Atalanta held Milan to a closely-fought 1-1 draw on Tuesday evening, with Croatian attacking midfielder Mario Pasalic Football Italia’s Man of the Match.

Atalanta 1-1 Milan – Player Ratings

Atalanta: Carnesecchi 6; Kossounou 6, Hien 6.5, Ahanor 5.5 (Djimsiti 6), Zappacosta 6; Ederson 6, De Roon 6 (Bresciani 6); Bernasconi 6.5 (Bellanova 6), Pasalic 7.5 (Musah N/A), Lookman 7, De Ketelaere 6 (Samardzic N/A)

Best Atalanta player: Pasalic – The Croatian playmaker had a ball out there tonight, creating plenty of chances for his side, including the assist for Lookman’s equaliser, and being a constant menace for the Rossoneri defence to deal with. His passing was near-perfect and today the 30-year-old outshone his compatriot Luka Modric.

Lowest Atalanta rating: Ahanor – Fairly poor performance from the teenager tonight, although feels harsh to judge him too much as he is a young player with an important role in this Atalanta side. However, He did not look as solid as his defensive teammates and was eventually substituted off with twenty minutes to play.

Coach: Ivan Juric 7 – Subs had a good impact on the game and he set up his side in such a way to make life very difficult for Allegri’s Milan. The Rossoneri have only lost once so far this season and it could have so nearly been two, with La Dea the more dominant side this evening. Juric needs to find a way to turn these close draws into victories moving forward.

Milan: Maignan 6; Tomori 5.5, Gabbia 6, Pavlovic 6.5; Saelemaekers 5, Fofana 6, Modric 6, Ricci 7, Bartesaghi 6; Leao 5.5 (Nkunku 6), Gimenez 5 (Loftus-Cheek 6.5)

Best Milan player: Ricci – After spending his first months in Milan hardly touching the pitch, with the Rossoneri preferring Modric, Fofana and Rabiot as a midfield three, Ricci is now settling in. He picked up an assist in his last match and a goal against Atalanta today was his first in Rossoneri colours.

Lowest Milan rating: Gimenez – A yellow card and an injury marred an already flat performance from the Mexican forward. Needs to sort himself out at Milan before the Rossoneri sign a replacement.

Coach: Allegri 6 – Another evening of making the right decisions on paper but his squad letting him down. Made just the essential substitutions and seems to be sorely lacking in any sort of back-up plan for when his side are struggling.

Relive all the action as it happened in today’s Serie A matches on our Live Blog.

AC Milan dropped points again, as Atalanta earned their fifth consecutive Serie A stalemate with the first Ademola Lookman goal since his summer drama cancelling out a Samuele Ricci strike.

La Dea were the only unbeaten side in Serie A, but with just two victories, including four consecutive stalemates. Giorgio Scalvini and Mitchel Bakker were still out of action, but they opted for Ademola Lookman and Charles De Ketelaere supported by Mario Pasalic. The Rossoneri were reeling after losing top spot with a 2-2 draw against Pisa, as Ruben Loftus-Cheek returned to the bench, with Christian Pulisic, Adrien Rabiot, Pervis Estupinan and Ardon Jashari injured.

See how it all unfolded on the Liveblog.

Milan took an early lead, as Honest Ahanor cleared a corner to the edge of the area where Samuele Ricci let it bounce and hit the half-volley into the ground, a deflection off Ederson completely wrong-footing Marco Carnesecchi.

Isak Hien nodded a corner just wide, but Atalanta lost captain Marten de Roon to a muscular problem, replaced by ex-Milan midfielder Marco Brescianini.

Ederson tested Mike Maignan from the edge of the box, while Ahanor nodded a Charles De Ketelaere cross wide at the back post, but Ahanor missed a sitter when his first touch was heavy and at full stretch he prodded over the bar from nine yards.

Atalanta did get back on level terms with the first goal Lookman has scored since his summer transfer rebellion. He ran onto the Mario Pasalic through ball and took a touch before smashing the unstoppable left-foot finish into the roof of the net from a tricky angle.

Christopher Nkunku replaced a quiet Rafael Leao for the restart, with Lookman and Bernasconi seeing attempts charged down, while Santiago Gimenez went off with an ankle knock.

Alexis Saelemaekers found himself in an ideal position after combining with Youssouf Fofana, but instead of going for goal, he tried to set up Nkunku and it fell apart.

Odilon Kossounou showed impressive calm to chest a Loftus-Cheek header back to Carnesecchi, anticipating Nkunku from a couple of yards in front of goal.

Bernasconi also threw himself in the path of a Saelemaekers volley after the Luka Modric corner was punched away, then Fofana scuffed a volley wide on the Bartesaghi knockdown at the back post.

Atalanta thought they had taken the lead on 85 minutes when Davide Zappacosta shrugged off a challenge and launched a curler from distance that Maignan flew to fingertip over the bar with one hand. On the resulting corner, Zappacosta also drilled wide of the near post.

Matteo Gabbia made a decisive block on former teammate Yunus Musah at the near post on a Berat Djimsiti assist.

Atalanta 1-1 Milan

Ricci 4 (M), Lookman 36 (A)

28-10-2025 19:45

MatchDay 9

Gewiss Stadium (Stadio Atleti Azzurri d'Italia)

Atalanta

Milan

1 - 1

Player statistic

1st half

		4'		Samuele Ricci
		9'		Santiago Giménez
Ademola Lookman (Assist: Mario Pasalic)		35'

2nd half

		77'		Luka Modric
Marco Brescianini		90+3'
		90+3'		Matteo Gabbia

Atalanta

Milan

Starting lineups

29

Marco Carnesecchi

Goalkeeper

77

Davide Zappacosta

Defender

82'

69

Honest Ahanor

Defender

72'

4

Isak Hien

Defender

47

Lorenzo Bernasconi

Defender

71'

3

Odilon Kossounou

Defender

13

Éderson

Midfielder

8

Mario Pasalic

Midfielder

82'

15

Marten de Roon

Midfielder

20'

11

Ademola Lookman

Attacker

17

Charles De Ketelaere

Attacker

16

Mike Maignan

Goalkeeper

33

Davide Bartesaghi

Defender

23

Fikayo Tomori

Defender

46

Matteo Gabbia

Defender

31

Strahinja Pavlovic

Defender

56

Alexis Saelemaekers

Midfielder

90'

14

Luka Modric

Midfielder

4

Samuele Ricci

Midfielder

19

Youssouf Fofana

Midfielder

10

Rafael Leão

Attacker

46'

7

Santiago Giménez

Attacker

62'

Substitutes

59

Nicola Zalewski

Midfielder

70

Daniel Maldini

Midfielder

31

Francesco Rossi

Goalkeeper

57

Marco Sportiello

Goalkeeper

9

Gianluca Scamacca

Attacker

90

Nikola Krstovic

Attacker

23

Sead Kolasinac

Defender

7

Kamaldeen Sulemana

Midfielder

Relja Obric

Defender

44

Marco Brescianini

Midfielder

20'

16

Raoul Bellanova

Defender

71'

19

Berat Djimsiti

Defender

72'

10

Lazar Samardžić

Midfielder

82'

6

Yunus Musah

Midfielder

82'

1

Pietro Terracciano

Goalkeeper

5

Koni De Winter

Defender

37

Matteo Pittarella

Goalkeeper

27

David Odogu

Defender

18

Christopher Nkunku

Attacker

46'

8

Ruben Loftus-Cheek

Midfielder

62'

24

Zachary Athekame

Defender

90'

Luciano Spalletti is ready to put pen to paper at Juventus, but the decisive element was his acceptance of a contract to June with automatic renewal for Champions League qualification.

As we had explained already, Spalletti was always the first choice for the job after the club decided to pull the plug on Igor Tudor not even three months into the season.

Roberto Mancini had already been on the outskirts from yesterday and was never really a Plan B, while Raffaele Palladino was only kept warm as an alternative in case the negotiations didn’t go well.

Spalletti only ever the first choice for Juventus

The former Italy boss was always the main focus and only an extraordinary change of strategy would see them drift away from that candidacy.

Today was delicate and the meeting with Spalletti laid the groundwork for the agreement, confirming it was never really a two-horse race.

Ultimately, what we suggested yesterday afternoon may well prove to be decisive, because he immediately accepted the proposal of a contract until June, with option for automatic renewal for another season in case of Champions League qualification.

Once that hurdle was out of the way, he was always leading the race and just hurtling towards the signature.

Antonio Conte raged against the ‘completely absurd’ treatment of the Napoli injury crisis after they scraped a 1-0 victory away to Lecce with a saved penalty.

The Partenopei were feeling the pressure at the Stadio Via del Mare after failing to win in their last four competitive away fixtures.

It went from bad to worse when Noa Lang limped off with a knock to the thigh just above his left knee, then Lecce were awarded a penalty for Juan Jesus handball.

Vanja Milinkovic-Savic came to the rescue by saving the Francesco Camarda penalty, then Frank Andre Zambo Anguissa nodded in a David Neres free kick for the 1-0 victory.

Conte taking nothing for granted at Napoli

“These games are never easy, especially after a match like the one with Inter that used up so much energy,” Conte told DAZN Italia.

“We played against a very good team, it is always tough to play here in Lecce. I think we should’ve controlled the final stages better, even if we didn’t run many big risks. Mentality is first and foremost.

“It was a very good first half, then this penalty could’ve changed the course of the game, but our goalkeeper did well and we went on to deserve the victory.”

Check the Football Italia Player Ratings for Lecce 0-1 Napoli

Rasmus Hojlund made his return as a substitute after a few weeks out injured, but it is now confirmed that Kevin De Bruyne will be out for three to four months after a high grade lesion to the thigh.

Scott McTominay was rested today, moving Napoli back to the 4-3-3 formation that had seen them win the Scudetto last season.

“People forget that we are having to make do. People talk about these big reinforcements, now some even try to suggest we are benefiting from the injuries to Lukaku and De Bruyne. It’s completely absurd,” raged Conte.

“All we’ve got in goal now is Milinkovic-Savic, but some over the summer were asking why we had invested so much in a quality goalkeeper.”

Anguissa scored the goal today, but then had a bit of an odd exchange with Conte in the final minutes when urging the coach to ‘calm down’ after a particularly loud scream in his direction.

“I honestly didn’t see it, but in these moments you need guts, not calm. I am very happy for Frank, if he’s constantly switched on then there are few players like him, but he still needs to improve his finishing. We need to score goals from everyone, it doesn’t matter if they are strikers, midfielders or defenders.”

Lang limped off within 60 seconds of the restart, so why was that problem not identified during half-time to avoid wasting a substitution slot?

“Lang had two knocks in the same spot, so I think his muscle hardened. It is not a serious problem. I am glad for him too, having his first start, as we need everyone in this difficult moment. The important thing is that we never lack the right spirit,” concluded Conte.

This means that Napoli will go into the weekend top of the table, potentially alone if Roma drop points at home to Parma tomorrow evening.

Juventus are moving closer towards the appointment of Luciano Spalletti as head coach, with reports from Italy claiming an official announcement and presentation could be made as early as Thursday.

According to Sky Sport, Spalletti has nearly reached an agreement to take over the Bianconeri, shortly after Igor Tudor was sacked yesterday after a poor run of results.

After a strong start to the campaign, the Old Lady have struggled and a winless, scoreless run sped up Tudor’s exit from the club.

Spalletti set to take charge at Juventus

It will be Spalletti’s first club job since 2023, when he left Napoli after two years in charge.

For the following two years, the Italian would lead the Azzurri, taking over the Italian national team after the surprise resignation of Roberto Mancini.

In June, following a 3-0 loss to Norway, Spalletti was sacked by the Azzurri and led his final match in charge against Moldova.

Napoli defeated Lecce 1-0 this evening, in a fine margin that Antonio Conte would have liked to see larger. Whilst Vanja Milinkovic-Savic pulled off a strong save to deny Francesco Camarda from the penalty spot, Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa continues his run of good form with a winning goal and is Football Italia’s Man of the Match.

Lecce 0-1 Napoli – Player Ratings

Lecce: Falcone 6; Veiga 6, Gaspar 6, Gabriel 7, Gallo 6; Coulibaly 6 (Maleh N/A), Ramadani 6, Berisha 6 (Pierret N/A); Pierotti 5.5 (Morente 6), Camarda 5 (Stulic 6), Banda 6.5 (N’Dri 5.5)

Best Lecce player: Gabriel – The Portuguese defender put in a solid shift in defence for Lecce today, constantly causing Napoli’s attack difficulties. Deserved a clean sheet for his performance but the 20-year-old continues to impress.

Lowest Lecce rating: Camarda – The 17-year-old has been a breakthrough star so far this season for Lecce but unfortunately had an evening to forget against an experienced Napoli tonight. The youngster had the opportunity to give his side the lead from the penalty spot but his effort was saved by Partenopei keeper Milinkovic-Savic.

Coach: Di Francesco 6.5 – Set up his team well this evening but was unfortunate not to get a result. If it were not for Milinkovic-Savic’s penalty save, the coach could have come away with at least a point but he should not be too disheartened about his efforts tonight.

Napoli: Milinkovic-Savic 7; Di Lorenzo 6, Buongiorno 6, Juan Jesus 5, Olivera 6 (Spinazzola 6.5); Zambo Anguissa 7.5, Gilmour 6.5, Elmas 5.5 (Gutierrez N/A); Politano 5.5 (McTominay 6), Lucca 5.5 (Hojlund 5.5), Lang 6.5 (Neres 6.5)

Best Napoli player: Anguissa – Although Milinkovic-Savic deserves plaudits for a strong penalty save, Anguissa has once again continued his run of good form with a decisive goal to give his team all three points. Looked confident all evening, despite the absence of McTominay and De Bruyne in the starting lineup.

Lowest Napoli rating: Lucca – The towering target man was once again ineffectual before being substituted around the hour mark. Hojlund’s return from injury marks another setback for the Italian striker.

Coach: Conte 6 – Coped well against a plucky Lecce but can consider himself lucky to come away with all three points.

Relive all the action, as it happened, on our Live Blog.

Napoli scraped a victory away to Lecce thanks to another Andre Frank Zambo Anguissa goal, but also Vanja Milinkovic-Savic saving the Francesco Camarda penalty.

The Partenopei were back on top of the table after the dramatic 3-1 win over Inter, but it came at a cost, as Kevin De Bruyne will be out for several months with a serious thigh strain. Stanislav Lobotka, Alex Meret and Romelu Lukaku were also still on the treatment table, but Rasmus Hojlund and Amir Rrahmani were back on the bench. The 4-3-3 formation returned, with Scott McTominay and Leonardo Spinazzola rested. Lecce missed Riccardo Sottil, Matias Perez, Gaby Jean and Filip Marchwinski after the 3-2 defeat to Udinese.

See how it all unfolded on the Liveblog.

Napoli wore their special edition Halloween kit and Billy Gilmour saw his snapshot deflected wide, but Lorenzo Lucca accidentally charged down a Matteo Politano strike that was on target.

The hosts also threatened with Medon Berisha drilling wide from the edge of the area, while Politano turned over from six yards on the Matias Olivera pull-back.

Wladimiro Falcone made a huge save using his legs at the near post to deny Olivera, who had been sent clear by a smart Gilmour first-touch lay-off.

Francesco Camarda’s chest and half-volley was inches wide on the stroke of half-time, but wouldn’t have counted over handball.

Noa Lang hobbled off with a knock to the thigh just above the left knee moments after the restart, adding to the growing list of Napoli absentees.

There was a double chance to open the scoring when Lucca ran onto a long ball that Falcone rushed out to nod clear, then Politano’s follow-up was charged down with the goalkeeper off his line.

Kialonda Gaspar’s header on a corner seemed to strike the hand of Juan Jesus, which bent back on impact, so the Lecce penalty was awarded following a VAR review. Camarda stepped up, but Vanja Milinkovic-Savic confirmed his status as a specialist by parrying the spot-kick, meaning he has saved five of the last nine Serie A penalties faced.

Hojlund made his comeback from injury, with McTominay and Leonardo Spinazzola strengthening the squad from the bench for the final half-hour.

It paid off, as Napoli took the lead when a David Neres free kick was glanced into the far top corner off the head of Anguissa from six yards.

Elmas blasted wide and Nikola Stulic was too sluggish to make the most of a Danilo Veiga pull-back, while in stoppages Hojlund failed to meet the Neres assist.

Lecce 0-1 Napoli

Anguissa 69 (N)

Saved penalty: Camarda 56 (L)

28-10-2025 17:30

MatchDay 9

Stadio Ettore Giardiniero - Via del Mare

Lecce

Napoli

0 - 1

Player statistic

1st half

26'

Mathías Olivera

2nd half

Francesco Camarda		56'
Ylber Ramadani		62'
		69'		Frank Anguissa (Assist: David Neres)
Konan N’Dri		88'

Match statistic

41

Possession %

59

7

Total shots

14

2

Shots on target

3

3

Shots off target

5

2

Blocked shots

6

3

Corners

5

1

Offsides

0

10

Fouls

14

Lecce

Napoli

Starting lineups

30

Wladimiro Falcone

Goalkeeper

25

Antonino Gallo

Defender

17

Danilo Veiga

Defender

4

Kialonda Gaspar

Defender

44

Tiago Gabriel

Defender

29

Lassana Coulibaly

Midfielder

77'

10

Medon Berisha

Midfielder

77'

20

Ylber Ramadani

Midfielder

22

Francesco Camarda

Attacker

70'

19

Lameck Banda

Attacker

65'

50

Santiago Pierotti

Attacker

46'

32

Vanja Milinković-Savić

Goalkeeper

4

Alessandro Buongiorno

Defender

22

Giovanni Di Lorenzo

Defender

5

Juan Jesus

Defender

17

Mathías Olivera

Defender

61'

99

Frank Anguissa

Midfielder

6

Billy Gilmour

Midfielder

20

Eljif Elmas

Midfielder

85'

27

Lorenzo Lucca

Attacker

61'

21

Matteo Politano

Attacker

61'

70

Noa Lang

Attacker

48'

Substitutes

14

Thórir Jóhann Helgason

Midfielder

32

Jasper Samooja

Goalkeeper

1

Christian Früchtl

Goalkeeper

77

Mohamed Kaba

Midfielder

3

Corrie Ndaba

Defender

21

Christ-Owen Kouassi

Defender

80

Niko Kovač

Midfielder

5

Jamil Siebert

Defender

6

Álex Sala

Midfielder

7

Tete Morente

Attacker

46'

11

Konan N’Dri

Attacker

65'

9

Nikola Stulic

Attacker

70'

93

Youssef Maleh

Midfielder

77'

75

Balthazar Pierret

Midfielder

77'

13

Amir Rrahmani

Defender

14

Nikita Contini

Goalkeeper

26

Antonio Vergara

Midfielder

30

Pasquale Mazzocchi

Defender

69

Giuseppe Ambrosino

Attacker

31

Sam Beukema

Defender

35

Luca Marianucci

Defender

25

Mathias Ferrante

Goalkeeper

7

David Neres

Attacker

48'

37

Leonardo Spinazzola

Defender

61'

8

Scott McTominay

Midfielder

61'

19

Rasmus Højlund

Attacker

61'

3

Miguel Gutiérrez

Defender

85'

Calcio&Finanza reports that Juventus will have to pay almost €30m to cover the salaries of their former coaches Thiago Motta and Igor Tudor, who remain under contract until June 2027.

Juventus are expected to pay almost €30m to cover the wages of sacked coaches Thiago Motta and Tudor, according to Calcio&Finanza.

How much will Motta cost Juventus until 2027?

Tudor was hired in March 2025 to replace Motta and signed a contract through 2027 after leading the club to Champions League qualification last season.

Juventus’ latest balance sheet for the financial year ending June 30, 2025, signals that the club has already set aside €16.3m to cover the salary of Motta and his staff members until June 2027.

How much Tudor’s sacking will cost Juventus

The figures regarding Tudor’s salary are not official, but it is believed that the Croat signed a €3m-a-year contract until 2027, circa €5.5m gross, which brings the spending to €11m plus wages of his staff members.

This means Juventus will have to pay over €27.3m to their ex-coaches, unless they reach an agreement to end their contracts or unless Motta and Tudor find a new club before their deals expire in 2027.

Juventus have now identified Luciano Spalletti as the ideal replacement for Tudor, and according to various sources, the Bianconeri director Damien Comolli will meet the ex-Italy boss today.

Antonio Conte and Gian Piero Gasperini were Juventus’ primary options at the end of the 2024-25 campaign, and while Igor Tudor has already been sacked by the Bianconeri, the Italian coaches are now at the top of the Serie A table.

Juventus are expected to hold talks with Luciano Spalletti today as the Serie A giants seek a replacement for Tudor.

The Croatian tactician was hired in March 2025 to replace Thiago Motta and remained at the helm after leading the team to a Champions League qualification and with the Club World Cup just around the corner.

Tudor signed a contract until 2027 in June, but Juventus had considered different options before that.

Conte chased Conte and Gasperini in the summer

As reported by Gazzetta, it is no secret that Juventus’ top priority for the bench in May was their former coach and midfielder Conte.

The Napoli boss had been contacted by ex-Juventus director Cristiano Giuntoli, but eventually decided to remain at the Stadio Maradona after winning the Scudetto.

According to Gazzetta, Giuntoli had approached Conte even before appointing Tudor in March, working for a possible agreement for the 2025-26 campaign.

The pink paper claims that Giuntoli had also contacted Gasperini, who had no agreement with Roma and was preparing to leave Atalanta.

Gasperini picked Roma over Juventus

However, Napoli convinced Conte to stay, and Giuntoli was fired by Juventus, so when Damien Comolli arrived as the new Juventus General Manager, the club’s strategy partially changed.

There was still contact between Comolli and Gasperini, but the Italian tactician was already in advanced talks with Roma, and Comolli was not entirely convinced about hiring the Grugliasco-born coach.

Giorgio Chiellini had reportedly suggested hiring Gasperini, but the now Roma coach felt Comolli was sceptical about appointing him, so he closed the deal with Roma.

Ironically, while Juventus are now looking for a new coach, Conte and Gasperini share the top spot of the table in Serie A ahead of a mid-week round.

Luciano Spalletti opens up about rumours linking him with the Juventus job, saying that ‘whoever will replace Igor Tudor will be lucky.’

Spalletti is the leading candidate for the Juventus job, as multiple sources in Italy claim that he and Bianconeri director Damien Comolli will sit down today to discuss contract details with him today.

Ironically, Spalletti had already planned a meeting with the media on Tuesday morning to unveil a new advertisement in which he features alongside his former Roma star Francesco Totti.

Spalletti comments on possible Juventus appointment

The ad was released earlier this week, and Spalletti didn’t only talk about his latest sponsorship commitment.

“I feel well, I wait with serenity. I have the ambition to set things right,” the ex-Italy coach told Sky Sport via Gazzetta.

“I can only speak highly of Tudor, a serious and passionate person. Whoever will replace him will be lucky because he’ll find a well-trained team.”

Juventus confirmed Tudor’s sacking on Monday after the team lost three consecutive matches and failed to score in the last four.

Spalletti on the reunion with Totti

Spalletti also spoke about his reunion with Totti, which has made headlines in Italy because of their public dispute during the coach’s second spell at the Stadio Olimpico.

“It feels so good to sit next to Totti,” Spalletti said.

“There were some risky choices, but we spent some marvellous years together, so when Ramazzotti put us back together, I was very happy and he was quite relaxed.”

An 81-year-old man in an electric wheelchair was fatally struck this morning by a car driven by Inter‘s second-choice goalkeeper Josep Martinez, reports in Italy claim.

There’s tragic news from Italy this morning, as according to several sources, including Gazzetta, Inter’s second-choice keeper Josep Martinez was involved in a car accident that killed an 81-year-old man in an electric wheelchair.

Inter goalkeeper Martinez involved in car accident that killed 81-year-old man

It happened at around 9:40 am local time on Via Bergamo in Fenegrò, in the province of Como, near Inter’s training centre Appiano Gentile.

The man was pronounced dead at the scene despite the prompt arrival of an ambulance and an air ambulance.

The Italian Police is carrying out investigations to reconstruct the dynamics of the accident.

Inter cancel Chivu’s press conference

According to Gazzetta, the initial hypothesis is that the elderly man may have suffered a sudden illness and veered into the lane where Martinez was driving.

The Nerazzurri goalkeeper immediately stopped and provided first aid to the man.

Following the tragic news and as a sign of mourning, Inter decided to cancel Cristian Chivu’s press conference, which was scheduled for 14:00 CET today.

Multiple sources in Italy claim that Kevin De Bruyne will undergo surgery in Antwerp tomorrow and will only return to action in February 2026.

Napoli star De Bruyne is set to miss several months of action after suffering a severe lesion to the thigh muscle in a Serie A game against Inter on Saturday.

De Bruyne set to undergo surgery after latest injury

Corriere dello Sport, Gazzetta and Tuttosport report that the Belgium international will be forced to undergo surgery in Antwerp. The operation will be carried out tomorrow, Wednesday, October 29.

According to reports, De Bruyne will miss from three to four months of action, returning on the pitch around February 2026.

According to Corriere dello Sport, the ex-Manchester City star has already landed in Belgium to prepare for the surgery.

De Bruyne suffered the same injury with Manchester City in 2023

De Bruyne sustained an injury to the same muscle in August 2023, which sidelined him for five months. During that period, he missed 28 matches for Manchester City and one for the Belgium national team.

De Bruyne underwent surgery two years ago as well, while his teammate and compatriot Romelu Lukaku, who sustained a similar injury this past August, has opted for conservative therapy.

Juventus sacked Igor Tudor because of poor results and performances in recent games, but the frosty relationship between the Croat and club director Damien Comolli also played a role in the coach’s dismissal.

Juventus announced Tudor’s sacking on Monday and Juventus General Manager Comolli is set to meet Luciano Spalletti today to offer him the job at the Allianz Stadium.

Juventus have been winless since September 13, they’ve lost three games in a row and have not scored in the last four.

Naturally, results and performances in recent weeks led to Tudor’s dismissal, but there’s more behind Juventus’ decision to part ways with the Croatian tactician.

Behind Tudor and Comolli’s frosty relationship

Juventus’ transfer activity surely affected the relationship between Comolli and Tudor, given that the coach’s requests were largely ignored by the Old Lady’s general manager. Juventus didn’t sign a new central midfielder over the summer but signed instead two attacking players, Lois Openda and Edon Zhegrova, on deadline day. Furthermore, Tudor was eager to keep Alberto Costa in the team, especially after some positive performances in the Club World Cup, but Juventus still decided to swap the Portuguese right-back with his compatriot Joao Mario, who has only collected 330 minutes on the pitch across all competitions since moving to Turin.

Director of Performance

The appointment of a new Director of Performance, Darren Burgess, in September, was another decision that the club did not share with the coach. The welcome from Tudor surely wasn’t a warm one, as the Croat said “This gentleman hasn’t yet arrived at the club” when asked about Burgess’ appointment last month. Juventus had welcomed Burgess, stating that the ex-Arsenal and Liverpool staff member would “work closely with Damien Comolli, Giorgio Chiellini, François Modesto, Igor Tudor and across all the technical areas and every age group of the Club to form a high-level team dedicated to promoting excellence in performance, innovation and athlete wellbeing.” Furthermore, as first reported by Tuttosport, in recent weeks, club directors also discussed Tudor’s tactics, suggesting in one-on-one meetings that he should have considered switching to a four-man defence, a step into Tudor’s territory that the coach didn’t particularly appreciate.

Communication

Aside from results, Juventus were also not impressed by Tudor’s communication, including frequent protests towards referees. Tudor’s first complaint came after a 1-1 draw at Hellas Verona, in which the Bianconeri protested for a penalty kick in favour of their opponents and a potential red card for the Gialloblu striker Gift Orban. On that occasion, Tudor labelled the penalty kick decision as “shameful.” Tudor’s communication strategy didn’t change in the following weeks as he kept complaining about referees, and even the fixture list, before a Champions League game against Real Madrid last week, with Giorgio Chiellini, Comolli and François Modesto sitting in front of him in the first row of the press room of the Estadio Bernabeu. Ultimately, on and off-the-field issues led to the coach’s dismissal, and Juventus are now on the verge of starting a new era, with their third coach in seven months.

Santiago Gimenez will partner with Rafael Leao in Milan’s away game at Atalanta this evening, while Ivan Juric will look to Charles De Ketelaere and Ademola Lookman.

It kicks off at 20:45 CET (19:45 GMT) at the New Balance Stadium in Bergamo.

It’s a mid-week Serie A round, and the game will kick off after Lecce-Napoli.

Atalanta are the only unbeaten team in Serie A this season, but have also collected six draws in eight matches.

They host Milan without the injured Giorgio Scalvini, while the Rossoneri have travelled to Bergamo without Adrien Rabiot, Ardon Jashari, Christian Pulisic and Pervis Estupinan.

Multiple sources, including Gazzetta, claim that Atalanta coach Juric will pick Lookman and De Ketelaere in attack, with Mario Pasalic playing as an attacking midfielder.

Massimiliano Allegri is expected to reply with Leao and Gimenez up front. The Mexico international has yet to score a goal in Serie A this season.

Davide Bartesaghi will replace Estupinan on the left wing, and Fikayo Tomori will return to the starting XI after resting against Pisa in the previous round.

Atalanta vs. Milan – where to watch on TV

The game will be broadcast live on TNT Sports 1 in the UK and Ireland, but is also available to stream on DAZN. Fans in the USA can stream it live on Paramount+.

Atalanta vs. Milan – probable line-ups

Atalanta (3-4-2-1): Carnesecchi; Kossounou, Hien, Djimsiti; Zappacosta, De Roon, Ederson, Zalewski; Pasalic; De Ketelaere, Lookman.

Milan (3-5-2): Maignan; Tomori, Gabbia, Pavlovic; Saelemaekers, Fofana, Modric, Ricci, Bartesaghi; Gimenez, Leao.

Lorenzo Lucca is expected to return to the Napoli XI against Lecce today, but Scott McTominay might start on the bench.

It kicks off at 18:30 CET (17:30 GMT) at the Stadio Via del Mare in Lecce.

Napoli see Rasmus Hojlund and Amir Rrahmani return to action, but neither is fit to start, so Antonio Conte is expected to pick Lucca in attack, Sam Beukema and Juan Jesus at centre-back.

Lucca was benched against Inter on Saturday and had received a red card in his latest game as a starter against PSV last week.

Romelu Lukaku, Kevin De Bruyne, Alex Meret and Stanislav Lobotka are injured.

Several sources, including Gazzetta and Corriere dello Sport, report that Scotland international McTominay is expected to rest so Eljif Elmas will join Billy Gilmour and Zambo Anguissa in the middle of the park.

Noa Lang is expected to start for the first time in Serie A this season, completing a three-man attack with Lucca and Matteo Politano.

Milan loanee Francesco Camarda is expected to start for Lecce.

Lecce vs. Napoli – where to watch on TV

The match is available on TNT Sports 1 and DAZN in the UK and Paramount+ in the USA.

Lecce vs. Napoli – probable line-ups

Lecce (4-3-3): Falcone, Veiga, Gaspar, Tiago Gabriel, Gallo; Coulibaly, Ramadani, Maleh; Pierotti, Stulic, Banda.

Napoli (4-3-3): Milinkovic-Savic, Di Lorenzo, Beukema, Juan Jesus, Olivera; Anguissa, Gilmour, Elmas; Politano, Lucca, Lang.

Juventus director Damien Comolli is set to meet with ex-Italy coach Luciano Spalletti today to offer him a contract as a replacement for Igor Tudor.

• Read more – How Juventus could line up under former Italy CT Spalletti

Multiple sources in Italy, including Gazzetta, claim that Juventus will meet with Spalletti today to discuss the contract details and the technical project following Tudor’s dismissal.

Juventus to meet Spalletti today

Football Italia exclusively reported on Monday that Juventus had established contact with Spalletti right after Tudor’s departure.

The Bianconeri have gone eight consecutive games without victories and have not scored a goal in the last four matches.

Spalletti, a Napoli Scudetto winner in 2022-23, has been without a team since June, when he was sacked by the Italian federation.

Juventus to offer Spalletti a contract until June 2026

According to Tuttosport, Spalletti will be offered a contract until the end of the season, with an option to extend in case of Champions League qualification.

Gazzetta claims that Spalletti has rejected offers from Saudi and Turkish clubs and is eager to accept the Juventus job. However, if the two parties fail to reach an agreement, Roberto Mancini and Raffaele Palladino remain possible candidates for the Old Lady.

La Gazzetta dello Sport

Juventus sack Tudor

Spalletti ahead

Comolli meets the ex-CT today. Green light expected. Eight months and renewal in case of Champions League. Palladino and Mancini the alternatives. Brambilla on the bench tomorrow.

Lookman-Leao full speed

De Bruyne has to undergo surgery, Napoli for the sprint

Inter, with three defeats in eight games, the Scudetto is a feat.

Corriere dello Sport

Tudor sacked

Yesterday the dismissal and negotiations with the ex-CT

Juve to Lucio

Spalletti is ready to say yes, today the meeting for the signature.

Buffon: ‘This is the ideal solution.’ If he doesn’t sign, Mancini is the alternative. Fatal defeat against Lazio for Tudor. Brambilla on the bench against Udinese tomorrow.

Napoli want to win for KDB

Allegri: ‘Leao is worth 25 goals.’

Tuttosport

Juve, why Spalletti

Tudor out! Today the meeting with the ex-CT

Comolli has gone all the way for Luciano, already contacted in June: all the reasons. A missed agreement would reopen other options, from Mancini to Palladino. Igor sacked after the last outburst in Rome: he pays for results, communication and dislikes in the dressing room. Tomorrow Brambilla on the bench.

Baroni knows how to change and improve Toro

Leao on fire. Allegri’s push: ‘He can score 20 goals.0

De Bruyne choc, Conte will welcome him back in February

Sky Sport Italia suggests that Juventus could meet face-to-face with Luciano Spalletti to discuss a potential appointment as Bianconeri head coach on Tuesday, and that the Old Lady are planning to offer a short-term contract with an option to renew. 

Juventus are on the lookout for a new head coach to replace Tudor, who was relieved of his duties on Monday. 

The Croatian had gone eight matches without a win in any competition and his team had not scored in any of their last four matches. He becomes the first Serie A head coach to lose their job in 2025-26, lasting for just eight league matches. 

Sky: Spalletti inclined to accept Juventus terms

According to reports from Gianluca Di Marzio and Sky Sport Italia, Juventus could hold face-to-face talks with Spalletti as early as Tuesday. As Football Italia reported on Monday, the former Napoli and Italy head coach is the current frontrunner to replace Tudor. 

According to the latest updates, Juventus are prepared to offer Spalletti a contract until the end of the 2025-26 season with an obligation to renew if the Old Lady qualify for next season’s Champions League. 

As per Gianluca Di Marzio, it remains to be seen whether that automatic contract extension will be for another 12 months, or for another two years. Monday evening’s report indicates that Spalletti is already inclined to accept either way. 

Sky also adds that Spalletti has recently rejected potential opportunities abroad, including Fenerbahce and to some lucrative proposals from Qatar, in order to focus on a return to Serie A. 

Kenan Yildiz has sent his best wishes to Igor Tudor, who was sacked from his position as head coach of Juventus on Monday: ‘All the best for the future’. 

Juventus officially announced the departure of Tudor as head coach on Monday following a run of eight matches without a win across Serie A and the Champions League. The Bianconeri had not won since the 4-3 victory over Inter on September 13, and had not scored in any of Tudor’s last four matches in charge. 

The Croatian is the first head coach to lose his job in Serie A in 2025-26, receiving his marching orders just eight league games into the campaign. 

Juventus players thank Tudor after Juventus sacking

Gleison Bremer was the first of the Juve players to publicly express their gratitude to Tudor following the news of his departure on Monday. “Thank you for everything, gaffer, best of luck for the future,” he wrote in his story on Instagram. 

Yildiz, the most recent of the Juventus players to thank Tudor, wrote the same message as Bremer, but in English: “Thank you for everything, Mister. All the best for the future.” 

Mattia Perin has also sent a message to Tudor on his Instagram story, simply writing: “Thank you, mister.”

Juventus and Italy legend Gianluigi Buffon has expressed his support for his former colleague Luciano Spalletti, who is the current frontrunner to replace Igor Tudor as head coach of the Bianconeri. 

Juventus announced on Monday that Tudor has been relieved from his duties as head coach following a run of eight matches without a win and four games without scoring. The Old Lady have not won in any competition since the 4-3 Derby d’Italia victory over Inter on September 13. 

Several names have already been linked with a move to take over at the Allianz Stadium, including Roberto Mancini and Raffaele Palladino, but Spalletti is the current frontrunner, and is already in direct contact with the club. 

Buffon on Spalletti and Juventus: ‘The best around in terms of experience’

Buffon, speaking at the closing ceremony of the Corriere dello Sport centenary event in Naples on Monday evening, expressed his support for Spalletti becoming the next head coach of his beloved Juventus. 

“For me, Luciano is the right profile for any big club who wants to remain ambitious. You won’t lose many with Luciano,” Buffon said. 

Buffon and Spalletti have worked together previously as part of the Italy national team set-up. Spalletti was CT from the end of the summer in 2023 until the start of the summer in 2025, while Buffon served as delegation chief, a role that he still holds today. 

“It would be a great professional choice,” Buffon said of Juventus’s links with Spalletti. “He’s a football man, he’s a great person and a great coach. 

“Spalletti is the best around in terms of experience, charisma and authority. He’s the right person for ambitious clubs who want to remain ambitious. It’s a shame seeing him not in the dugout.” 

Only two Serie A players have been included on the 26-player shortlist for the 2025 edition of the FIFPRO World XI, as voted for by players across the globe. 

The FIFPRO World XI has been running for 20 years, and acknowledges the 11 most successful players each calendar year. The nominees are voted for by players across the world. 

A 26-player shortlist has been revealed, and that will be whittled down to a final 11, which will be announced on November 3. 

The goalkeeper, three defenders, three midfielders and three attackers with the most votes will be included, and the remaining spot is assigned to the outfield player with the next highest number of votes. 

Which Serie A and Italy players are nominated for 2025 FIFPRO XI

Two Serie A representatives have been included on the 26-player shortlist for 2025, namely Luka Modric of Milan and Kevin De Bruyne of Napoli. 

Italy international Gianluigi Donnarumma has been included among the goalkeepers, and is a strong candidate to be included in the final XI given his victory in the Champions League final with Paris Saint-Germain earlier this year. 

2021 was the last time that either an Italian or a Serie A player was included in the final XI. That came a few months after the EURO 2020 final, which had been delayed by a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Donnarumma was included on that occasion, as was Juventus’s Leonardo Bonucci, Chelsea’s Jorginho, and Cristiano Ronaldo, who was still with Juve for the first half of that year. 

Gianluigi Buffon (2017) is the only other Italian to have been included in the FIFPRO World XI over the last 10 years. He and Matthijs De Ligt (also 2017), Dani Alves (2017, 2016) and Paul Pogba (2015) are the only other Serie A players to have been included in the last 10 years. 

2025 FIFPRO World XI Shortlist

Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG/Manchester City), Alisson Becker (Liverpool), Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid).

Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool/Real Madrid), Pau Cubarsi (Barcelona), Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool), Achraf Hakimi (PSG), Marquinhos (PSG), Nuno Mendes (PSG), William Saliba (Arsenal).

Midfielders: Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City/Napoli), Luka Modric (Real Madrid/Milan), Joao Neves (PSG), Cole Palmer (Chelsea), Pedri (Barcelona), Federico Valverde (Real Madrid), Vitinha (PSG).

Forwards: Ousmane Dembele (PSG), Erling Haaland (Manchester City), Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid), Lionel Messi (Inter Miami), Raphinha (Barcelona), Cristiano Ronaldo (Al-Nassr), Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), Lamine Yamal (Barcelona).

The 26-player shortlist for the 2025 FIFPRO Men's World 11 – as voted by players worldwide.

The team will be revealed on 03.11.2025. pic.twitter.com/bnu1umSCKw

— FIFPRO (@FIFPRO) October 27, 2025

The latest updates suggest that Luciano Spalletti is the current frontrunner to become the new head coach of Juventus following the sacking of Igor Tudor, but how would the former Italy CT line up with the Bianconeri, and which tactics would he look to deploy? 

Juventus confirmed the sacking of head coach Tudor on Monday following a run of eight games without a win across Serie A and the Champions League. The Old Lady had also gone four games without scoring. Their last victory came in a 4-3 win over Inter in the Derby d’Italia on September 13. 

Several coaches have already been linked with a move to the Allianz Stadium, including Raffaele Palladino and Roberto Mancini, but Spalletti is considered the current frontrunner, and has already been in direct talks with the club. 

How Spalletti could line up with Juventus 

Spalletti has deployed a number of different formations across his recent spells in charge of the Italy national team, Napoli and Inter. 

Most recently, Spalletti played with a 3-5-1-1 during his final matches in charge of the Italy national team, given that he had plenty of midfielders but hardly any options to choose from at centre-forward or on the wings. He had also used a 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 in the build-up to and during EURO 2024. 

With Napoli, a 4-3-3 built around centre-forward Victor Osimhen and left winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia was the norm during Spalletti’s Scudetto-winning season in 2022-23. 

With Inter, a 4-2-3-1 was Spalletti’s usual go-to, and, given the options currently available at Juventus, it would make sense if he deployed that same system in Turin. 

Under Tudor, Juventus had often lined up with a back three, but following the injury to Gleison Bremer, the Bianconeri have been left with just four centre-back options to select from, which does not leave them with much cover, or possibilities to rotate. 

Given that the current Juventus squad is not blessed with an abundance of central midfield options, it would make sense to see Manuel Locatelli and Khephren Thuram keep their places in a double-pivot. 

There would then be several options to deploy in the no.10 role, including posterboy Kenan Yildiz, summer signing Jonathan David and the out-of-favour Teun Koopmeiners, all of whom offer different qualities. 

Possible Juventus XI under Spalletti 

(4-2-3-1): Di Gregorio; Joao Mario, Kalulu, Bremer, Cambiaso; Locatelli, Thuram; Conceicao, David, Yildiz; Vlahvoic. 

A group of Juventus ultras have expressed their support for recently-sacked head coach Igor Tudor, just a few hours after his departure was officially confirmed by the club: ‘One of us’. 

Juventus announced on Monday that they had parted company with head coach Tudor, who had gone eight games without a win in all competitions and four games without a goal, ending with a 1-0 defeat away against Lazio on Sunday evening. 

Football Italia understands that the Bianconeri have already been in direct contact with former Italy national team head coach Luciano Spalletti, who is considered the first-choice candidate to replace Tudor at the Allianz Stadium. 

Juventus banner shows support for Tudor: ‘One of us’ 

Just a few hours after Tudor’s sacking was officially announced, Juventus ultras from the Curva Sud erected a banner outside the Allianz Stadium, expressing their support for the recently-departed Tudor. 

“Tudor one of us, the fish stinks from the head,” the banner outside the Juventus stadium read. 

Striscione comparso fuori dall’#AllianzStadium. #Juventus #Tudor pic.twitter.com/0IRlxJEbQ0

— Ale Cibien (@_cibi99_) October 27, 2025

Tudor was given a run of 24 competitive matches in charge of Juventus, including his stint as interim head coach at the end of the 2024-25 season. He recorded an average of 1.58 points per game over that period. 

He is the third Bianconeri head coach to depart in 18 months, following the dismissals of Thiago Motta and Massimiliano Allegri in March 2025 and May 2024 respectively. 

Luciano Spalletti is the name at the top of Juventus’s shortlist of potential replacements for Igor Tudor, who was dismissed from his role as head coach on Monday, and Football Italia can reveal that there has now been direct contact between the Bianconeri and the former Italy national team head coach. 

Juventus parted company with Tudor on Monday morning following a run of eight games without a win in any competition and a run of four matches without scoring a goal. The Croatian’s final match in charge ended in a 1-0 defeat away against Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico on Sunday evening. 

Juventus in direct contact with Spalletti

The latest news is that there has now been direct contact between Spalletti and representatives from Juventus. An intermediary is involved and the club approve of the decision to move forwards in negotiations with Spalletti. 

Spalletti has given his full availability to taking over at Juve, and is seeking an 18-month contract. He would, however, be willing to accept a deal until the end of the 2025-26 season with an option to extend for a further year. 

Other coaches who have been linked with the job, namely Raffaele Palladino and Roberto Mancini, remain alternative options for the Old Lady for now. 

Juventus are hoping to close a deal with Spalletti, but they still need to reach an agreement.

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Ivan Juric says Atalanta must raise their level in every department as they prepare for a crucial clash with Milan, while also expressing sympathy for Igor Tudor after the Croatian coach was sacked by Juventus.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Juric opened by reacting to events in Turin. “I feel sorry for Tudor because he was a Juventus man,” he said, with quotes via TuttoMercatoWeb.

“But this is our job. When you have a period where you play well but don’t win, you must improve in every area.”

Atalanta coach Juric: ‘Everything is fine with Carnesecchi’

The coach also addressed his recent public friction with goalkeeper Marco Carnesecchi, insisting the issue is closed. “Everything is absolutely fine,” Juric stressed.

“The words were said in the heat of the moment. I’m very satisfied with his performances.”

Juric confirmed that Marten de Roon’s selection in defence was a deliberate tactical choice and not a stop-gap. “It’s not a surprise,” he said. “He does that role well.”

He also discussed squad fitness, noting that Sead Kolašinac is not yet ready to start, while “Scamacca needs calm, but I’d like to get him playing soon.”

Juric on tough schedule ahead of Milan clash

Despite a run of draws and missed opportunities, Juric remains positive. “We’ve created a lot, but we haven’t turned it into goals. The team is alive. Lookman is fully involved and only missing the finish,” he explained.

Kossounou, meanwhile, is expected to start: “I’m pleased with his progress and I think he will play from the beginning.”

Juric acknowledged the challenge of facing Milan, especially with a demanding schedule. “Playing every 2-3 days is difficult. We analyse things day by day. To contain Milan, we need rhythm and compactness.”

Atalanta have not won in Serie A since September 21, and Tuesday night offers a crucial opportunity to restart their campaign.

Multiple sources claim that Luciano Spalletti and Raffaele Palladino are the leading candidates to replace Igor Tudor, who was sacked by Juventus this morning.

Spalletti and Palladino are the frontrunners for the Juventus job, according to various sources, including Fabrizio Romano and Matteo Moretto.

Palladino and Spalletti linked with Juventus job

Spalletti was sacked by the Italy national team in June, while Palladino left Fiorentina by mutual consent at the end of the 2024-25 campaign.

Juventus confirmed Tudor’s sacking with an official statement on Monday morning after the team had lost three consecutive matches and failed to score in the last four.

Juventus have interim coach for Udinese game

Juventus also confirmed that Massimiliano Brambilla, the NextGen coach, will lead the team in the next two days and be in charge when the Old Lady host Udinese in the next Serie A game on Tuesday.

Tudor has won 10 of his 24 matches as Juventus coach. He was appointed in March 2025 to replace Thiago Motta.

Both coaches remain under contract at the Allianz Stadium until June 2027.

Napoli have confirmed the worst fears, as Kevin De Bruyne has been diagnosed with a severe lesion to the thigh muscle and is expected to be out for several months.

The midfielder pulled up clutching the back of his right thigh after successfully converting a penalty during the 3-1 victory over Inter on Saturday evening.

That result allowed them to go top of the table, alongside Roma, but it came at a heavy cost.

Napoli confirm serious De Bruyne injury

De Bruyne immediately seemed to be distraught when holding his leg and Napoli medical staff confirmed in a statement today that he had been diagnosed with a ‘high grade lesion to the femoral bicep in the right thigh.’

There was no official word on the time it will take to recover from this injury, but it is not dissimilar to the one sustained by Romelu Lukaku during a pre-season friendly in August.

That setback forced the striker to be out for circa four months, and it is entirely possible there will be a similar timeframe for his fellow Belgium international.

De Bruyne has a history of muscular problems, as a similar issue saw him ruled out for three months at Manchester City.

Juventus confirm that Igor Tudor has been sacked and that NextGen coach Massimo Brambilla will lead the team in the next Serie A match against Udinese.

Juventus have officially sacked the coach Tudor after three consecutive defeats.

The Bianconeri have confirmed their decision with an official statement published on Monday morning.

The Serie A giants also said that NextGen coach Brambilla will lead the team in the next two days, ahead of a Serie A match against Udinese at the Allianz Stadium.

Juventus winless in the last eight games

Juventus have lost three games in a row and have not scored in the last four matches.

They are without a victory since September 13, when they beat Inter 4-3 at the Allianz Stadium.

Tudor replaced Thiago Motta in March 2025 and won 10 of his 24 matches in charge of the Bianconeri.

The Croatian tactician remains under contract until June 2027, just like his predecessor.

Juventus have collected 12 points in eight Serie A matches and sit 8th in the Serie A table.

Juventus sack Tudor: the official statement

Juventus have already informed Igor Tudor that he’ll be sacked, but the coach’s destiny has been written since the start of October.

Juventus have decided to sack their coach Tudor, and the club directors have already informed the Croatian tactician. An official statement in the coming hours will formally put an end to Tudor’s reign, which began in March 2025 and ended with three consecutive losses against Como, Real Madrid and Lazio.

Tudor’s situation was already clear

The situation at Juventus has been clear since October 6, when I reported that, without tactical clarity, the coach would pay a high price.

This is exactly what happened today, as Juventus have not even waited for the next Serie A match against Udinese on Wednesday.

Tudor doesn’t pay just for lack of results

Juventus’ poor results and the lack of trust in new summer signgins have made the difference in determining the coach’s fate.

Tudor took charge of 24 Juventus matches across all competitions, grabbing 10 wins, eight draws and six losses.

La Gazzetta dello Sport reports that Juventus have sacked their coach, Igor Tudor, with an official statement expected later today.

• Official statement: Juventus have sacked Tudor

Tudor is no longer the Juventus coach, and the Croatian tactician has already been informed about the club’s decision, according to Gazzetta.

Juventus sack Tudor

The pink paper claims that Juventus will confirm Tudor’s sacking with an official statement later today.

According to the report, Juventus NextGen boss Massimo Brambilla will likely lead the team as an interim coach in a Serie A game against Udinese in just two days.

Reports in Italy on Monday morning suggested Juventus would wait until the next match to sack Tudor, but the situation has evolved since.

Tudor’s poor results at Juventus

Juventus have lost their last three games and have not scored in their last four outings.

Furthermore, they have gone eight consecutive matches without winning.

Fabrizio Romano confirms that Juventus have already decided to sack Tudor and will now make the formal steps forward to relieve him from his duties.

Tudor was appointed in March 2025 to replace Thiago Motta. Both Motta and Tudor are under contract with Juventus until 2027.

Christian Pulisic is expected to return to action before the international break in November, but Milan director Giorgio Furlani is reportedly in talks with the United States Soccer Federation, hoping that Mauricio Pochettino will not include the star winger in the USMNT squad.

Milan hope Pulisic will not be called up to the USMNT squad in November.

When will Pulisic return from injury?

The American winger sustained a hamstring injury during a friendly match against Australia earlier in October, irritating his club.

Pulisic has not featured for Milan since, but according to Gazzetta, his recovery is going ahead smoothly.

The American star will miss tomorrow’s game against Atalanta and has little chance to make it for the Roma match next Sunday, but Milan hope he’ll return to action against Parma on November 8, right before the next international break.

If Pulisic is eligible for that match, then he’ll automatically become available for selection for USMNT, but Milan want to avoid another long trip and more games for the ex-Chelsea star.

Milan talks with US Soccer

Therefore, according to the report (via Milannews) CEO Furlani has already initiated talks with the US Soccer, hoping that Pulisic will be allowed to remain in Milanello during the November break to fully get back in shape.

The USMNT will meet Paraguay and Uruguay in friendly encounters next month, while Milan will face city rivals Inter on November 23, in the first game after the November break.

La Gazzetta dello Sport reports that Inter are ‘still irritated’ by Antonio Conte’s claims after Napoli’s 3-1 win at the Stadio Maradona on Saturday.

Tension erupted in Naples over the weekend, both during and after a Serie A match between the Partenopei and Inter.

As reported by Gazzetta, the Nerazzurri are not bothered by the on-pitch argument between Lautaro Martinez and Conte, but are rather annoyed by what happened after the final whistle.

During his post-match interviews, Conte criticised Inter’s decision to send their president, Beppe Marotta, to talk to the media to complain about a penalty kick given to the Partenopei.

What Conte said about Inter

“A team has to evaluate and realise why they lost, doing this, they just create alibis for the players and coach. I would not have allowed it. Now Marotta is President, but it’s not right that he has to come here and make these statements,” Conte said.

“I say with all due respect for the director, leave these things to the people who actually participated in the match, because it is diminishing the role of the coach too.”

Inter also found ‘inappropriate and serious’, according to Gazzetta, that Conte said Inter have been “The best team” in Serie A and “could have won more in the last four years.”

Inter irritated by Conte

Gazzetta notes that Conte behaved differently during his time at Inter, as he publicly requested the directors’ intervention after some disappointing results or debatable referee decisions.

Conte won the 2020-21 Serie A title at Inter, but his relationship with club directors deteriorated at the end of the campaign as the Italian tactician pushed to leave, knowing that the club would need to sell Romelu Lukaku and Achraf Hakimi over the summer for financial reasons.

Inter and Conte eventually parted ways by mutual agreement, seeing the Italian tactician get a €7m net severance pay.

Alessandro Del Piero and Beppe Bergomi got into an argument about Inter on Sunday as the Juventus legend insisted that the Nerazzurri have been ‘the best team in Serie A in the last four years.’

Juventus and Inter legends Del Piero and Bergomi showed diverging opinions on Cristian Chivu’s side on Sunday evening as Sky Sport Italia analysed the latest Serie A weekend, in which the Nerazzurri suffered a 3-1 loss at Napoli.

Inter had complained about a penalty kick that gave Napoli the lead in the first half, but Del Piero and Bergomi did not focus on referee controversies.

Del Piero: Inter the best team in Serie A

“Inter have been the best team in Serie A in the last four years. Others who won instead of them were better, but Inter are the best team,” Del Piero said.

Bergomi, however, didn’t agree: “No, why do they never win games against direct rivals?”

Del Piero replied: “For other reasons, but if you look at the Inter team, it’s undoubtedly better than Napoli, Juventus, Milan and Roma.”

The argument continued with Bergomi, who hit back: “No, Ale. I’ve been saying this for four years.”

Bergomi hits back at Del Piero over Inter claims

The Nerazzurri legend continued: “Remember that those who shout more are not necessarily right…You can raise your voice all the time, and respect what I’m saying, too. Especially because I’ve been saying this for four years, and the results are there. But when they lose, then the others are better. So, who is better? The winners or the losers?”

The Italian World Cup winners were unable to find a common ground.

“I respect it, but what I said is the same, with different words. The better one is the one that wins, the best one is another,” argued Del Piero.

“Inter were able to do certain things and reach certain results, winning titles, cups and reaching Champions League Finals,” concluded Bergomi.

“Even beating clubs like Bayern Munich and Barcelona, who are better than Inter.”

The Nerazzurri have lost three of their opening eight Serie A matches this season and are three points below the leading pair Napoli and Roma.

Sources in Italy claim that Wednesday’s Serie A game against Udinese may end Igor Tudor’s spell at Juventus, regardless of the result, as the Bianconeri have gone eight consecutive games without a win.

Juventus’ 1-0 loss against Lazio on Sunday marked their third consecutive defeat across all competitions, extending the Old Lady’s winless streak to eight games.

The last time Tudor’s men collected all three points was on September 13 against Inter and the Croatian tactician’s job is inevitably under scrutiny.

Will Juventus sack Tudor now?

A new Serie A round is just around the corner, as Week 9 will be played mid-week. Juventus will host Udinese at the Allianz Stadium on Wednesday and according to reports, that could be Tudor’s last game in charge of the Bianconeri.

According to Corriere dello Sport, Tudor might be sacked even if Juventus win, and Gazzetta confirms that the Croat is expected to be given time until the next match.

Possible Tudor replacements revealed

The pink paper reports on Monday (page 6) that not all Juventus directors are convinced to sack Tudor with immediate effect; therefore, the Croat is expected to sit on the Juventus bench in the next game in just two days.

As for the possible replacements, Italian media mention the same candidates named just a few days ago: Luciano Spalletti, Roberto Mancini, Raffaele Palladino and even Thiago Motta, who was sacked in March 2025, but remains under contract with the club until 2027.

• Update: It escalated quickly at the Allianz Stadium, as according to various sources, Juventus have decided to sack Tudor today.

• Juventus sack Tudor – Read the official statement here

La Gazzetta dello Sport

Lazio put Tudor in trouble: now he risks

Juve to the ground

Basic-goal: it’s the third consecutive defeat. The coach: ‘I don’t leave.’ But the club makes assessments

Toro is here

Maripan great final, Granata comeback.

Inter against Conte

Club irritated. Mkhitaryan out for at least one month

Dybala reaches the top

Roma with Napoli. Gasp: ‘Scudetto? If we grow…’

Corriere dello Sport

Top spot and first, decisive, Dybala goal

Roma, double Joya

They won 1-0 at Sassuolo’s home and caught Napoli with 18 points. Fourth consecutive victory away: +8 in the table compared to 2024. Gasperini: ‘Paulo is extraordinary in every role.’

Tudor at the end

Juve in crisis. Third consecutive loss (1-0). Tudor’s future under scrutiny

Lazio sink the Croat

On Wednesday against Udinese, a win might not be enough for the coach. ‘Everyone is responsible. My future? I’m not concerned.’ Decisive Basic, Isaksen close to the 2-0.

Electric Chivu and Chivu’s cure

After Marotta’s protests for the soft penalty to the irritability of a team struggling to cope with difficulties.

De Bruyne risks a long stop

Milan, Gimenez is an issue

Tuttosport

It’s no longer Juve

Basic scores after nine minutes (incredible David assist), sending the Bianconeri into a tilt. Confused reaction and can only complain about a penalty denied to Conceiçao. Eight games without victories. The coach: ‘My future? I don’t care about it at all.’

Maripam-Paleari, ‘Toro happiness’

The super goal from the captain under the Curva completes the comeback at minute 90 after the early Thorsby goal and Sabelli’s own goal, then miraculous saves in the stoppages. Baroni: ‘I scolded my players at halftime.’

Roma, Joya for the top spot

Dybala knocks Sassuolo down

Lashed out by Gasp, he responded like a champion. Napoli reached. The coach: ‘Extraordinary Paulo.’

Napoli-Inter: Rocchi stops the coach, the assistant and VAR referee.

Viola, penalty comeback, but Bologna are furious

Maurizio Sarri admits he was ‘surprised’ by the level of performance from Toma Basic and Gustav Isaksen against Juventus, but Lazio have been on the right track for a while.

The Aquile were in dire need of a boost and received it with Basic firing in after Danilo Cataldi gratefully received the poor Jonathan David back pass.

Both sides were angry about the refereeing of Andrea Colombo, as Weston McKennie was very fortunate to avoid a second yellow card, while VAR did not intervene when Mario Gila appeared to stamp on Francisco Conciecao’s foot inside the penalty area.

Nuno Tavares, Matteo Cancellieri, Taty Castellanos, Nicolò Rovella, Samuel Gigot and Fisayo Dele-Bashiru were out of action, so it was a remarkable victory in the circumstances.

Sarri had already seen Lazio improvement

“We suffered, but not really that much today, so we played with sacrifice, but also quality. I am happy for the players and for our fans,” Sarri told DAZN Italia.

Basic had been cut from the Lazio squad list at the start of the season and put on the transfer market, but was welcomed back only due to the injury crisis, and quickly became a key figure in their midfield.

“He had rather lost his way and was left off the squad list, but we needed him and he did really well to step up,” noted Sarri.

“I think he has really grown in terms of character and is giving us a big hand at the moment. We all thank him for that.”

Another player who had been out for a while was Isaksen, who spent much of the summer locked away with glandular fever for fear of being contagious to his teammates.

This was his first start of the season and he was named Football Italia’s Man of the Match in the Player Ratings.

“You could tell in training that he was improving his fitness levels, but frankly not to this degree. His performance today was a surprise for us too,” confessed Sarri.

Lazio are now unbeaten in four, having defeated Genoa and Juventus, interrupted by stalemates against Torino and Atalanta.

They are just one point behind Juventus in the Serie A standings now and have a midweek round with Pisa coming up.

“Missing an average of seven players per game, we’ve put together eight points in four matches, so the team has been doing well for a month, not just tonight,” insisted the coach.

He was asked how the meeting had gone with President Claudio Lotito and director of sport Angelo Maria Fabiani this week.

“I have no problems with the President or the director of sport. If something was written otherwise, then that is fake news. It was a perfectly normal meeting.”

Igor Tudor was critical of Andrea Cambiaso and Jonathan David after Juventus suffered a third straight defeat to Lazio, but insisted he ‘doesn’t care about my future.’

Jonathan David made his first start alongside Dusan Vlahovic today, but it was his poor header back that sparked the Lazio goal, handing it straight to Danilo Cataldi for Toma Basic to fire in from outside the area.

Tudor evidently wasn’t happy, as within 10 minutes he had Filip Kostic warming up and was shouting at Cambiaso, who was eventually replaced at half-time.

“Kostic was warming up because I saw Cambiaso was not doing well, but in general the team had the right attitude from the start, apart from Johnny’s error and that goal,” Tudor told DAZN Italia.

“It is a bad moment, a difficult moment, we need to stay united and all work together. There is disappointment, because I think we prepared it the right way, but we are always missing something. We get to the penalty area and then don’t put the ball in the net.

“We also keep telling ourselves don’t make mistakes, but there is always a mistake, and we lose games. We feel terrible, but we have to stick together.”

Check the Football Italia Player Ratings for Lazio 1-0 Juventus

Tudor identifies Juventus problem in attack

Their biggest problem would seem to be clear, as this was Juve’s fourth consecutive match without scoring a goal, something they hadn’t seen since March 1991 under legendary flop Gigi Maifredi.

“We tried with two strikers from the start, then four attacking players, we tried everything, but are certainly missing something upfront,” confessed Tudor.

The Bianconeri are now without a victory in eight competitive games, having drawn five in a row, followed by three consecutive defeats to Como, Real Madrid and Lazio, their longest negative streak since May 2009.

“We are all responsible. We must try to do better and stay united, we have another game in a couple of days, I think a victory will get us on the right track. It’s a problem if we need four strikers to score and 10 midfielders when defending. It is a problem if someone always makes a mistake.

“As I said, there’s no need to make a drama out of it, we play again soon and need to stay focused.”

Tudor had tried to change things today with Vlahovic and David together, plus Francisco Conceicao out wide, then added Kenan Yildiz at half-time too.

“It was a decision because Kenan needed rest. Johnny and Dusan have goals in their blood, but we put the crosses in and in the final third someone has to put it in the net, otherwise nothing happens and you get punished for every tiny error at the back.”

Cambiaso swapped places with Weston McKennie after 25 minutes, putting the USMNT player in the attacking wing-back role.

“I saw Andrea was struggling with Isaksen and when attacking we wanted him to cover the whole wing, but I didn’t like the way Andrea was interpreting the role. McKennie can cover the wing and Andrea can be a mezz’ala, so I swapped them.”

Juventus have repeatedly said they are backing Tudor, but how long can the coach realistically continue with such poor results, especially as they seem to be deteriorating rather than improving?

“People keep asking me if I feel safe or worried, but I don’t think about myself. I don’t care about my future, what I care about is doing what I can, being aware of all the problems and trying to improve things. My future is of zero interest.”

Lazio beat Juventus 1-0 at the Stadio Olimpico this evening and Gustav Isaksen is Football Italia’s Man of the Match.

Lazio 1-0 Juventus – Isaksen MOTM in huge win for Biancocelesti

Lazio: Provedel 6; Lazzari 6 (Pellegrini 6), Gila 6, Romagnoli 6.5, Marusic 5.5; Guendouzi 6, Cataldi 6.5, Basic 7 (Vecino 5.5); Isaksen 7.5 (Pedro N/A), Dia 5.5, Zaccagni 6

Best Lazio player: Isaksen – After an inconsistent start to the campaign, the Dane really came to life today and was a constant menace for the Juventus defence to reckon with. He was fouled a number of times, testament to his agility and dribbling down the flank.

Lowest Lazio Rating: Dia – Makes Lazio miss Castellanos more but fortunately his side were still able to win the three points despite another tame and biteless performance.

Coach: Sarri 7 – Set up well against a strong Juventus and did just enough to secure the three points. His side are showing more signs of settling back into his tactical demands and the coach will be delighted with a huge victory against a top club.

Juventus: Perin 6; Kalulu 6, Gatti 5.5 (Joao Mario N/A), Lloyd Kelly 5.5,;Cambiaso 6 (Yildiz 6); Conceicao 6.5, Koopmeiners 6 (Thuram 6), Locatelli 6.5, McKennie 5.5 (Openda N/A); Vlahovic 5.5, David 5

Best Juventus player: Conceicao – Despite not being able to get his team a point, the Portuguese winger was effective in his duties this evening. Potentially should have been awarded a penalty after a foul from Mario Gila in the box and was fairly lucid in an otherwise tame performance from the Bianconeri.

Lowest Juventus rating: David – Involved in a goal tonight, but not in the way he would’ve liked. At fault for Lazio’s opener, the Canadian struggled to redeem himself and was eventually hooked just after the hour mark. Life has not started well for the former Lille man in Turin.

Coach: Tudor 5 – Showing the signs of a coach under immense pressure, Tudor took risks today and they failed to pay off. His front two of Vlahovic and David continue to struggle to develop any sort of chemistry together and his decision to bring on Kenan Yildiz at half-time was too little too late.

Juventus fell to a third consecutive defeat in all competition, as Toma Basic made the most of Jonathan David’s error for a Lazio victory, but both sides were furious with controversial refereeing.

The Bianconeri were without a win in seven competitive games, fresh from back-to-back defeats to Como and Real Madrid. Kenan Yildiz was struggling with a knee issue, so was rested with Gleison Bremer, Juan Cabal, Arek Milik and Carlo Pinsoglio injured, but Jonathan David formed a new partnership with Dusan Vlahovic and Mattia Perin took the gloves. Maurizio Sarri had to do without Nuno Tavares, Matteo Cancellieri, Taty Castellanos, Nicolò Rovella, Samuel Gigot and Fisayo Dele-Bashiru, so Gustav Isaksen got his first start of the season after recovering from glandular fever.

See how it all unfolded on the Liveblog.

Isaksen squirmed between three to pull back at the by-line, forcing Federico Gatti into a panicked clearance from five yards, and the deadlock was broken soon after.

David got his back-pass header completely wrong, giving it straight to Danilo Cataldi, and Toma Basic saw his strike from outside the area deflected off Gatti to totally wrong-foot Perin.

Andrea Cambiaso’s cushioned volley from a Francisco Conceicao cross hit the side-netting at the back post, but Juve almost paid for another howler.

It was Manuel Locatelli this time who laid it off for Matteo Guendouzi on the edge of the box, forcing a Gatti block in front of goal, then Lloyd Kelly charging down the Isaksen follow-up.

David almost made up for his earlier error when running onto an inspired Teun Koopmeiners pass, but Ivan Provedel rushed off his line to parry the dinked finish.

Francisco Conceicao also blasted over from a promising position, then whipped in a cross that Vlahovic scuffed from 12 yards.

Kenan Yildiz replaced Cambiaso for the restart in a very attacking Juve formation, but Vlahovic’s blushes were spared by the offside flag for Kelly after firing onto the crossbar from 12 yards on his assist.

Locatelli’s strike was smothered by Provedel and Weston McKennie was fortunate not to receive a second yellow card in the space of three minutes, as referee Andrea Colombo didn’t even give a foul for his barge on Guendouzi.

There was even more controversy on the hour mark when Mario Gila appeared to tread on Conceicao’s foot, but the referee waved play on and VAR did not intervene for a penalty either.

Boulaye Dia tested Perin at the base of the near post after squirming between two, while Vlahovic nodded McKennie’s cross wide and Kenan Yildiz at full stretch couldn’t get control of the Pierre Kalulu ball over the top.

Provedel flew to palm away the Khephren Thuram header on a corner, but Isaksen sprinted from midfield, cut inside and bent a left-foot finish just past the far post.

Pedro blasted wide with his first touch on a Zaccagni pull-back and in stoppages Gila threw himself in the path of a Locatelli scorcher from the edge of the box.

Lazio 1-0 Juventus

Basic 9 (L)

26-10-2025 19:45

MatchDay 8

Stadio Olimpico

Lazio

Juventus

1 - 0

Player statistic

1st half

Toma Basic (Assist: Danilo Cataldi)		9'
		30'		Teun Koopmeiners
Manuel Lazzari		33'

2nd half

		52'		Manuel Locatelli
		54'		Weston McKennie
		64'		Lloyd Kelly
Mattéo Guendouzi		90+1'

Match statistic

40

Possession %

60

13

Total shots

14

3

Shots on target

5

6

Shots off target

5

4

Blocked shots

4

2

Corners

5

0

Offsides

2

11

Fouls

18

Lazio

Juventus

Starting lineups

94

Ivan Provedel

Goalkeeper

77

Adam Marusic

Defender

13

Alessio Romagnoli

Defender

29

Manuel Lazzari

Defender

55'

34

Mario Gila

Defender

32

Danilo Cataldi

Midfielder

8

Mattéo Guendouzi

Midfielder

26

Toma Basic

Midfielder

68'

19

Boulaye Dia

Attacker

82'

18

Gustav Isaksen

Attacker

83'

10

Mattia Zaccagni

Attacker

1

Mattia Perin

Goalkeeper

27

Andrea Cambiaso

Defender

46'

4

Federico Gatti

Defender

86'

6

Lloyd Kelly

Defender

15

Pierre Kalulu

Defender

5

Manuel Locatelli

Midfielder

8

Teun Koopmeiners

Midfielder

66'

22

Weston McKennie

Midfielder

78'

9

Dusan Vlahovic

Attacker

7

Francisco Conceição

Attacker

30

Jonathan David

Attacker

66'

Substitutes

4

Patric

Defender

23

Elseid Hysaj

Defender

55

Alessio Furlanetto

Goalkeeper

21

Reda Belahyane

Midfielder

35

Christos Mandas

Goalkeeper

25

Oliver Provstgaard

Defender

3

Luca Pellegrini

Defender

55'

5

Matías Vecino

Midfielder

68'

14

Tijjani Noslin

Attacker

82'

9

Pedro

Attacker

83'

24

Daniele Rugani

Defender

21

Fabio Miretti

Midfielder

16

Michele Di Gregorio

Goalkeeper

11

Edon Zhegrova

Attacker

17

Vasilije Adžić

Midfielder

43

Matteo Fuscaldo

Goalkeeper

44

Pedro Felipe

Defender

10

Kenan Yıldız

Attacker

46'

18

Filip Kostic

Midfielder

66'

19

Khéphren Thuram

Midfielder

66'

20

Loïs Openda

Attacker

78'

25

João Mário

Defender

86'

Juventus technical director Francois Modesto insists they ‘have a lot of faith’ in coach Igor Tudor, and are confident Lois Openda and Jonathan David will flourish eventually.

The trip to Lazio kicks off at the Stadio Olimpico at 19.45 GMT.

You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens from today’s Serie A games on the Liveblog.

The pressure is growing on the Old Lady after a dire run of nine competitive matches without a victory, including back to back defeats to Como and Real Madrid.

“Igor is our coach, we are very happy with him, have a lot of faith in his work, and want to focus on getting the win this evening,” Modesto told DAZN Italia.

New Juventus faces struggling to make their mark

David and Openda have struggled to make any kind of impact since their transfers to Juventus, so how long will it take for them to flourish in this new league?

“It is a very difficult league in Italy, there are some very well-organised coaches and teams, which makes it tough for those who come here from other divisions. If we look to the past, we’ll see many great champions who struggled at the beginning in Serie A,” warned Modesto.

“The positive thing is that they have settled well into the group, and of course they have always scored lots of goals in their careers, so we think it’s just a matter of time. We hope that they will start scoring from tonight.”

Dusan Vlahovic starts tonight and is still taking a strong role at Juventus, despite the fact he has refused to sign a new contract and will be a free agent at the end of the season.

“There are absolutely no issues. Dusan is a great professional, a leader of this team, he is helping David and Openda off the field too, and we are very happy,” added Modesto.

“We have leaders in this squad, like Bremer who unfortunately is injured, Gatti and Kenan Yildiz, so we have no lack of leaders.”

Teun Koopmeiners was a big investment at over €50m from Atalanta last summer, but never quite lived up to those expectations, and made comments on playing in his preferred role.

“Koopmeiners works hard, he had difficulties like many who first come to Juve, but he is improving, the coach has put him in a few different positions, and we hope he can show what he has always done with Atalanta and in some games at Juventus,” concluded the director.

Fiorentina completed the comeback from 2-0 down to hold Bologna 2-2 in stoppages with Albert Gudmundsson and Moise Kean penalties, after Emil Holm was sent off.

Both teams were fresh from UEFA victories on Thursday, but while the Viola had a 3-0 win away to Rapid Vienna, they were still without a single success in Serie A. Moise Kean and Robin Gosens returned after being rested, with Tariq Lamptey and Christian Kouame long-term absentees. The Rossoblu lost Jens Odgaard to a knock during the 2-1 win at Steaua Bucharest, joining Ciro Immobile on the treatment table. Coach Vincenzo Italiano missed the trip back to the Stadio Franchi, as he was still undergoing treatment for pneumonia.

See how it all unfolded on the Liveblog.

Kean drilled inches wide when clear on goal in the opening minutes, but had been caught offside to spare his blushes, while David De Gea fingertipped a looping Santiago Castro strike out from under the crossbar.

Bologna had penalty appeals rejected for a possible Dodo handball, as the footage did not clearly show contact, but they did take the lead.

A corner was not cleared properly and the Pablo Mari header floated into the path of Santiago Castro, who performed a spectacular volley into the far top corner from 12 yards. It was his first Serie A goal outside the Dall’Ara since January.

Fiorentina should’ve equalised moments later when Rolando Mandragora flicked on a corner to the back post, but Luca Ranieri shinned it over from point-blank range.

Nicolò Cambiaghi curled wide and Lukasz Skorupski palmed away a long-range Mandragora free kick.

There was chaos straight after the restart, as the referee awarded a Fiorentina penalty for handball, but it was Skorupski who got his hand to it rather than Jhon Lucumi, and Kean handled too during the two charged down attempts, so it was revoked following a VAR review.

Instead, Bologna doubled their lead when Emil Holm got down the right and pulled across the face of goal, with Cambiaghi getting there first to toe-poke in from six yards.

Kean stung Skorupski’s gloves after a run from midfield, but again the Rossoblu were more clinical and pounced when De Gea parried the Riccardo Orsolini free header at the back post, but could do nothing on the Thijs Dallinga follow-up. However, this goal was disallowed for Orsolini’s offside position.

Nonetheless, many Fiorentina fans started leaving the stadium in protest at their current Serie A form and chanting insults towards the club and squad.

The Viola finally did get their penalty, as after a Juan Miranda goal-line clearance on Edin Dzeko, Lewis Ferguson charged down the Dodo cross with his arm. Albert Gudmundsson rolled a precise snooker shot beyond Skorupski’s fingertips into the near bottom corner for his first Serie A goal of the season.

This suddenly changed the game and after Federico Bernardeschi had penalty appeals rejected for a coming together with Sabiri, Emil Holm received his second yellow card for bringing down Fortini.

The tension also got to Jonathan Rowe, who was substituted to bring on a defender and was booked after his exit for kicking the ball into the stands.

Kean’s acrobatic scissor-kick volley on a Dodo cross was charged down by Bernardeschi’s arms in front of his face, but considered to be in an unnatural position following a VAR review. Kean insisted on stepping up this time and sent Skorupski the wrong way to equalise in stoppages.

A scuffle broke out between Dzeko and Lucumi, then Fiorentina thought they had to win it with the last kick of the game when Skorupski only palmed a Roberto Piccoli header into the path of Dodo, but the Brazilian prodded the rebound onto the side-netting.

Fiorentina 2-2 Bologna

Castro 25 (B), Cambiaghi 52 (B), Gudmundsson pen 74 (F), Kean pen 94 (F)

Sent off: Holm 83 (B)

26-10-2025 17:00

MatchDay 8

Artemio Franchi Stadium

Fiorentina

Bologna

2 - 2

Player statistic

1st half

		25'		Santiago Castro
Robin Gosens		36'
		39'		Remo Freuler

2nd half

		52'		Nicolò Cambiaghi (Assist: Emil Holm)
Albert Gudmundsson		58'
		71'		Emil Holm
Albert Gudmundsson		73'
		83'		Emil Holm
Moise Kean		90+4'
Edin Dzeko		90+6'
		90+6'		Jhon Lucumí

Match statistic

51

Possession %

49

19

Total shots

6

7

Shots on target

3

7

Shots off target

2

5

Blocked shots

1

5

Corners

6

5

Offsides

3

13

Fouls

20

Fiorentina

Bologna

Starting lineups

43

David de Gea

Goalkeeper

2

Dodô

Defender

6

Luca Ranieri

Defender

85'

5

Marin Pongracic

Defender

18

Pablo Marí

Defender

14

Hans Nicolussi Caviglia

Midfielder

64'

44

Nicolò Fagioli

Midfielder

54'

21

Robin Gosens

Midfielder

53'

8

Rolando Mandragora

Midfielder

54'

10

Albert Gudmundsson

Attacker

20

Moise Kean

Attacker

1

Lukasz Skorupski

Goalkeeper

2

Emil Holm

Defender

26

Jhon Lucumí

Defender

33

Juan Miranda

Defender

14

Torbjørn Heggem

Defender

80

Giovanni Fabbian

Midfielder

77'

19

Lewis Ferguson

Midfielder

8

Remo Freuler

Midfielder

28

Nicolò Cambiaghi

Attacker

64'

7

Riccardo Orsolini

Attacker

77'

9

Santiago Castro

Attacker

64'

Substitutes

26

Mattia Viti

Defender

65

Fabiano Parisi

Defender

22

Jacopo Fazzini

Midfielder

1

Luca Lezzerini

Goalkeeper

7

Simon Sohm

Midfielder

30

Tommaso Martinelli

Goalkeeper

15

Pietro Comuzzo

Defender

24

Amir Richardson

Midfielder

60

Eddy Kouadio

Defender

29

Niccolò Fortini

Midfielder

53'

9

Edin Dzeko

Attacker

54'

27

Cher Ndour

Midfielder

54'

11

Abdelhamid Sabiri

Attacker

64'

91

Roberto Piccoli

Attacker

85'

22

Charalampos Lykogiannis

Defender

29

Lorenzo De Silvestri

Defender

20

Nadir Zortea

Defender

13

Federico Ravaglia

Goalkeeper

6

Nikola Moro

Midfielder

41

Martin Vitik

Defender

Ibrahim Sulemana

Midfielder

30

Benja Domínguez

Attacker

25

Massimo Pessina

Goalkeeper

24

Thijs Dallinga

Attacker

64'

4

Tommaso Pobega

Midfielder

77'

10

Federico Bernardeschi

Attacker

77'

16

Nicolò Casale

Defender

86'

11

Jonathan Rowe

Midfielder

Gian Piero Gasperini reveals why the Paulo Dybala and Bryan Cristante tactical experiments go way back, as Roma beat Sassuolo and turn to their next ‘absolute priority.’

The use of Dybala as a False 9 has failed to provide results so far, but it paid off eventually, as La Joya scored the only goal in a 1-0 victory away to Sassuolo this afternoon.

Wesley and Zeki Celik also came close, while Lorenzo Pellegrini hit the upright just moments after coming off the bench, but it proved enough for all three points and the leadership alongside Napoli.

“I am very satisfied with our position, but also with today’s game, as it was not easy against a Sassuolo side that is doing well. After two defeats to Inter and Viktoria Plzen that left us with regrets, there was a good reaction,” Gasperini told DAZN Italia.

Midfielder Cristante tended to push into a more advanced role, and that was decisive for the goal before Dybala turned in the rebound, but Gasperini noted this is hardly new.

“I never doubted that Dybala was a striker. I might’ve had doubts on others. He can play as a centre-forward, a support striker, just not really wide. Players have characteristics and a coach must try to make the most of those strengths.

“I have to say Mario Pasalic scored lots of goals in that role over the years with me and Atalanta, but even if it was eight years ago, Cristante had been doing it first! He hasn’t forgotten, he is now more mature and experienced, so is giving the team a big hand.”

Gasperini still experimenting with Roma attack

Artem Dovbyk came off the bench and was instructed to not drift into the middle too much, so how is the Ukrainian developing under Gasperini’s very different style?

“We needed to keep the forwards a little wider for this match and allow spaces for the midfielders to push through the centre. Dovbyk came on well, his fitness levels are certainly better now,” noted the coach.

“I work with everyone and try to improve them, I’m attempting to find solutions in attack, because that has been the least prolific area of the team. Despite that, we have a good position in the table.

“It requires experiments during the matches, as Dybala was out for a while, this was the first time Bailey managed to start, so we are getting there.”

This means Roma are top of the Serie A table after eight rounds, which hadn’t happened since the 2013-14 campaign, albeit sharing the seat with Napoli.

Their next fixture is the midweek round against Parma on Sunday at 17.30 GMT, hoping to end their run of home losses.

“It is absolutely a priority to win at home. It’s a pity for our fans, who were not accustomed to seeing so many defeats. With an always sold out stadium and passionate crowd behind us, we want to give them something to celebrate,” added Gasperini.

“Some performances were unlucky, but others like on Thursday we really should’ve won. We have to be wary, as evidently some of our characteristics see us hit our heads against a brick wall at home and then concede on the counter, so we need to be more efficient.”

Cagliari completed a remarkable comeback from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 in stoppages, as Hellas Verona are still without a victory this season.

Hellas were still looking for their first win of the season after four draws and three defeats, missing Daniel Oyegoke, Maotasem Al-Musrati and Tomas Suslov. The Sardinians lost Yerry Mina and Alessandro Deiola, joining Andrea Belotti, Boris Radunovic and Alessandro Di Pardo on the treatment table, but Zito Luvumbo returned after one point from three rounds.

See how it all unfolded on the Liveblog.

Gennaro Borrelli shook off an early clash of heads with Unai Nunez to surge onto a long Matteo Prati ball and fire just over the bar for Verona.

Lorenzo Montipò got down for a sensational fingertip save to push the Gianluca Gaetano daisy-cutter inches past the far post.

Unai Nunez went off with a shoulder injury for Hellas, while Borrelli had penalty appeals waved away for a risky Roberto Gagliardini tackle.

Instead, Gagliardini put Verona in front with his glancing header on a Giovane free kick that looped up and dropped into the far bottom corner. It was the ex-Inter midfielder’s first Serie A goal for two years.

Verona thought they had to equalise on 34 minutes until being denied by an extraordinary double Elia Caprile save, first to push the Suat Serdar strike onto the crossbar, then parry the Gift Orban follow-up from point-blank range too.

Caprile made another incredible save when Giovane was at full stretch to volley a low cross, sticking up a hand to push it away from point-blank range.

However, Verona still doubled their advantage with a classic counter-attack. Belghali started it from inside his own half down the right, sending Giovane forward to roll across for the simple Orban tap-in from nine yards.

Valentini’s glancing header on a Giovane free kick also tested Caprile, but Cagliari got back into it when Riyad Idrissi sprung the offside trap down the left on an inspired Adam Obert pass and surprised Montipò at the near top corner with a powerful finish.

It sparked a comeback from the Sardinians, who got back on level terms in stoppages thanks to a fantastic solo effort from Mattia Felici. The substitute completed a give and go with Leonardo Pavoletti to break down the left, squirmed past two tackles and beat Montipò with an angled drive.

Verona 2-2 Cagliari

Gagliardini 23 (V), Orban 59 (V), Idrissi 77 (C), Felici 92 (C)

26-10-2025 14:00

MatchDay 8

Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi

Verona

Cagliari

2 - 2

Player statistic

1st half

Roberto Gagliardini (Assist: Giovane)		23'
Jean-Daniel Akpa Akpro		41'

2nd half

Victor Nelsson		53'
Roberto Gagliardini		54'
Gift Orban (Assist: Giovane)		59'
		65'		Adam Obert
		66'		Leonardo Pavoletti
		77'		Riyad Idrissi (Assist: Adam Obert)
		89'		Luca Mazzitelli
		90+4'		Gennaro Borrelli
		90+2'		Mattia Felici (Assist: Leonardo Pavoletti)

Match statistic

37

Possession %

63

10

Total shots

7

6

Shots on target

3

1

Shots off target

2

3

Blocked shots

2

3

Corners

2

1

Offsides

3

16

Fouls

12

Verona

Cagliari

Starting lineups

1

Lorenzo Montipò

Goalkeeper

12

Domagoj Bradaric

Defender

Nicolás Valentini

Defender

7

Rafik Belghali

Defender

70'

5

Unai Núñez

Defender

16'

15

Victor Nelsson

Defender

11

Jean-Daniel Akpa Akpro

Midfielder

46'

63

Roberto Gagliardini

Midfielder

8

Suat Serdar

Midfielder

16

Gift Orban

Attacker

78'

17

Giovane

Attacker

78'

1

Elia Caprile

Goalkeeper

33

Adam Obert

Defender

28

Gabriele Zappa

Defender

2

Marco Palestra

Defender

78'

3

Riyad Idrissi

Defender

32

Zé Pedro

Defender

10

Gianluca Gaetano

Midfielder

63'

27

Joseph Liteta

Midfielder

46'

16

Matteo Prati

Midfielder

86'

90

Michael Folorunsho

Midfielder

62'

29

Gennaro Borrelli

Attacker

Substitutes

34

Simone Perilli

Goalkeeper

36

Cheikh Niasse

Attacker

23

Enzo Ebosse

Defender

94

Giacomo Toniolo

Goalkeeper

3

Martin Frese

Defender

72

Junior Ajayi

Attacker

25

Daniel Mosquera

Attacker

19

Tobias Slotsager

Defender

4

Yellu Santiago

Midfielder

37

Armel Bella-Kotchap

Defender

16'

24

Antoine Bernede

Midfielder

46'

70

Fallou Cham

Defender

70'

21

Abdou Harroui

Midfielder

78'

9

Amin Sarr

Attacker

78'

6

Sebastiano Luperto

Defender

20

Marko Rog

Midfielder

21

Nicolò Cavuoti

Midfielder

94

Sebastiano Esposito

Attacker

24

Giuseppe Ciocci

Goalkeeper

9

Semih Kılıçsoy

Attacker

Juan Rodríguez

Defender

34

Vincenzo Sarno

Goalkeeper

8

Michel Adopo

Midfielder

46'

30

Leonardo Pavoletti

Attacker

62'

77

Zito Luvumbo

Attacker

63'

17

Mattia Felici

Attacker

78'

4

Luca Mazzitelli

Midfielder

86'

Paulo Dybala’s first Serie A goal of the season proved enough to beat Sassuolo and send Roma to the top of the table alongside Napoli.

The Giallorossi had the opportunity to go joint top of the table, but had also lost three of their last four games, including Thursday’s 2-1 to Viktoria Plzen in the Europa League. Angelino was the only absentee, but Matias Soulé was rested, with Paulo Dybala used as a False 9 and Leon Bailey getting his first start. The Neroverdi had seven points from three rounds and brought Alieu Fadera into the trident attack, with ex-Roma man Nemanja Matic in midfield. Tarik Muharemovic, Yeferson Paz, Daniel Boloca and Edoardo Pieragnolo missed out.

See how it all unfolded on the Liveblog.

It was an aggressive start from the hosts, as after a strong Aliou Fadera run from midfield, Kristian Thorstvedt got the header all wrong from seven yards. Mile Svilar then flew to palm away a deflected Fadera strike, but it was Roma who broke the deadlock.

Bryan Cristante surged forward on the Dybala lay-off and saw his effort parried by Arijanet Muric, but only into the path of La Joya to finish it off on the rebound. It was his first Serie A goal of the season.

Manu Koné charged down a powerful Sebastian Walukiewicz strike, and from the resulting corner Thorstvedt nodded wide when he should’ve left it for Filippo Romagna behind him.

Neil El Aynaoui’s effort was straight at Muric, who had to rush off his line to smother at Cristante’s feet after an inspired Dybala pass.

Bailey had his boot torn apart by a Josh Doig foul just outside the area, so had to finish the half with it wrapped in duct tape, while Dybala’s free kick hit the side-netting.

Sassuolo lost Romagna to injury, while Mario Hermoso replaced the disappointing Kostas Tsimikas and within 60 seconds had been booked for a raised elbow on Doig inches outside the area.

Zeki Celik stung the goalkeeper’s gloves at the near post on a Dybala lay-off, but Sassuolo saw Domenico Berardi forced off after a bizarre head injury when he crossed paths with Cristante and fell very awkwardly.

Lorenzo Pellegrini came on and within 120 seconds had almost doubled Roma’s lead, as his delicate dink beat the goalkeeper only to bounce off the upright on Artem Dovbyk’s assist.

Wesley could’ve rolled across for Dovbyk, but instead tested Muric himself at the near post, while the Brazilian stood up a cross for Zeki Celik’s header over the bar.

It was a strong ending to the game for Wesley, who also flashed a great right-foot finish across the face of goal to skim the back post.

The result remained open though, as Gianluca Mancini threw himself in the way of a Walid Cheddira angled drive at the near post in stoppages.

Pellegrini also threatened again with a right-foot curler from outside the box that Muric pushed round the far post with one glove.

Sassuolo 0-1 Roma

Dybala 16 (R)

26-10-2025 14:00

MatchDay 8

Mapei Stadium - Città del Tricolore

Sassuolo

Roma

0 - 1

Player statistic

1st half

		16'		Paulo Dybala
		24'		Gianluca Mancini
Kristian Thorstvedt		34'
Josh Doig		40'

2nd half

		47'		Mario Hermoso
Cristian Volpato		77'

Match statistic

41

Possession %

59

11

Total shots

15

1

Shots on target

8

7

Shots off target

6

3

Blocked shots

1

6

Corners

6

1

Offsides

1

18

Fouls

16

Sassuolo

Roma

Starting lineups

49

Arijanet Muric

Goalkeeper

19

Filippo Romagna

Defender

39'

21

Jay Idzes

Defender

3

Josh Doig

Defender

6

Sebastian Walukiewicz

Defender

20

Alieu Fadera

Midfielder

81'

90

Ismaël Koné

Midfielder

81'

42

Kristian Thorstvedt

Midfielder

60'

18

Nemanja Matic

Midfielder

99

Andrea Pinamonti

Attacker

10

Domenico Berardi

Attacker

60'

99

Mile Svilar

Goalkeeper

5

Evan Ndicka

Defender

23

Gianluca Mancini

Defender

12

Konstantinos Tsimikas

Defender

46'

43

Wesley

Defender

87'

19

Zeki Celik

Defender

4

Bryan Cristante

Midfielder

66'

17

Manu Koné

Midfielder

8

Neil El Aynaoui

Midfielder

31

Leon Bailey

Attacker

50'

21

Paulo Dybala

Attacker

66'

Substitutes

16

Gioele Zacchi

Goalkeeper

17

Yeferson Paz

Defender

25

Woyo Coulibaly

Defender

13

Stefano Turati

Goalkeeper

24

Luca Moro

Attacker

44

Edoardo Iannoni

Midfielder

77

Nicholas Pierini

Attacker

26

Cas Odenthal

Defender

35

Luca Lipani

Midfielder

22

Lorenzo Nyarko

Goalkeeper

5

Fali Candé

Defender

39'

7

Cristian Volpato

Midfielder

60'

40

Aster Vranckx

Midfielder

60'

9

Walid Cheddira

Attacker

81'

45

Armand Lauriente

Attacker

81'

92

Stephan El Shaarawy

Attacker

35

Tommaso Baldanzi

Midfielder

95

Pierluigi Gollini

Goalkeeper

32

Devis Vásquez

Goalkeeper

11

Evan Ferguson

Attacker

61

Niccolò Pisilli

Midfielder

87

Daniele Ghilardi

Defender

24

Jan Ziolkowski

Defender

66

Buba Sangaré

Defender

22

Mario Hermoso

Defender

46'

9

Artem Dovbyk

Attacker

50'

7

Lorenzo Pellegrini

Midfielder

66'

18

Matìas Soulé

Attacker

66'

2

Devyne Rensch

Defender

87'

Torino left it late to find the winner after coming from behind in a 2-1 victory over struggling Genoa in Serie A on Sunday afternoon, with goals from Morten Thorsby, an own goal from Stefano Sabelli and a late winner from Guillermo Maripan. 

Both Marco Baroni and Patrick Vieira made one change each ahead of kick-off. Torino, who were coming in off an encouraging 1-0 win over league leaders Napoli last time out, brought Cristiano Biraghi in for Niels Nkounkou, while Genoa handed a start to Morten Thorsby instead of Vitinha.

Click here to read more about how the teams lined up. 

A calamitous piece of Torino defending handed Genoa the 1-0 lead early on in the first half. 

Jeff Ekhator played an optimistic ball into the area, Kristjan Asllani made a complete hash of his clearance, which meant that Thorsby was free on the edge of the six yard box to stab home the opener. 

Torino had to wait until midway through the second half to begin their turnaround. 

Again, it was a cross in from the same flank at the same end of the pitch, and another piece of disastrous defending that led to the goal. Marcus Holmgren Pedersen’s cross was aimed at Che Adams, but Stefano Sabelli ended up steering into his own net in an attempt to clear. 

Torino claimed the three points right at the last: In the 90th minute. A routine corner from Valentino Lazaro came in from the right flank, and Maripan was on hand to slam home a first-time volley in the middle of the area for 2-1. 

With two consecutive league victories to their name, Torino are temporarily up to 11th place in the Serie A standings, while Genoa, still without a win in the league this season, remain rooted to the bottom of the table on three points after eight games.

Torino 2-1 Genoa

Thorsby 2 (G) Sabelli og 63 (T), Maripan 90 (T)

26-10-2025 11:30

MatchDay 8

Olympic Grande Torino Stadium

Torino

Genoa

2 - 1

Player statistic

1st half

		5'		Morten Frendrup
		7'		Morten Thorsby
Cesare Casadei		29'

2nd half

		53'		Jeff Ekhator
Nikola Vlasic		59'
Stefano Sabelli		63'
Guillermo Maripán (Assist: Valentino Lazaro)		90'

Match statistic

59

Possession %

41

13

Total shots

11

6

Shots on target

3

3

Shots off target

5

4

Blocked shots

3

9

Corners

1

1

Offsides

14

Fouls

9

Torino

Genoa

Starting lineups

1

Alberto Paleari

Goalkeeper

34

Cristiano Biraghi

Defender

60'

13

Guillermo Maripán

Defender

16

Marcus Pedersen

Defender

23

Saúl Coco

Defender

61

Adrien Tameze

Midfielder

22

Cesare Casadei

Midfielder

32

Kristjan Asllani

Midfielder

60'

10

Nikola Vlasic

Midfielder

60'

19

Ché Adams

Attacker

73'

18

Giovanni Simeone

Attacker

83'

1

Nicola Leali

Goalkeeper

15

Brooke Norton-Cuffy

Defender

22

Johan Vásquez

Defender

5

Leo Östigard

Defender

20

Stefano Sabelli

Defender

78'

32

Morten Frendrup

Midfielder

78'

2

Morten Thorsby

Midfielder

87'

73

Patrizio Masini

Midfielder

17

Ruslan Malinovskyi

Midfielder

87'

21

Jeff Ekhator

Attacker

61'

77

Mikael Egill Ellertsson

Attacker

Substitutes

8

Ivan Ilić

Midfielder

7

Zakaria Aboukhlal

Midfielder

5

Adam Masina

Defender

6

Emirhan Ilkhan

Midfielder

21

Ali Dembélé

Defender

71

Mihai Popa

Goalkeeper

92

Alieu Njie

Attacker

44

Ardian Ismajli

Defender

60'

20

Valentino Lazaro

Defender

60'

26

Cyril Ngonge

Attacker

60'

66

Gvidas Gineitis

Midfielder

73'

91

Duván Zapata

Attacker

83'

10

Junior Messias

Attacker

39

Daniele Sommariva

Goalkeeper

31

Benjamin Siegrist

Goalkeeper

23

Valentín Carboni

Midfielder

11

Albert Grønbaek

Midfielder

40

Seydou Fini

Attacker

3

Aarón Martín

Defender

30

Hugo Cuenca

Midfielder

34

Sebastian Otoa

Defender

76

Lorenzo Venturino

Attacker

18

Caleb Ekuban

Attacker

61'

Maxwel Cornet

Attacker

78'

Jean Onana

Midfielder

78'

29

Lorenzo Colombo

Attacker

87'

9

Vitinha

Attacker

87'

Sunday’s reports indicate that referee Maurizio Mariani and assistant Daniele Bindoni will be dropped for the next round of Serie A fixtures after awarding a controversial penalty during Napoli’s 3-1 win over Inter on Saturday evening. 

What happened in Napoli 3-1 Inter?

Napoli went back to the top of the Serie A standings thanks to goals from Kevin De Bruyne, Scott McTominay and Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa in an eventual 3-1 win over the Nerazzurri, who had won seven games in a row prior to Saturday’s match. 

There have been complaints from the Inter camp, however, regarding the decision to award a penalty to Napoli five minutes before the end of the first half. 

Giovanni Di Lorenzo found himself in the penalty area and went down under the challenge of Henrikh Mikhtaryan. Some argue, however, that Di Lorenzo was looking for the contact, and that Mkhitaryan did not make any intentional moves towards the Napoli captain, and that the penalty should not have been given. 

Now, as per La Gazzetta dello Sport, the AIA have concluded that a penalty should not have been awarded to Napoli last night. 

Sunday’s reports suggest that assistant referee Bindoni was the one who originally signalled for a penalty, that Mariani did not originally give it, but then changed his mind after a VAR review. 

Assistant referee Bindoni is the one who has come under the most criticism for signalling for the penalty, although Mariani has also been criticised from changing his original decision. 

La Gazzetta dello Sport claims that it is likely that both referees, who were also involved in the U20 World Cup final in Chile earlier this week, will be dropped for the next round of Serie A fixtures.

Napoli head coach Antonio Conte and Inter striker Lautaro Martinez exchanged insults during the meeting of their two sides in Serie A on Saturday evening, but this was not the first time the former colleagues have clashed on the pitch. 

Here is a reminder of what happened the last time Conte and Lautaro came to blows. 

Napoli 3-1 Inter: Conte and Lautaro clash again 

Napoli claimed a 3-1 victory at home against the in-form Inter on Saturday evening thanks to goals from Kevin De Bruyne, Scott McTominay and Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa. The Partenopei are now back at the top of the Serie A standings as a result. 

Around the hour mark at the Stadio Maradona, Conte and Lautaro were seen throwing insults and gestures towards each other following an argument between the players on the pitch. 

• Read more: Conte and Lautaro insult each other in tense Napoli vs. Inter clash

This was not the first time that Conte and Lautaro have found themselves arguing with one another in Serie A, though. 

They also spent two seasons together at Inter between 2019 and 2021. 

During the Scudetto-winning 2020-21 season, Conte and Lautaro found themselves arguing after the coach decided to ‘double sub’ the striker during a 3-1 win over Roma in May, 2021. 

Lautaro, who had been accused of showing poor attitude on the pitch at the time, reacted to his substitution by shouting and throwing his shirt when Conte took him off. 

The following day, Conte and Lautaro returned to the training ground, and in an effort to put their difference to one side, organised a friendly boxing match on the training pitch, which ended in hugs and laughter. The same will not happen this time around, though.

Marco Baroni and Patrick Vieira have made just one change each ahead of the meeting of Torino and Genoa in Serie A on Sunday afternoon. 

Today’s game begins in the early kick-off slot at 11.30 GMT. 

Torino are looking to capitalise on their momentum following an encouraging 1-0 victory against league leaders Napoli last time out in Serie A. The Granata will be backed by a sell-out crowd in Turin on Sunday. 

Marco Baroni has made just one change to his side following the Napoli victory, bringing in Cristiano Biraghi to replace Niels Nkounkou at left wing-back. Last week’s goalscorer Giovanni Simeone leads the line again, alongside Scotland international Che Adams. 

Genoa, who drew 0-0 with Parma last time out, have replaced Vitinha with Morten Thorsby, but are otherwise unchanged. 

Torino vs. Genoa: Confirmed line-ups

Torino (3-4-1-2): Paleari; Tameze, Maripan, Coco; Pedersen, Casadei, Asllani, Biraghi; Vlasic; Simeone, Adams. 

Genoa (4-2-3-1): Leali; Norton-Cuffy, Ostigaard, Vasquez, Sabelli; Masini, Frendrup; Ellertson, Malinkovskyi, Thorsby; Ekhator.

26-10-2025 11:30

MatchDay 8

Olympic Grande Torino Stadium

Torino

Genoa

2 - 1

Player statistic

1st half

		5'		Morten Frendrup
		7'		Morten Thorsby
Cesare Casadei		29'

2nd half

		53'		Jeff Ekhator
Nikola Vlasic		59'
Stefano Sabelli		63'
Guillermo Maripán (Assist: Valentino Lazaro)		90'

Match statistic

59

Possession %

41

13

Total shots

11

6

Shots on target

3

3

Shots off target

5

4

Blocked shots

3

9

Corners

1

1

Offsides

14

Fouls

9

Torino

Genoa

Starting lineups

1

Alberto Paleari

Goalkeeper

34

Cristiano Biraghi

Defender

60'

13

Guillermo Maripán

Defender

16

Marcus Pedersen

Defender

23

Saúl Coco

Defender

61

Adrien Tameze

Midfielder

22

Cesare Casadei

Midfielder

32

Kristjan Asllani

Midfielder

60'

10

Nikola Vlasic

Midfielder

60'

19

Ché Adams

Attacker

73'

18

Giovanni Simeone

Attacker

83'

1

Nicola Leali

Goalkeeper

15

Brooke Norton-Cuffy

Defender

22

Johan Vásquez

Defender

5

Leo Östigard

Defender

20

Stefano Sabelli

Defender

78'

32

Morten Frendrup

Midfielder

78'

2

Morten Thorsby

Midfielder

87'

73

Patrizio Masini

Midfielder

17

Ruslan Malinovskyi

Midfielder

87'

21

Jeff Ekhator

Attacker

61'

77

Mikael Egill Ellertsson

Attacker

Substitutes

8

Ivan Ilić

Midfielder

7

Zakaria Aboukhlal

Midfielder

5

Adam Masina

Defender

6

Emirhan Ilkhan

Midfielder

21

Ali Dembélé

Defender

71

Mihai Popa

Goalkeeper

92

Alieu Njie

Attacker

44

Ardian Ismajli

Defender

60'

20

Valentino Lazaro

Defender

60'

26

Cyril Ngonge

Attacker

60'

66

Gvidas Gineitis

Midfielder

73'

91

Duván Zapata

Attacker

83'

10

Junior Messias

Attacker

39

Daniele Sommariva

Goalkeeper

31

Benjamin Siegrist

Goalkeeper

23

Valentín Carboni

Midfielder

11

Albert Grønbaek

Midfielder

40

Seydou Fini

Attacker

3

Aarón Martín

Defender

30

Hugo Cuenca

Midfielder

34

Sebastian Otoa

Defender

76

Lorenzo Venturino

Attacker

18

Caleb Ekuban

Attacker

61'

Maxwel Cornet

Attacker

78'

Jean Onana

Midfielder

78'

29

Lorenzo Colombo

Attacker

87'

9

Vitinha

Attacker

87'