie A this season.

Inter striker Lautaro Martinez came closest when his first half shot drew a spectacular one-handed save from Juan Musso.

The visitors’ frustration, however, showed when Conte was dismissed for dissent in stoppage time.

Conte’s side remain second on 41 points, two behind AC Milan at the halfway stage of the season, while Udinese are 14th on 18 points but without a win in nine games.

Source: Reuters/NAN

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Juventus are fifth with a game in hand and stayed seven points off the top, with AC Milan hoping to reclaim first place when they close Match Day 18 at Cagliari on Monday.

Inter Milan were one goal up at half time, thanks to a header from ex-Juve midfielder Arturo Vidal.

The former FC Barcelona player connected with Nicolo Barella’s cross on 12 minutes to net his first goal in the season.

The hosts also came close when Lautaro Martinez missed a tap in after Romelu Lukaku was denied by Wojciech Szczesny.

Juve lacked the speed to threaten the tight Nerazzurri defence and conceded again on 52 minutes, when Alessandro Bastoni sent Barella storming from the midfield to struck under the bar.

“[The goal] was important for me and for the team,” said Vidal, who won the first four in Juve’s record run of nine Scudetti.

“We won a difficult game against the strongest team in Italy.

“We showed that we are fit to battle for the title. Wins like these give you the confidence to continue on, but we have to keep working everyday,” he added.

The day’s opener saw Napoli pummel Fiorentina 6-0 to take third place as their inspired captain Lorenzo Insigne hit a brace and provided an assist.

The fast, diminutive Insigne struck clinically on five minutes and was unstoppable when he raced down the left flank to square for the third goal from Hirving Lozano.

Napoli’s other striker Andrea Petagna set up Insigne’s opener and also crossed for the second goal scored by Diego Demme.

Piotr Zielinski fired in off the left post to effectively wrap up matters by half time, and Insigne then converted a penalty kick before a late effort from substitute Matteo Politano.

“I am happy because as a Neapolitan it’s important to reach goals while wearing this shirt,” the Naples-born Insigne said.

“But I am happier still about the win because we played as a team with a great performance.

“We made some mistakes in previous games but the good thing is that every three days you have a chance to bounce back.”

Napoli have a game in hand against Juventus and sit six points behind AC Milan.

In Bergamo, Atalanta were held to a 0-0 draw against lowly visitors Genoa, staying sixth one point behind Juventus.

The Bergamaschi also have a game in hand.

Elsewhere, Sassuolo salvaged a 1-1 draw against second-last Parma, thanks to a stoppage time penalty kick.

Crotone stayed last in spite of beating Benevento 4-1 with a brace from Nigerian striker Simy.

Benevento had Marco Sau red-carded for his protests after the hosts’ fourth goal.

Fourth-placed Roma lost 3-0 to Lazio in Friday’s city derby.

On Saturday, Bologna beat Verona 1-0, Sampdoria prevailed 2-1 against Udinese as Torino and Spezia drew 0-0.

Source: dpa/NAN

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