Serie A leaders Inter on Friday were held to a 1-1 draw away to Genoa as Marko Arnautovic’s first league goal for the club was canceled out by a header from Radu Dragusin.
Inter are top with 45 points, but the result gave second-placed Juventus, on 40, an opportunity to close the gap. They were to host AS Roma after press time last night.
Genoa were 13th with 20.
Photo: AFP
Inter broke the deadlock after 42 minutes when Austrian Arnautovic found himself in the right place to tap home a rebound off the post following Nicolo Barella’s volley.
He opened his account for the club in Serie A after being sidelined for several matches due to a hamstring injury following his loan move from Bologna in the close season.
However, Genoa equalized in first-half stoppage-time when Dragusin’s powerful header from a corner eluded Yann Sommer, despite the goalkeeper getting both hands on the ball.
Photo: AFP
“We knew the type of game that we were going into. Genoa are in great shape, both physically and mentally, it was a hard-fought match,” Inter manager Simone Inzaghi told DAZN. “The second half probably would have been different without conceding at that moment [in first-half added-time]. We wanted to win, we are not happy with the point, but we must continue and remember that every match holds dangers.”
The game was interrupted for about eight minutes just after the start with the release of several flares resulting in dense smoke that reduced visibility following heavy rainfall.
As the smoke cleared, Genoa showed little respect for injury-hit Inter, who were missing key players such as Lautaro Martinez and Federico Dimarco, and came close to scoring several times.
In Friday’s other late game, SS Lazio recovered from a goal down to beat visiting Frosinone Calcio 3-1 courtesy of Valentin Castellanos, Gustav Isaksen and Patric in a 14-minute spell late in the match.
Earlier, Napoli drew at home with Monza 0-0 and ACF Fiorentina beat Torino 1-0 with a late goal.
Additional reporting by AP
TURKISH SUPER CUP
AP, ANKARA
The Turkish Super Cup final to be played in Saudi Arabia on Friday was canceled after a dispute with Saudi Arabian authorities over players’ jerseys, Turkish media reported.
HaberTurk television and other media said that the Fenerbahce and Galatasaray players wanted to wear T-shirts bearing an image of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, former president and founder of modern Turkey, during a prematch warm-up, but they were not authorized to do so by Saudi Arabian organizers.
The players insisted on the T-shirts because the Super Cup coincides with the centennial anniversary of the proclamation of the Turkish Republic by Ataturk.
Galatasaray and Fenerbahce — the previous season’s Super Lig champions and the Turkish Cup winners respectively, with the winners of those competitions contesting the following season’s Turkish Super Cup — earlier pressed for the game to be played on home soil rather than in Saudi Arabia.
The players from the two Istanbul clubs left Riyadh’s Al-Awwal Park Stadium and were returning home, media reported.
A joint statement by the Turkish Football Federation and the clubs said the final “was postponed to a later date” citing “organizational disruptions.”
The kingdom has moved in recent years to stage international games and tournaments ahead of the FIFA World Cup that it is expected to host in 2034.
Spain and Italy are to stage their corresponding super cup fixtures in Saudi Arabia next month.
Earlier, media reports said that Turkey’s national anthem would not be played, but Turkish officials denied those reports.
Additional reporting by staff reporter
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