The former Chelsea boss praised the character and mentality of his side as the Nerazzurri battled to another victory.

Antonio Conte set a new club record as he became the first Inter coach to win his first five Serie A games at the helm after overseeing a 1-0 victory against Lazio.

The Nerazzurri extended their perfect start to the top-flight season courtesy of Danilo D’Ambrosio’s first-half header at San Siro.

Wednesday’s triumph took Inter back above Juventus at the league summit, making it a maximum return of 15 points so far in a promising campaign.

“It was a tough, important victory against a very strong side, who have been working together for four years and have done nothing but strengthen in recent seasons. It was by no means an easy win to get,” Conte told Sky Italia.

Goalkeeper Samir Handanovic made two fine stops to deny Joaquin Correa and preserve Inter’s lead going into half time.

The Nerazzurri improved after the break and went close through Nicolo Barella and Matteo Politano.

Lazio boss Simone Inzaghi brought on Ciro Immobile in an attempt to get back in the game but could not find a way through, as Inter held on for a hard-earned victory.

“When analysing the game you have to split it into two parts,” added Conte. “I wasn’t happy in the first half, we started aggressively, we looked to stay high and they tried to hurt us on the break.

“Then after the goal we sat back too much, allowing Lazio to come onto us and Handanovic was excellent in that period, he made the difference.

“However, the team showed great character in the second half, we dominated and made sure of our success. All that was missing was the goal to kill the game off, we should have done better with our chances in the second half.

“Five wins in a row is no coincidence, we still have to grow a lot more but we’re getting the right mentality.”

Conte, who succeeded Luciano Spalletti during the close season, won three successive Serie A titles while in charge of Juve.

The former Chelsea and Italy boss will now hope to bring the Scudetto to Inter, who were last crowned champions in 2009-10.

Source – Goal.com

Italian clubs ‘turn blind eye’ to ultras, says author of new book amid racism in Serie A.

Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku was subjected to monkey chants from the crowd during Inter Milan’s win over Cagliari on September 1.

A section of hardcore Inter ‘ultra’ fans, known as ‘Curva Nord’, have insisted the abuse aimed at Lukaku by rival supporters were not meant to be racist.

Tobias Jones, author of a new book titled ‘Ultra’, told Sky Sports News: “In the balance for a football club between calling out the racism of the fans or turning a blind eye, I’m afraid they’re almost always going to turn a blind eye.”

Inter Milan say they maintain their fight against racism “every day” but would not comment on the statement from fans.

Last week, Italian police arrested 12 Juventus ‘ultra’ fan leaders for a series of alleged offences.

The accusations include making illegal demands to the club such as carrying out racist chants during matches if they were not given more tickets than the number allotted.

It is claimed clubs are vulnerable to alleged extortion.

“There’s a law in Italy called objective responsibility,” said Jones. “If there’s racist chanting by the fans, the club gets fined and it will be 10, 20, 30 thousand euros.

Romelu Lukaku was abused by Cagliari fans in a recent match. which was defended by a section of his own Inter Milan fans

“So, the ultras can say ‘unless you give us fifty or a hundred free tickets’, in which they get a mark-up of a lot of money, ‘unless you give us these free tickets, we are going to make these racist noises and you are going to get fined’.

“It is a form of blackmail and that’s one of the reasons they say, and I don’t believe it, ‘we’re not racist, we’re just doing this to put pressure on the club in order to get free tickets’.”

Jones claims discriminatory behaviour from some ultras overshadows their charitable work.

“What’s not seen is all the great stuff,” says Jones. “Every time there’s an earthquake in Italy, every time there’s flooding, every time there’s a medical emergency, the ultras are always on the front line. It’s a fascinating contradictory movement.”

Source – Sky Sport

Fourth-tier Colchester United dumped last season’s Champions League finalists Tottenham Hotspur out of the League Cup 4-3 on penalties after a goalless 90 minutes in the third round on Tuesday.

Photo by Getty Images

Tottenham had named a side that should have been too strong for Colchester with the likes of Dele Alli, Lucas Moura and Eric Dier all in the starting line-up.

There was a place too for highly-rated youngster Troy Parrott, who came the closest to scoring in normal time when he hit the woodwork.

Spurs dominated possession through with 75 per cent of the ball but only managed four shots on target, although that was four more than their opponents.

Heung-Min Son, Christian Eriksen and Erik Lamela were all deployed from the bench as Mauricio Pochettino tried to avoid the lottery of penalties, but it was all in vain as 90 minutes heralded no more than a 0-0 draw.

In the shootout, substitute Eriksen and forward Lucas Moura both missed, ensuring Tom Lapslie’s spot-kick was a triumphant one and triggered a pitch invasion on a night that will live long in Colchester fans’ memories.

Colchester fans swarmed onto the pitch after a famous cup upsetGetty Images

However, they barely had cause to get out of them as teenager Gabriel Martinelli scored his first senior goal after 31 minutes before the Gunners opened up the tie after the break.

Rob Holding, Joe Willock and Reiss Nelson all got on the score-sheet before Martinelli doubled his career tally stoppage time to give the scoreline a one-sided look at 5-0.

Gabriel Martinelli scored twice on his first start for ArsenalGetty Images

The Potters, without a league win this season, had taken the lead through Sam Vokes only to be pegged back before half-time by Nathan Ferguson.

It got worse for Stoke when Nathan Collins saw straight red for a fierce challenge just after the hour mark and when penalties were required to separate the two teams, Vokes was the only man to falter, hitting the bar with the opening effort which proved decisive.

Holders Manchester City powered past second-tier Preston North End 3-0 with England striker Raheem Sterling scoring the opener and setting up another at the Deepdale ground.

At Fratton Park, first-half double from Danny Ings helped Southampton to a 4-0 win at League One Portsmouth in the first south-coast derby in seven years between two of the fiercest rivals in English soccer.

Danny Welbeck ended a 334-day drought without a goal as Watford overcame Swansea of the Championship 2-1 at Vicarage Road, Roberto Pereyra bagging the winner 11 minutes from time.

They will join fellow Premier League outfit Everton in the third round after Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored twice in a 2-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday while Demarai Gray and Youri Tielemans were among the scorers for victorious Leicester, who thrashed Luton Town 4-0.

Source – Eurosport.com

The Argentine’s first start this season was meant to dig the under-fire boss out of a hole, but the skipper was gone almost as quickly as he returned.

Photo by Getty

Barcelona won, but the queasy feeling around the club remains.

They beat Villarreal 2-1 to get back on track in La Liga after their weekend collapse at Granada, but saw captain Lionel Messi go off injured at half-time after starting his first game of the season on Tuesday.

Valverde insisted on the eve of the game that his future was not at stake now more than ever before, that coaches always have something on the line.

The former Athletic Bilbao boss said Barcelona could climb out of crisis as easily as they plunged in, with two victories from their next two games – against Villarreal and on Saturday at Jose Bordalas’s hard-boiled Getafe.

Even if they fulfil the coach’s ask by winning at the Alfonso Coliseum Perez on Saturday, unless they do it in emphatic style the question marks will remain.

This display at Camp Nou was underwhelming and unconvincing – simply undercooked.

For the first time this season Valverde was able to line up with Messi in the side, fresh from Milan, where he was crowned the best player in the world by FIFA on Monday night.

Football’s king and midfielder Frenkie de Jong were also part of the world XI, although the latter was not part of Valverde’s starting line-up, sitting for the first time this season.

De Jong had been the one player to take responsibility after the 2-0 defeat by Granada last weekend that left Barcelona eighth in La Liga with seven points from the first five games.

He was the best on show in Andalusia too, so Valverde’s decision was a curious one – and one he reversed in the second half as Barcelona looked for more control.

The game started with Messi determined to make an instant mark in his first appearance at Camp Nou since May.

The Argentine whipped a dangerous corner in to the near post, where Antoine Griezmann glanced a header in off the crossbar.

Just six minutes into his first start and Messi was already back showing why the world’s coaches, captains, media and fans voted him the best player in the world.

The second was all Arthur’s doing though, with the Brazilian rifling in a long-range strike after 15 minutes to double his personal tally for the season.

Last year the midfielder might have added more goals – any at all, netting precisely none in 44 appearances – and he’s putting that to rights this time around.

The game changed in the space of a few minutes.

Santi Cazorla pulled Villarreal back into the game with a swirling strike from distance that fooled Marc-Andre ter Stegen and made the German look foolish.

Then Messi, who had been treated for what looked like an adductor injury, as opposed to a recurrence of the calf injury that he suffered in pre-season, was taken off at half-time for Ousmane Dembele.

Although the Frenchman created two chances in the first minutes after coming on, spurned by Griezmann and the ineffective Luis Suarez, his return wasn’t a spectacular one.

Barcelona fans watched nervously through the second half as their weak defence just about protected the lead.

Cazorla’s swerving effort meant Barcelona have failed to keep a clean sheet even once this season in La Liga, with the back-line a clear worry.

The only cheer for supporters came in the form of 16-year-old forward Ansu Fati, who replaced Suarez and brought some spark to a nervous yet uninspiring second half.

This wonderkid is a light in the gloom, with Messi’s injury and the performance as a whole showing Barcelona have a long way to go before Valverde can rest easy.

Source – Goal.com

Liverpool are in a legal dispute with their own kit supplier New Balance, amid reports they are about to announce a club-record deal with rivals Nike.

Liverpool’s kit deal with New Balance is due to expire at the end of the season

A Liverpool FC spokesperson told Sky Sports News: “We can confirm that our kit supplier, New Balance, has commenced a legal dispute against the club.

“We will not be making any further comment during these legal proceedings.”

Liverpool’s current six-year £45m-a-season contract with the sportswear manufacturer is due to expire at the end of the season.

The Champions League winners are close to a £70m-a-season agreement with American sportswear giants Nike – which would be the most lucrative in the club’s history.

However, New Balance claim they have a ‘matching clause’ in their contract with Liverpool but have not been given a chance to equal the financial offer from Nike.

As a result, they have filed a dispute at the High Court to try to force Liverpool to continue their sponsorship until the end of this season at least.

Tottenham and Chelsea are among the Premier League sides who have a kit supplier deal with Nike

“New Balance is proud to be the official kit sponsor of Liverpool Football Club,” said a New Balance statement as reported by The Athletic.

“Since 2011, when we entered into a record-breaking sponsorship with the club, we have delivered two of the biggest selling home kits for Liverpool fans and we continue to match the ambition and achievements of the club as it grows from strength to strength.

Source – Sky Sport

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is expecting to hand the French midfielder minutes in a Carabao Cup clash against Rochdale, before then taking on the Gunners.

Photo by Getty

Paul Pogba is poised to make his return from injury for Manchester United, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer saying that the midfielder is “definitely ready for Arsenal”.

The World Cup winner has been sidelined since being forced to withdraw from the France squad during the last international break.

An ankle problem ruled him out of Euro 2020 qualifying action and subsequent Premier League fixtures for United.

Despite questions continuing to be asked of his consistency at club level, the 26-year-old remains a big miss for the Red Devils when he is unavailable.

That point was highlighted again in their most recent outing, as Solskjaer’s side slipped to a 2-0 defeat away at West Ham.

Inspiration is required from somewhere, and Pogba may be the man to provide it.

He is ready to return to the fold after an enforced break and is expected to see game time during a Carabao Cup third-round clash with Rochdale on Wednesday.

With that fixture allowing him to work on his match fitness and sharpness, the intention is that Pogba will be back up to full speed by the time Arsenal pay a visit to Old Trafford next Monday.

Solskjaer told United’s official website when offering an update on Pogba: “He’ll probably get some minutes against Rochdale.

“But we definitely think he’s ready for Arsenal.”

A meeting with Rochdale represents the first instalment of a three-game run for United that will be spread across just eight days.

After taking on Arsenal, the Red Devils are due back in Europa League action away at AZ Alkmaar.

Solskjaer will be delighted to have Pogba back at his disposal after being hit with an unfortunate injury headache of late.

Anthony Martial is another senior French star to have spent time on the treatment table and he will miss out in midweek against Rochdale along with Luke Shaw and Eric Bailly.

Marcus Rashford will also be unavailable after picking up a groin problem during Sunday’s trip to West Ham.

United are, however, hoping that 17-year-old frontman Mason Greenwood will be in a position to provide attacking cover, either from the start or off the bench, after overcoming a bout of tonsillitis.

Source – Goal.com

The Juventus star missed out to an eternal rival as the latest individual prizes were handed out but his nation still considers him to be the greatest.

Photo by Getty Images

Cristiano Ronaldo saw eternal rival Lionel Messi walk away with the FIFA Best award for 2019, but those in Portugal have come out in support of a player they consider to be “the best ever”.

The Juventus forward was the inaugural winner of the prestigious prize first handed out by world football’s governing body in 2016.

He won the award again in 2017 but was second to Luka Modric a year later, with the latest gala in Milan seeing  Barcelona talisman Messi voted by his peers into first place .

Ronaldo’s insatiable desire to occupy a standing at the very top of the global game means that there is likely to be a slight sense of disappointment at being beaten by an Argentine counterpart.

He has, however, shown over the course of a remarkable career that he is always up for a challenge and will never back down when required to prove himself all over again on an annual basis.

The 34-year-old has already re-written the record books on countless occasions, while he can still claim to match Messi when it comes to the five Ballons d’Or that they have both collected.

For many, he is the finest player to have ever played the game, with those in his homeland certainly considering that to be the case.

Ronaldo is unquestionably the best player to have ever represented Portugal, with his stunning exploits helping his country to European Championship glory in 2016 and a Nations League crown in 2019.

Over the course of 160 appearances he has recorded 93 goals and is fast closing in on the all-time mark of international efforts currently held by Iran legend Ali Daei – which stands at 109 .

Chasing down another record will form part of Ronaldo’s immediate future, with an Instagram message posted during the Best ceremony suggesting that he is already over the awards snub .

He said: “Patience and persistence are two characteristics that differentiate the professional from the amateur.

“Everything that is big today has started small. You can’t do everything, but do everything you can to make your dreams come true.

“And keep in mind that after night always comes dawn.”

In the wake of the Best awards, it was revealed that Ronaldo did not pick Messi within his three votes .

The Barcelona captain did find room for the Portuguese star in his selection, but Ronaldo plumped for Frenkie de Jong, Matthijs de Ligt and Kylian Mbappe.

Source – Goal.com

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has urged Italian soccer authorities to hand out stadium bans for supporters guilty of racism after another incident in a Serie A match between Atalanta and Fiorentina on Sunday.

Photo by PA Sport

Play was briefly suspended after Fiore’s Brazilian wing-back Dalbert reportedly told referee Daniele Orsato he had been the target of racist abuse from fans at the Stadio Ennio Tardini in Parma, where Atlanta are based while their ground is revamped.

An announcement was read over the stadium loudspeaker urging supporters to stop and the game, which finished 2-2, then continued, but Infantino believes the problem must be taken more seriously.

“Racism is combatted with education, condemnation and discussion,” said the FIFA chief, who was a guest on a programme aired by Italian state broadcaster Rai.

“You can’t have racism in society or in football. In Italy the situation hasn’t improved and this is serious.

“You need to identify those responsible and throw them out of the stadiums. You need, as in England, the certainty of the penalty. You can’t be afraid to condemn racists, we need to combat them until they stop.”

On Tuesday, Cagliari escaped punishment for alleged racist behaviour by their fans after monkey noises were heard being aimed at Inter Milan’s Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku.

Source – eurosport.com

The Blues were so close to ending Liverpool’s winning run but they were let down by what’s becoming their greatest weakness.

Photo by Getty Images

Chelsea’s defence under Frank Lampard will come in for further scrutiny after a 2-1 defeat by Liverpool was compounded by injuries to two members of the manager’s back-line.

Emerson Palmieri and Andreas Christensen were both forced off in the first half as Liverpool struck twice from set-pieces to exploit Chelsea’s ongoing defensive issues.

Yet, while this is undeniably a great Liverpool side that may go on to win the Premier League title this season, they were still lucky to come away from Stamford Bridge with a win.

After one of the best goals of N’Golo Kante’s career brought Chelsea back into the game, the Blues pressed hard for an equaliser, but Virgil van Dijk and co held firm for Liverpool in a way the hosts’ rearguard was unable to do so in the first half.

Lampard will be disappointed his players were slow to close down Trent Alexander-Arnold’s venomous free kick which opened the scoring on 14 minutes after Mohamed Salah’s backheel bamboozled a sleeping Chelsea wall.

Cesar Azpilicueta bundled in what he thought was an equaliser only for it to be rightly ruled out for offside in the build-up. The referee Michael Oliver and VAR Andre Marriner were booed by the Stamford Bridge crowd but the real danger to the Blues was another free kick won on the edge of their area.

The zonal marking system employed by Lampard for defending corners and free kicks was exposed again as Roberto Firmino was left with a free header to make it 2-0 from Andy Robertson’s delivery.

Chelsea’s pre-season showed warning signs that set-pieces could be an issue and further problems have emerged in the three games since the international break.

Four of the six goals conceded against Wolves, Valencia and now Liverpool have been from set-pieces, with zonal marking at Molineux a week ago giving Nuno Espirito Santo’s side a glimmer of hope despite being 4-0 down. Then Valencia nicked a win at Stamford Bridge in the Champions League with a wonderful set-piece routine for Rodrigo’s goal.

Lampard will hope that the defenders themselves aren’t the issue given Fikayo Tomori’s start to life as a Chelsea centre-back has been particularly positive in the early weeks of the club legend’s managerial reign.

He will have to get back to the training pitch to resolve issues, while he has been right to complain about a lack of concentration from his side last time out.

After Liverpool made it six wins from six games, Chelsea are left trailing the leaders by eight points to suggest the gap between the Blues and the European champions is bigger than ever since Roman Abramovich took over in west London.

The bright spots for Lampard included Kante producing another all-star display against Liverpool to once more demonstrate he is the one truly world-class player in the group.

It was also a spirited second-half display from Lampard’s side in the push for an equaliser as both Mason Mount and substitute Michy Batshuayi had the chance to level, while Tammy Abraham could have added to his seven goals for the season.

Chelsea offered an indication they are on the right path if they can continue in this vein, yet Lampard will need to resolve the glaring weakness when it comes to defending set-pieces. Unfortunately, the injuries suffered will not help and Christensen’s knee problem will be of particular concern.

Source – Goal.com

The striker continues to be everything Zinedine Zidane needs, especially following Wednesday’s Champions League disaster.

Photo by Getty

This was more like it, and it needed to be.

Real Madrid responded to their midweek humiliation in Paris with a much-improved display against Sevilla on Sunday, with head boy Karim Benzema earning them a 1-0 victory which will raise morale in the Spanish capital.

And morale was extremely low, with Wednesday’s 3-0 defeat by Paris-Saint Germain in the Champions League raising questions about coach Zinedine Zidane’s future.

Attention turned back to La Liga and the clash between a shaken Madrid and the team that started the weekend as league leaders, led by Julen Lopetegui, who had a point to prove after Madrid sacked him last season.

Despite the Parc des Princes horror show, Zidane picked the same starting line-up bar the return of captain Sergio Ramos, who had been suspended.

And with the egos of his squad stung, they responded with the sort of defensively diligent display that it had seemed Madrid were completely incapable of delivering. In fact, for the first time since August 2016 Madrid didn’t allow a single shot on target in a league match.

Their win at a spicy Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan sent Madrid joint top of the table with Athletic Club.

The teams battled hard and, even if there weren’t many chances, the game was engaging.

In the second half, the quality dropped as both teams began to look tired. Madrid, because they don’t seem capable of maintaining their intensity, to use Zidane’s favourite word, for a full 90-minute display. Sevilla, because they came home from their Europa League clash with Qarabag, in Baku, early Friday morning.

But Benzema and Dani Carvajal combined for the key moment, with the latter scooping a cross into the box for the former to rise and nod home in the 65th minute.

The French forward has saved Madrid a number of times in 2019 and has been their standout player.

This was his fifth goal of the season from five league games, putting him top of the scoring charts alongside Villarreal’s Gerard Moreno.

It was also Benzema’s ninth headed goal of the calendar year – nobody in Europe’s top five leagues has scored more.

It’s not that he’s a powerful presence or a big target to hit, just that his superb awareness, positioning and knack for being in the right place at the right time give him the proverbial jump on the defence.

Benzema’s headed output has increased hugely over the past few seasons with the forward having scored 35 per cent of his goals with his head in the last three seasons, while it was only 12 per cent in the eight before that.

As Madrid’s most intelligent player on the pitch – Luka Modric aside – it’s no surprise he is using his head.

Sevilla nearly grabbed the equaliser in the final stages, but Javier Hernandez netted from an offside position.

There are still significant worries at Madrid. Eden Hazard and Gareth Bale barely appeared in the game, failing to get involved and, when they did have the ball, they were wasteful.

Hazard missed the best chance of the first half, coming inside from the left after Benzema set him up, but firing straight at Tomas Vaclik.

But, with Benzema in such fine form, a lot of Madrid’s ills can be covered up.

For years he worked to feed Cristiano Ronaldo but now he’s the main man and the likes of Hazard and Bale will have to wrestle that title from him if they can.

Source – Goal.com