Atalanta BC got a tough month off to a poor start at Udinese as they could draw only 0-0 in Italian Serie A on Saturday.
It could have been worse for Atalanta had Alexis Sanchez not wasted a glorious opportunity to give Udinese the lead on the stroke of halftime.
The Chile forward headed a cross onto the right post and fired the rebound onto the underside of the crossbar from 6m out and with the goal gaping.
Photo: EPA-EFE
It was a woeful performance from Atalanta, which produced few chances and had goalkeeper Marco Carnesecchi to thank for a wonder save in the first half.
Atalanta remained second, two points behind SSC Napoli.
Title-chasing Napoli looks set to lose another one of their key players who helped them win their last Serie A crown.
Photo: Reuters
Napoli coach Antonio Conte on Saturday confirmed that Khvicha Kvaratskhelia has asked to leave the club in this month’s transfer window, amid reports the 23-year-old’s entourage is already in talks with French Ligue 1’s Paris Saint-Germain.
Goalkeeper Mike Maignan made a rare howler as Sergio Conceicao’s first Serie A match as AC Milan coach ended 1-1 at home against relegation-threatened Cagliari Calcio.
Juventus fell to yet another Serie A draw as they were held at Torino to 1-1 in a derby match.
Photo: AFP
BUNDESLIGA
Reuters,
MOENCHENGLADBACH, Germany
Leaders Bayern Munich should have scored several more goals in their 1-0 German Bundesliga win at Borussia Moenchengladbach on Saturday to kill off the game much earlier, coach Vincent Kompany said.
Bayern had a bagful of chances, including for Thomas Mueller and Leon Goretzka, in the first half with some 70 percent possession, but had to wait until the 68th minute to break the deadlock courtesy of top scorer Harry Kane’s penalty.
PREMIER LEAGUE
AFP and AP,
MANCHESTER and LIVERPOOL, England
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola on Saturday said that club captain Kyle Walker has asked to leave the English champions to explore opportunities abroad.
Walker, 34, has won 15 major trophies, including six English Premier League titles, since joining City in 2017.
“Two days ago, Kyle asked to explore the options to play abroad and end his career,” Guardiola said after Walker did not feature in his side’s 8-0 FA Cup third round win over Salford.
Meanwhile, Everton on Saturday hired David Moyes for a second stint as manager at the club.
Moyes replaces Sean Dyche, who was fired on Thursday with the team just one point above the relegation zone.
The 61-year-old Moyes managed Everton from 2002 to 2013, during which he led the Merseyside club to the 2009 FA Cup final and four European campaigns.
Doping fears prevented former US Open champion Emma Raducanu from treating insect bites on the eve of the Australian Open, she said, with players increasingly wary about ingesting contaminated substances. The British player was speaking in the wake of high-profile doping cases involving Iga Swiatak and Jannik Sinner. “I would say all of us are probably quite sensitive to what we take on board, what we use,” the 22-year-old said, recalling an incident on Friday. “I got really badly bitten by, I don’t know what, like ants, mosquitoes, something. I’m allergic, I guess,” she added. The bites “flared up and swelled up really a
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