Football: Napoli upset Juve to give Gattuso first trophy as coach

ROME - Napoli stunned Juventus 4-2 on penalties after a 0-0 draw to claim the Coppa Italia on Wednesday and bring their fiery coach Gennaro Gattuso the first major trophy of his managerial career.

Paulo Dybala and Danilo missed Juve's first two efforts in the shootout while Napoli converted all their attempts to win the trophy for the sixth time and end Juve's hopes of securing the treble this season.

It was the first title to be settled in the Italian season which has just restarted after a three-month hiatus because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Although it had been planned for the players to collect their own medals in a "self-service" ceremony, the Napoli players received theirs from the respective club presidents Aurelio De Laurentiis and Andrea Agnelli.

It was a remarkable achievement for 42-year-old Gattuso, who took over Napoli in December with the team in disarray after the players had rebelled against a week-long training camp imposed on them by De Laurentiis.

"Football has given me so much and that is why I have so much passion for it," Gattuso said. "It's something I can't let go of, not even for a second."

"Those who have this job must have respect for it because we're lucky. I want to see people who put passion into it, I want a sense of belonging and respect."

Napoli could have won without penalties but were defied by an outstanding double save from Gianluigi Buffon in stoppage time.

The 42-year-old Juventus goalkeeper blocked Nikola Maksimovic's powerful header and turned Eljif Elmas' effort from the rebound onto the post from point-blank range.

Napoli had the best chances throughout the game while Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo saw little of the ball and had a frustrating evening.

Lorenzo Insigne hit the post with a 30-metre free kick in the first half and saw another effort stopped by Buffon, while Arkadiusz Milik could also have won it for Napoli but sent a shot over the bar.

Juventus, who have drawn both their games 0-0 since the restart, lead Serie A, in which they are chasing a ninth successive title. Both teams are still in the Champions League.

(Reporting by Brian Homewood, Editing by Toby Davis and Ed Osmond)

-reuters-

Ronaldo sets up all three goals as Juve beat Napoli

TURIN, Italy - Cristiano Ronaldo was involved in all three of his team's goals as leaders Juventus came from behind to beat 10-man Napoli 3-1 in a Serie A top-of-the-table clash on Saturday to maintain their perfect start to the season.

Dries Mertens gave Napoli an early lead before Ronaldo provided a pinpoint cross for Mario Mandzukic to head in the equaliser and then set up an easy second for the Croat when his shot hit the post.

Ronaldo's goalbound header also provided the third Juve goal for Leonardo Bonucci after Napoli had left back Mario Rui sent off for a petulant kick at Paulo Dybala.

AS Roma upset the form book with a 3-1 derby win over neighbours Lazio, who had won their last five games in all competitions, while Inter Milan beat Cagliari 2-0 to notch their third league win in a row.

Leaders Juventus, aiming for an eighth title in a row, have 21 points from seven games, six clear of last season's runners-up Napoli. Sassuolo and Inter have 13 points followed by Lazio in fifth place on 12 and Roma in sixth on 11.

"Ronaldo is enjoying himself," said Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri. "He has integrated very well. His precision in the passing moves is exceptional. I think this was his best match of the season."

Piotr Zielinski fired against the post after six minutes as Napoli made a bright start and they were rewarded four minutes later.

Bonucci's risky diagonal ball out of defence was intercepted by Allan who quickly found Jose Callejon and the Spaniard laid the ball off for Mertens to tap in.

Juventus needed a piece of Ronaldo brilliance to get back into the game in the 26th minute. The Portuguese twisted and turned past Elseid Hysaj and then dropped a perfect cross onto the head of Mandzukic who powered a downward effort past David Ospina.

Ospina then got down well to stop a Ronaldo free kick and did even better to block the rebound to prevent Juve getting a quick second.

Four minutes after halftime, Ronaldo collected the ball on the edge of the area, fired a shot against the post and Mandzukic followed up to turn the rebound into the net.

Mario Rui was sent off for a second bookable offence after aiming a kick at Dybala and, although it seemed a fair decision, the Napoli players were enraged by the Argentine's theatrical reaction.

Napoli threatened an equaliser when Callejon got through but his shot was blocked by Wojciech Szczesny and Bonucci wrapped up the game, tapping in Ronaldo's header at the far post following a corner in the 75th minute.

Ronaldo could have had a goal himself but fired a shot into the side-netting after getting clear of the defence.

"We played well for the first 20 minutes, then our opponents took control of the game," said Napoli coach Carlo Ancelotti. "We need to continue improving. We will be competitive right until the end."

Rome overcame their poor start to the season by beating Lazio for the seventh time in their last nine meetings.

Lorenzo Pellegrini back-heeled Roma ahead on the stroke of halftime, shortly after replacing the injured Javier Pastore.

But an awful mistake by Roma defender Federico Fazio allowed Lazio back into the match. The Argentine was dispossessed as he tried to dribble around Ciro Immobile, who ran on to fire the ball wide of Patrick Olsen for his first goal in a Rome derby.

But Roma were back in front within four minutes when Aleksandar Kolarov fired the free kick through a huge hole in the Lazio wall.

Defender Fazio completed the win, and atoned for his earlier mistake, by meeting a free kick with a towering header to score four minutes from time.

Argentine forward Lautaro Gonzalez headed Inter in front after 12 minutes at San Siro, his first goal for the club since his move from Racing Club, and Matteo Politano volleyed the second in the 89th minute.

(Reporting by Brian Homewood, editing by Pritha Sarkar)

source: news.abs-cbn.com

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Napoli, Benfica through as Arsenal pinch top spot

PARIS, France -- Napoli and Benfica clinched places in the Champions League last 16 on Tuesday as nine-man Besiktas capitulated at Dynamo Kiev, while Arsenal snatched first place away from Paris Saint-Germain in Group A.

Jose Callejon and Dries Mertens scored second-half goals to earn Napoli a 2-1 victory over Benfica in Lisbon to send the Italians through to the knockout phase as winners of Group B.

Twice former European champions Benfica pulled a goal back late on through Raul Jimenez and qualified as runners-up.

"We reached our objective, we wanted to win the group and we did it with a splendid performance here in Lisbon," said Callejon.

In the group's other game, Besiktas traveled to Ukraine hopeful of advancing after their rousing three-goal fightback on match day five against Benfica, but the Turkish champions unraveled in a disastrous first half.

Artem Besedin bundled in Dynamo's opener on nine minutes at the Olympic Stadium and Besiktas suffered a critical blow on the half hour with Andreas Beck sent off for a professional foul on Derlis Gonzalez.

Andriy Yarmolenko converted the resulting penalty and the hosts struck twice more before the break through Vitaliy Buyalskiy and Paraguayan Gonzalez to floor the visitors.

Frustrations boiled over as Cameroon striker Vincent Aboubakar was dismissed for a second yellow card on 56 minutes and a miserable evening grew even more humiliating with Serhiy Sydorchuk and Junior Moraes adding their names to the scoresheet.

"We are very, very upset and you can see it from every player’s face in the dressing room. We want to forget this game and want to represent Turkey in the best possible way in the Europa League now," said Besiktas captain Oguzhan Ozyakup.

- Ludogorets foil PSG -

Lucas Perez grabbed his first hat-trick in an Arsenal shirt as Arsene Wenger's side thumped Basel 4-1 in Switzerland to pip French champions PSG to top spot in their group.

Hobbled by an ankle injury, Perez has played sparingly since his arrival from Deportivo la Coruna in August, but the Spaniard was gifted two simple finishes as the Gunners dominated at St. Jakob-Park.

The Spaniard slotted home his third on 47 minutes and Mesut Ozil set up Alex Iwobi to score a fourth before Seydou Doumbia notched a consolation for Basel.

Ludogorets claimed a memorable point and a place in the Europa League with a 2-2 draw at the Parc des Princes where they twice led on a frustrating evening for Unai Emery's hosts.

Virgil Misidjan headed the Bulgarian outfit into an early advantage, but Edinson Cavani's superb acrobatic effort brought PSG level on the hour.

A mistake from Brazilian centre-back Marquinhos allowed Jonathan Cafu to tee up Wanderson to put Ludogorets back on top, with Angel Di Maria's stoppage-time strike not enough to prevent Arsenal climbing above Paris.

"It's a disappointment. We played a good match at Arsenal (in November) and came back in first place. I think the team deserved to win, but that's football," said PSG coach Emery.

Turkey midfielder Arda Turan hit a quickfire second-half hat-trick to propel Barcelona to a 4-0 win at home to Borussia Moenchengladbach in Group C with Lionel Messi also on target for the Catalan giants.

Celtic's Patrick Roberts scored a terrific solo effort against parent club Manchester City in a 1-1 draw at the Etihad Stadium.

Kelechi Iheanacho staked his claim to a longer run in Pep Guardiola's first team -- with Sergio Aguero facing a four-match ban -- as the Nigerian struck a fine equaliser.

Robert Lewandowski's stunning first-half free-kick ended Atletico Madrid's bid for a perfect six group wins from six as Bayern Munich won 1-0 at the Allianz Arena.

Rostov will continue their European adventure in the Europa League after finishing third in Group D following a goalless draw at PSV Eindhoven.

source: n