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JOSE MOURINHO SEES RED AS ROMA ENDS NAPOLI 100% START WITH GOALESS DRAW

AS Roma coach Jose Mourinho was sent off to the stands as his side ended Napoli’s winning start to the Serie A season following a 0-0 draw on Sunday.

Napoli came into the contest having won their opening eight Serie A matches this season and dominated much of Sunday’s showdown, with Victor Osimhen denied by the post in the second half.

In a tightly contested affair, Roma created little. Tammy Abraham had the best of their chances, slotting wide from a good position in the first half.

As a frustrating Roma struggled in the second half, it got too much for Mourinho late on, and he was sent off for protesting with the referee.

Striker Osimhen thought he had won it at the death, but his header was ruled out for offside, with the point for Napoli enough to move them back to the top of the standings, above AC Milan on goal difference.

After making an impressive start to the season themselves, Roma have now won two of their last six league games to sit fourth.

“I was asking for a situation in our favour, but I didn’t say anything special, nothing that warranted being sent off for,” Mourinho told DAZN.

“But it is not a match in which the referee has done wrong, the feeling is that the referee has done a positive job.”

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SERIE A: DYBALA RESCUES POINT FOR JUVENTUS AT INTER MILAN

Juventus snatched a last-gasp 1-1 draw at champions Internazionale in Serie A on Sunday after Argentine forward Paulo Dybala scored a penalty following a VAR intervention.

Massimiliano Allegri’s side travelled to Milan in fine form having won their previous six games in all competitions, but soon fell behind as Inter striker Edin Dzeko fired home after Hakan Calhanoglu’s shot had hit the post in the 17th minute.

The visitors piled on the pressure in the second half as they searched for an equaliser, but looked set to be frustrated after failing to create any clear cut chances.

However, Juve were handed a lifeline following a VAR review of a tackle from Inter’s Denzel Dumfries on Alex Sandro, leading to the referee to point to the spot. Dybala grabbed the opportunity to fire in the equaliser in the 89th minute.

Inter were furious with the decision — coach Simone Inzaghi was sent off for his protestations — as they had to settle for a draw that left them third in the standings with 18 points, while Juventus climbed to sixth a further three points adrift.

“I think it’s a very important point. We are Juventus, we play to win, but today we faced a team that plays good football,” Dybala told DAZN.

“I think that after so many years here, my time has come.”

Having failed to win any of their opening four league fixtures for the first time in 60 years this term, Juve have turned their season around under returning coach Allegri.

Home goalkeeper Samir Handanovic was forced into a fine double save early on, but with their first attack of the match, Inter took the lead as veteran Dzeko pounced to score his seventh league goal of the season.

Despite being the top goalscorers in Serie A, Inter’s challenge fizzled out.

Allegri introduced Dybala and Federico Chiesa in the second half to try lift his side, but Inter looked comfortable until the penalty decision, given for Dumfries lunging into a high tackle that was initially missed by referee Maurizio Mariani.

Inzaghi threw a spare shirt onto the pitch in frustration — which led to his dismissal — before substitute Dybala converted his 18th penalty in Serie A.

“It was the only way we could concede a goal, it is disappointing,” Inzaghi told DAZN.

“I feel we controlled the game from start to finish, we allowed Juventus nothing and I am not happy to have seen two points thrown away. The referee was right there, he could see the incident and didn’t need to be called over for that. I am disappointed for our fans, as we played well and deserved more.

“I admit my protests was not a good image to portray, but I felt in that moment it was not a VAR incident.”

Allegri was pleased to see his side continue their revival.

“The first half performance was good, the second even better,” Allegri told DAZN. “It’s a good point, it keeps us within three points of Inter and allows us to continue this positive run of results.”

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JUVENTUS SNATCH NARROW WIN FROM ROMA IN FOURTH STRAIGHT SERIE A WIN

Juventus continued their march up the Serie A standings with a 1-0 win over AS Roma in Turin on Sunday, as Moise Kean’s unorthodox early goal sealed a fourth consecutive league win for the Turin club.

Rodrigo Bentancur’s header ricocheted off Kean’s head and into the back of the net after 16 minutes in the game’s decisive moment.

But Jose Mourinho’s side were furious when Tammy Abraham put the ball in the net but the goal was not allowed to stand because referee Daniele Orsato had already whistled for a penalty. Jordan Veretout took the ensuing spot kick and his effort was saved by Wojciech Szczesny.

Juve are now seventh with 14 points, level with Lazio, and Atalanta above them and one point behind fourth-placed Roma.

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LOCATELLI STRIKES LATE TO GIVE JUVENTUS DERBY WIN OVER TORINO

Manuel Locatelli struck late to earn Juventus a 1-0 win over Torino in the Turin derby on Saturday, as the Old Lady stretched their winning run to four games in all competitions and kept a Serie A clean sheet for the first time in seven months.

The Italy international fired a shot in off the post with four minutes remaining, his second consecutive league goal, as Juve rose to eighth place with 11 points, three ahead of their 11th-placed rivals.

Torino controlled the first half as Juve failed to register a shot on target, but Massimiliano Allegri’s side improved after the break and Alex Sandro’s header required a fine save from Vanja Milinkovic before Locatelli’s late winner.

Ivan Juric’s side struggled to threaten Wojciech Szczesny’s goal, and Juventus kept things tight defensively to end a run stretching back to March of 20 matches in a row conceding in Serie A.

Allegri’s side earned an impressive and unexpected win over European champions Chelsea in the Champions League on Wednesday to stretch their unbeaten run in all competitions to five matches.

But the coach warned his players that the local derby would be an even greater challenge, with strikers Paulo Dybala and Alvaro Morata still injured and Torino having two extra days to prepare.

There were early chances for Juve as Moise Kean flashed a shot wide and Weston McKennie blasted over a promising opportunity.

But Toro soon gained control and came close when Sasa Lukic glanced a header wide and Rolando Mandragora’s long-range piledriver was parried by Szczesny.

Allegri introduced Juan Cuadrado for Moise Kean at halftime, with Federico Chiesa returning to the striker role he played against Chelsea.

The change sparked some life into Juve’s attack as the Colombian teed up Sandro with an excellent cross that required a sharp Milinkovic-Savic save.

Locatelli found space at the edge of the area to fire home the winner in the 86th minute, before substitute Dejan Kulusevski thumped the foot of the post with a shot in stoppage time.

Earlier on Saturday, Salernitana climbed off the foot of the table after Milan Djuric’s header sealed a 1-0 win over Genoa, their first victory of the season.

The newly promoted side’s victory moved them up to four points, one behind Genoa in 16th and one more than bottom side Cagliari.

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SERIE A: NAPOLI RECLAIM TOP SPOT, LAZIO SQUEEZE PAST MOURINHO’S ROMA IN DERBY

Napoli maintained their perfect start to the Serie A season on Sunday with a 2-0 win over Cagliari which ensured they reclaimed top spot, while Lazio won an eventful derby 3-2 to down Jose Mourinho’s Roma.

Luciano Spalletti’s side cruised to their sixth victory in as many league games against a Cagliari team coached by former Napoli manager Walter Mazzarri thanks to Victor Osimhen’s sixth goal in all competitions this month and a second-half penalty from Lorenzo Insigne who pre-match celebrated his 400th Napoli appearance.

They are two points ahead of AC Milan after another confident display that ends a week in which they scored 10 goals without reply in three league matches.

“The best way to celebrate was to win and score a goal,” said Insigne to DAZN, who is four goals away from Diego Maradona’s Napoli total of 115.

“We did it together as a team. We’ve got to keep our feet on the ground, keep our heads down and work because there is a very, very long way to go.”

Next weekend Napoli travel to Fiorentina in what will be the first true test of their title credentials, as their 2-1 win over Juventus earlier this month came against a team missing a host of starters.

They made easy work of a passive Cagliari, with Osimhen making it four Serie A goals in five appearances this campaign in the 11th minute when he met Piotr Zielinski’s low cross with a typically assured finish.

Osimhen was involved again when a low-key match was settled in the 57th minute, the in-form Nigeria attacker being cleaned out by Diego Godin and Insigne lashing home the subsequent penalty to ensure a simple win.

Lazio win derby honours

Goals from Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Pedro and Felipe Anderson gave Lazio a tight derby win over Roma at a raucous Stadio Olimpico which saw two teams attack each other for 90 minutes.

Maurizio Sarri’s side were winless in three league matches heading into the weekend but now sit sixth on 11 points, seven behind Napoli and just one behind fourth-placed Roma, who twice pulled goals back through Roger Ibanez and Jordan Veretout.

In the aftermath Mourinho lashed out at referee Marco Guida and the VAR officials after what he saw as a clear foul on Nicolo Zaniolo just before Lazio launched the counter-attack which ended with former Roma player Pedro putting Lazio 2-0 ahead in the 19th minute.

“The referee and VAR weren’t up to the standards of a match of this level. From 2-0 it could have been 1-1, the referee made a mistake on the field and VAR made a mistake… they all made a mistake,” Mourinho said to DAZN.

Dybala misses Chelsea

Juventus will have to face Chelsea in the Champions League without Paulo Dybala after the Argentina forward limped off with a thigh injury early in their 3-2 win over Sampdoria.

Dybala opened the scoring with nine minutes on the clock at a wet Allianz Stadium, with Leonardo Bonucci and Manuel Locatelli netting the other goals to move Juve ninth on eight points, but soon afterwards the 27-year-old left the field in tears after the latest in a long line of injuries.

Massimiliano Allegri’s side host European champions Chelsea on Wednesday and the coach said Dybala and centre-forward Alvaro Morata, who also exited with a thigh problem towards the end of the match, would be out of action until after the next international break which runs from after next weekend’s matches to October 15.

Fiorentina bounced back from midweek defeat to Inter Milan with a battling 1-0 win at Udinese which moved them into fifth on 12 points, six behind Napoli.

Promoted Empoli are threatening the European places after beating Bologna 4-2 to win their second match on the bounce and climb up to eighth, while Salernitana remain rooted to the bottom of the league with a single point after losing 1-0 at Sassuolo.

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AC Milan players targeted with racism in consecutive games

Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan, who is Black, used his Instagram account to raise awareness after being showered with discriminatory insults by Juventus fans during a 1-1 draw Sunday.

For the second consecutive game, an AC Milan player was the target of racist chants.

Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan, who is Black, used his Instagram account to raise awareness after being showered with discriminatory insults by Juventus fans during a 1-1 draw Sunday.

“Do the people who take decisions know what it feels to hear insults that portray us as animals?” Maignan said.

“Do they know what it does to our family, to our relatives who just can’t understand why these things keep happening in 2021?

“I am not a victim’ of racism. I am Mike, standing up, black and proud. As long as we will be able to raise our voice and make a difference, we’ll do it.”

Tiemoue Bakayoko and fellow Milan midfielder Franck Kessie, both of whom are Black, were the targets of derogatory chants from Lazio supporters in the Rossoneri’s previous match.

The Italian football federation prosecutor has opened an inquiry into the incident involving Lazio fans.

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MOURINHO SUFFERS FIRST DEFEAT AS ROMA BOSS

Jose Mourinho suffered his first defeat since returning to coach in Italy as his AS Roma side were beaten 3-2 by Hellas Verona in a thrilling Serie A encounter on Sunday.

A stunning volley from Verona captain Marco Faraoni proved decisive, ending Roma’s 100% start to the Serie A season while earning his side their first win of the campaign.

Roma appeared to be on course for another three points in the pouring Veneto rain after Lorenzo Pellegrini had given the visitors a halftime lead with a sublime back-heel flick.

However, the game swung in the home side’s favour early in the second half as goals from Antonin Barak and Gianluca Caprari edged Verona 2-1 in front.

Ivan Ilic’s own goal as he beat Roma striker Tammy Abraham to a cross levelled things up in the 58th minute, before Verona again took the lead five minutes later through Faraoni.

Roma piled on the pressure in search of an equaliser but Mourinho’s men were left frustrated to sit second in the standings on nine points, with third-placed AC Milan playing Juventus later on Sunday.

“We didn’t play very well, we didn’t adapt well to their way of playing.” Mourinho told DAZN. “We lost many individual duels. I need the videos, I need a few hours to better understand what happened.”

Verona moved out of the bottom three and up to 14th as new coach Igor Tudor got off to winning start after replacing Eusebio Di Francesco in midweek.

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Olivier Giroud scores 2 as AC Milan routs Cagliari

It was a second win in as many games for Milan, which is still without Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The veteran forward remains out after injuring his knee in May and needing surgery.

Olivier Giroud scored his first two league goals for AC Milan as the Rossoneri beat Cagliari 4-1 in Serie A.

All the goals came in the first half with Giroud scoring Milan’s last two after early strikes from Sandro Tonali and

Rafael Leao. Alessandro Deiola briefly made it 1-1 for Cagliari on Sunday.

It was a second win in as many games for Milan, which is still without Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The veteran forward remains out after injuring his knee in May and needing surgery.

Jose Mourinho’s Roma also scored four goals as it won 4-0 at newly promoted Salernitana.

In Milan, the home side opened the scoring when Tonali curled a free kick into the top near corner in the 12th minute.

It was also his first goal for Milan and only a second in Serie A for the former Brescia midfielder.

Cagliari leveled three minutes later as Deiola headed in a delightful lofted pass from Joao Pedro but Milan restored its lead almost immediately when Leao’s effort was deflected in.

Giroud joined Milan from Chelsea in the offseason and the 34-year-old scored his first goal in the 24th. Brahim Diaz raced forward from the center of midfield and sent a ball through to Giroud, who fired it into the far side of the net.

Giroud also converted a penalty two minutes from halftime after Cagliari midfielder Kevin Strootmann handled the ball just inside the penalty area.

ROMA ROUT

Salernitana had narrowly lost its first match back in the top flight for more than 20 years as it was defeated 3-2 by Bologna last week.

It was a lot more humiliating in its first home match following a second-half capitulation.

Lorenzo Pellegrini broke the deadlock three minutes into the second half and also scored Roma’s fourth.

New forward Tammy Abraham opened his Roma account in the 69th following a goal from Jordan Veretout.

The 23-year-old Abraham is enjoying a fantastic start to life in Serie A after setting up both his side’s goals and hitting the crossbar in a 3-1 win over Fiorentina last week.

Abraham recently joined Roma from Chelsea for 40 million euros ($47 million).

PERFECT RECORD

Substitute Andrea Petagna scored two minutes after coming off the bench as Napoli also made it two wins out of two with a 2-1 victory at Genoa.

Petagna’s goal came with six minutes remaining after Genoa midfielder Andrea Cambiaso had canceled out Fabian Ruiz’s opener.

Sassuolo drew 0-0 with Sampdoria.

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Tammy Abraham opens Roma account as Jose Mourinho’s side continue strong start

Tammy Abraham scored his first Serie A goal for Roma as they cruised to a 4-0 win at Salernitana.

The England international, who linked up with Jose Mourinho when he made a £34million switch from Chelsea earlier this month, scored Roma’s third goal with a fine finish after Lorenzo Pellegrini and Jordan Veretout had put them in control.

Pellegrini’s second goal of the game wrapped up a routine win.

Another former Chelsea striker, Olivier Giroud, scored twice for AC Milan as they claimed a convincing 4-1 victory over Cagliari. Napoli won 2-1 at Genoa and Sassuolo played out a goalless draw with Sampdoria.

Barcelona handed teenager Gavi his competitive debut in their 2-1 win against Getafe.

The 17-year-old midfielder impressed as first-half goals from Sergi Roberto and Memphis Depay ensured Barca made it two wins from two at the Nou Camp this season.

Luis Suarez was on the scoresheet as a stoppage-time own goal from Aissa Mandi ensured Atletico Madrid secured a point in a hard-fought 2-2 draw with Villarreal.

The former Liverpool man cancelled out Manu Trigueros’ opener, only for ex-Bournemouth winger Arnaut Danjuma to retake the lead for the visitors.

It looked as if Villarreal would put an end to Atletico’s unbeaten start to the season, but Mandi’s own goal in the fifth minute of stoppage time earned Atletico the draw.

Rayo Vallecano had four goalscorers – Alvaro Garcia, Oscar Trejo, Randy Nteka and Santi Comesana – in a 4-0 thrashing of Granada, who have yet to win a LaLiga game this season.

And stoppage-time goals from Roberto Torres – a penalty – and David Garcia stunned Cadiz as Osasuna snatched a 3-2 win.

Lionel Messi had to settle for a substitute appearance as Kylian Mbappe stole the headlines with both goals in Paris St Germain’s 2-0 win at Reims.

Entering the action in the 66th minute to replace Neymar, the Argentinian’s first touch was greeted with screams and cheers from the 6,000 travelling fans.

But it was reported Real Madrid target Mbappe who stole the show, opening the scoring after 15 minutes and wrapping up the points just after the hour.

Elsewhere in Ligue 1, last season’s title winners Lille beat 10-man Montpellier 2-1.

Yusuf Yazici had opened the scoring for Lille in stoppage time at the end of the first half, but there was still enough time for Gaetan Laborde to equalise before the half-time whistle.

Jonathan David scored the winner before Montpellier’s Junior Sambia was shown a straight red card with just over 15 minutes remaining.

A goalkeeping howler from Rennes’ Alfred Gomis gifted Angers their opening goal in a 2-0 win that moved them third, while Clermont drew 2-2 with Metz and Lens played out the same result against Lorient.

Strasbourg beat Brest 3-1 and Sofiane Diop scored twice as Monaco won 2-1 at Troyes.

In the Bundesliga, table-topping Wolfsburg maintained their perfect start to the season with a narrow 1-0 win over RB Leipzig.

Jerome Roussillon scored the only goal of the game just after half-time. Union Berlin also secured a 2-1 win over Borussia Monchengladbach.

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Juventus lose at home to Empoli in first game after Ronaldo

Juventus has slumped to a 1-0 loss at home to promoted Empoli in its first match without Cristiano Ronaldo.

Juventus slumped to a 1-0 loss at home to promoted Empoli in its first match without Cristiano Ronaldo on Saturday.

Leonardo Mancuso’s first-half goal was enough for the visitors to claim a shock victory and leave Juventus waiting for its first Italian league win of the season after two games. Juve opened with a disappointing 2-2 draw at Udinese last weekend.

Ronaldo secured his return to Manchester United on Friday _ a day after telling Juventus he no longer wanted to play for the club. The Portugal star was top scorer in Serie A for the last two seasons and scored 101 goals in 134 appearances.

Juventus could have done with him against Empoli, which only secured its return to Italy’s top flight last season.

Mancuso scored in the 21st, firing home from close range after Nedim Bajrami’s initial effort was deflected into his path. The visitors refused to sit back after the goal.

Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri reacted to a disappointing first half from his team by bringing on Alvaro Morata, a forward, for American midfielder Weston McKennie at the break.

Federico Bernardeschi came on for fellow midfielder Adrien Rabiot shortly afterward, but the visitors kept pushing.

Paulo Dybala had a couple of close efforts as Juve showed signs of improvement, but too often the home team’s moves broke down at the final pass, prompting a furious outburst from Allegri on the sideline.

Juventus’ players were incensed when a number of calls went against them, including when Manuel Locatelli’s ball for Morata was deflected out by an Empoli defender but no corner was awarded.

IMMOBILE’S HAT TRICK

Italy striker Ciro Immobile scored a first-half hat trick and saw his penalty saved as Lazio routed Spezia 6-1 to build on its opening victory.

The 31-year-old Immobile also scored in Lazio’s 3-1 win at Empoli to start the season last weekend.

Spezia forward Daniele Verde stunned home fans at the Stadio Olimpico when he scored on a rebound in the fourth minute, but Immobile equalized with a brilliant finish a minute later.

Immobile tucked away his second goal inside the left post in the 15th, but had a penalty saved in first-half injury time when Dutch goalkeeper Jeroen Zoet turned the ball away for a corner. That was all Immobile needed, however, as he scored with a header from Luis Alberto’s corner.

Brazilian forward Felipe Anderson made it 4-1 after the interval, and it got worse in the 54th for the visitors when Kelvin Amian was sent off for hauling back Anderson as he was on another attack.

Elseid Hysaj got the fifth goal in the 70th before Luis Alberto wrapped up the scoring in the 85th for Maurizio Sarri’s team.

Also Saturday, Atalanta missed a host of chances as it drew with Bologna 0-0.

Fiorentina beat Torino 2-1 at home.