Napoli held by bottom club Chievo

By -
Juventus' bid for an eighth consecutive Serie A title was given a boost on Saturday after title-chasing Napoli were held to a goalless draw by bottom club Chievo.
Carlo Ancelotti's second-placed side needed a win to maintain the six-point gap between them and leaders Juventus, but could not find a way past Chievo in the Stadio San Paulo just days before hosting Red Star Belgrade in the Champions League.
Napoli are now eight points behind Juventus, who beat SPAL 2-0 on Saturday with goals from in-form Cristiano Ronaldo and Mario Mandzukic.
Inter Milan are a further point back in third following their comfortable 3-0 win over second-from-bottom Frosinone.
"There's no point looking at the Serie A table now. We'll look and evaluate at the halfway point," said Ancelotti.
"We were too bland in everything we did today – in construction, ball recovery and finishing, which allowed Chievo to play a defensive game.
"But it was a good test ahead of Wednesday's match against the Red Star. The tactical theme against Red Star will be the same."
Ancelotti's side were frustrated by the side from Verona, who were playing their first game under new coach Domenico Di Carlo, their third manager this season following Lorenzo D'Anna – sacked in October – and former Italy boss Gian Piero Ventura, who quit after just four games.
Chievo goalkeeper Stefano Sorrentino pulled off some fine saves, but was largely helped by Napoli's wastefulness in front of goal.
A Lorenzo Insigne curling shot hit the post after 75 minutes with towering Senegalese defender Kalidou Koulibaly missed the chance to snatch a late winner when his over-head kick from a corner shot just wide.
"We've rediscovered the Chievo spirit," said Di Carlo, whose side now have one point from 13 games after being deducted three for false accounting.
"We were a bit defensive today, we know, but we also found the courage to go into the opposing area.
"I have to put in the lads' heads that we are strong, a team fighting. I told them to aim to be the surprise of the day."

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Khachanov stuns Djokovic to win Paris Masters

By -
Image
Karen Khachanov caused one of the shocks of the tennis year by overpowering Novak Djokovic 7-5 6-4 in the Paris Masters final to end the Serbian's remarkable spell of dominance in the men's game on Sunday. The 22-year-old Russian has for some time been seen as one of the rising young talents of the sport but few could have envisaged his demolition of the Serbian superstar, who was on a three-month, 22-match winning streak. Djokovic was expected to celebrate his return to world number one on Monday with a record-extending fifth Paris title but he went down in one hour 37 minutes amid a hail of 31 crushing winners from the Muscovite's racket. "To finish my season like this is a dream," Khachanov told the crowd in  the Bercy arena, explaining how Djokovic had always been an inspiration to him. He even took a leaf out of the Serb's book of celebrations by bending down to kiss the Centre Court. Khachanov, a strapping 6ft 6in huge hitter with surprising
Read more

Godin could miss Brazil, France and Barcelona

By -
Image
Atletico Madrid's Uruguayan defender Diego Godin is set to miss upcoming matches against Brazil, France and Barcelona after suffering a thigh injury in last weekend's league win over Athletic Bilbao. Although the Spanish club refused to put a timeline on a return, AS sports daily reported the 32-year-old could be out for three to four weeks. If confirmed it would rule Godin out of international friendlies away to Brazil on November 16 and France, at the Stade de France, on November 20. Godin scored the winner in Atletico's 3-2 victory on Saturday which left them in third just one point behind leaders Barcelona, but could also miss the La Liga clash at home to the Catalan giants on November 24. Atletico coach Diego Simeone is already without the services of fellow defenders Lucas Hernandez, Jose Maria Gimenez and Stefan Savic.
Read more

Simone's men disappointed as Carillo levels late on

By -
Image
Atletico Madrid dropped points in LaLiga on Saturday as they were held to a 1-1 draw by struggling Leganes. Guido Carrillo's late equaliser prevented Atletico Madrid from going top of LaLiga as Leganes held their underwhelming visitors to a 1-1 draw on Saturday. Diego Simeone was missing Diego Godin, Koke and Diego Costa due to muscular problems for the short trip to Butarque, and without them their performance was disappointing and Carrillo pegged them back late on. In an unremarkable first period, Leganes looked the slightly more promising and did at least go close on a couple of occasions, though quality was lacking from both sides. Atletico improved slightly after the break and eventually went ahead through Antoine Griezmann's free-kick, but substitute Carrillo secured the strugglers a deserved point eight minutes from time with his third goal of the season. After a tight opening Leganes should have taken the lead 21 minutes in, but Youssef En-Nesyri headed a c
Read more