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.
Tallon Griekspoor on Friday stunned top seed Alexander Zverev 4-6, 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/4) in the second round at Indian Wells, avenging a devastating loss to the German at Roland Garros last year. Zverev, the world No. 2 who is heading the field of the prestigious ATP Masters event with No. 1 Jannik Sinner serving a three-month drugs ban, is the first Indian Wells men’s top seed to lose his opening match since Andy Murray in 2017. It was a cherished win for Griekspoor, who had lost five straight matches — including four last year — to the German. That included a five-setter
Donovan Mitchell on Wednesday scored 26 points as the Cleveland Cavaliers punched their ticket to the NBA playoffs with a hard-fought 112-107 victory over the Miami Heat. A seesaw battle in Cleveland saw the Heat threaten to end the Cavs’ 11-game unbeaten streak after opening up a seven-point lead late in the fourth quarter, but the Cavs clawed back the deficit in the closing minutes to seal their 12th straight victory and a place in the post-season. The Cavaliers improved to 52-10, maintaining their stranglehold on the Eastern Conference with 20 games of the regular season remaining. Mitchell was one of six Cleveland
Five-time champion Novak Djokovic on Saturday tumbled out of the Indian Wells ATP Masters, falling in his first match to lucky loser Botic van de Zandschulp as two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz advanced. “No excuses for a poor performance,” 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic said after 37 unforced errors in a 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 defeat. “It doesn’t feel great when you play this way on the court,” he said. “But congratulations to my opponent — just a bad day in the office, I guess, for me.” Djokovic is just the latest in Van de Zandschulp’s string of superstar victims. He
Steve Smith yesterday announced his retirement from one-day international (ODI) cricket after captaining Australia to a semi-final exit at the ICC Champions Trophy, bringing down the curtain on a career in the format that included two ICC World Cup wins. The 35-year-old batsman, who was his team’s top scorer with 73 as Australia lost to India by four wickets in Dubai on Tuesday, said he would still be available for selection for T20 internationals and Test matches. “It has been a great ride and I have loved every minute of it,” Smith said in a Cricket Australia statement. “There have been so
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