Mister Eusebio Di Francesco, intervenuto in conferenza stampa in vista del big match col Napoli, ha parlato anche delle sue strategie anti-Lukaku e non.
Defezione dell'ultim'ora per Antonio Conte, Michael Folorunsho va in tribuna al Bluenergy Stadium, dove alle 18 è previsto il fischio.
Inter midfielder never fails from 12 yards. This weekend he did – and now the top of the table is tighter than ever Would it be too dramatic to portray a November missed penalty as a sign to let go of everything we thought we knew about the Serie A title race? Well, yes, OK, probably it would. But seeing Hakan Calhanoglu’s spot-kick carom back off a post in the second-half of Inter’s 1-1 draw with Napoli was at the least a shock to the system. He had converted all his previous 19 attempts since joining the Nerazzurri from Milan in 2021. “It had to happen sooner or later,” said the player. Were the rest of us ready, though, to live in a world shorn of such certainties? As commentator Patrick Kendrick put it: “With Calhanoglu missing, we’re just left with the misery of death and taxes”. Continue reading...
It is too early to talk of a title tilt by the 2023 champions but their mastery of small details and swagger bodes well When Antonio Conte looks this happy, you know it is time for rivals to start worrying. The Napoli manager grinned broadly as he strode about his old stomping ground at San Siro, acclaiming players, clapping backs and dispensing belligerent bear hugs. “This is one of the best groups I have worked with in my career,” he told the broadcaster DAZN. “I’m breathing clean, beautiful air. I’m breathing the passion and the enthusiasm.” His team had just beaten Milan 2-0, moving seven points clear at the top of Serie A after 10 games. A fleeting moment – the teams immediately behind them are yet to play in this midweek round – but still an astonishing turnabout for a Napoli side who finished 41 points behind the champions, Inter, last season. Continue reading...
Coach Sahin under pressure after loss to AugsburgNapoli extend unbeaten run and go five points clear Borussia Dortmund slumped to a 2-1 defeat at Augsburg in the Bundesliga on Saturday and were left with 10 men as they suffered two defeats in five days. Alexis Claude-Maurice struck twice for Augsburg as Dortmund lost again after Tuesday’s 5-2 reverse at Real Madrid, having blown a 2-0 lead in the Champions League trip to Spain. Continue reading...
The summer signing is billed as Napoli’s wildcard, whose versatility could upgrade a modest hand into a winning one Scott McTominay will need to study Italian a while longer before he can understand all the lovely things being written about him in the nation’s newspapers, but if he were to thumb through the sports pages from the past few days he might pick out one familiar word. Journalists scrambling to define the Scotsman have referred to him repeatedly as Antonio Conte’s “Jolly”. These are not remarks on the player’s outlook, though they could be. “My biggest dream as a person is to be happy,” said McTominay in an interview for Napoli’s in-house channels last month. “Happiness is the best thing in life, and that is the only thing I concentrate on: try to be happy, with my family, my friends, my girlfriend … when you have a smile on your face you play better at football as well.” Continue reading...
Juventus are reportedly looking to bring in striker Victor Osimhen following his loan at Galatasaray from Napoli. Transfer Talk has the latest.
Big win against their rivals eased pressure on Paulo Fonseca and suggested Milan could mount a challenge after all The talk before Juventus played Napoli on Saturday was all about which of these two teams would establish themselves as the “anti-Inter”. Thiago Motta’s Bianconeri were the only team yet to concede a goal in Serie A and had started their Champions League campaign with a confident win over PSV. Antonio Conte’s Napoli were second in the table. Here were the two presumed contenders to dethrone Inter as champions. Juventus because they are Juventus, the most successful club in league history, led by an up-and-coming manager who just got Bologna back into the European Cup for the first time in 60 years. Napoli because they are still only 16 months removed from their third Scudetto, and Conte retains his reputation in Italy as a serial winner. Continue reading...
Match at the Etihad Stadium kicks off at 4.30pm (BST)Man City’s bluntness against Inter may give Arteta ideasShare your thoughts with Rob via email You can usually judge the health of a league by its biggest rivalry. Think AC Milan v Napoli in the late 1980s, Man Utd v Arsenal at the turn of the century and Barcelona v Real Madrid when Pep and Jose were in charge. Manchester City v Arsenal isn’t quite in that category, probably never will be, but it would make a worthy Champions League final and that’s a very good starting point for any football-based ding-dong. This is season three of a rivalry that began when Arsenal knocked Liverpool off the perch reserved for City’s biggest challengers. City gave Arsenal a brutal introduction to life at the highest level, belting them home and away in 2022-23, but last season the only City player to score against Arsenal was Cole Palmer in the Community Shield. Continue reading...
Olise scores and assists twice as Bayern run riotJuventus and Napoli play out goalless draw Bayern Munich extended their perfect Bundesliga start as Michael Olise scored two goals and set up two more to give them a 5-0 victory over Werder Bremen in a one-sided contest at the Weserstadion. The Bavarian side, who suffered a shock 1-0 defeat to Bremen when the sides last met in a league clash in January, ran out comfortable winners to move up to 12 points from four matches. Jamal Musial said of Olise: “He is a great player. We understand each other very well, we talk a lot. The more games we play together, the more chemistry we’ll have. He’s got a lot of quality.” Continue reading...
Striker has left Napoli on loan for unexpected destination but door is open for another move in January Victor Osimhen could not wipe the smile off his face. As he stepped off the private jet that had been lined up several hours earlier by Galatasaray in anticipation of pulling off one of the biggest transfer coups made by a Turkish club, it was well past 2am. By the time the Nigeria striker was leading supporters in a rendition of the “Galatasaray cimbom bom part” song on the streets of Istanbul nearly two hours later, most had been waiting for him all night. Those remarkable scenes capped a whirlwind weekend for Osimhen, who had been left out of Napoli’s Serie A squad for this season on Friday and seemed to be in limbo. Although he signed a new contract in December with a salary of about €10m a year and a prohibitive release clause worth a reported €130m, the Italian club had dropped his price to €80m (£67m) plus bonuses and agreed an initial loan with an obligation to buy with Al-Ahli. Continue reading...
Victor Osimhen has secured a move away from Napoli and signed a loan deal to Galatasaray. The Nigerian striker will go on loan to the Turkish club until June 2025, although Napoli extended his contract to June 2027 Continue reading...
Still a work in progress, but the early signs are of a manager making a good impression on a wildy inconsistent team Shortly after seeing Chelsea scrape through a Europa Conference League playoff against the team sitting seventh in the Swiss Super League on Thursday night, a group of senior Stamford Bridge officials arrived in Naples with the ambition of finalising Operation Osimhen. Enzo Maresca, Chelsea’s new head coach, had asked for two positions to be strengthened before the end of the transfer window. He wanted a centre-back and a top No 9. After months of flirting with the idea, Chelsea were willing to throw everything they had at landing the Napoli striker Victor Osimhen. Continue reading...
Today’s fluff is Monstered up to the gills Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone … prevent the hacks from barking with their transfer drone. Depending on how much you’re into this kind of thing: either it’s here, it’s here! … or it’s nearly over, it’s nearly over! The big SLAM of the window in Europe comes at 11pm BST tonight, sports fans. Chelsea’s quiet window had looked like ending with the blockbuster capture of Napoli’s Victor Osimhen … but Al-Ahli have seemingly swooped in with their pesky Saudi riches, throwing up to £135m at the Nigeria striker across a four-year contract. So all eyes on Brentford’s Ivan Toney making the eight-mile move to Stamford Bridge then? Thomas Frank has said this week: “I can say Ivan will not play [Southampton] on Saturday … Ivan is training well and in good spirits.” Yep, must be done then. Chelsea fans will be made up. Continue reading...
