Roberto Mancini was back at Coverciano on Monday to accept an award from the Unione Stampa Sportiva Italiana (Italian Union of the Sports Press), but refused to speak about the reports linking him with a potential return to the Italy national team set-up: ‘Next question?’

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Mancini on Italy disappointment, promising youngsters and return rumours

The former Italy national team head coach, currently in Qatar with Al-Sadd, had been among the first few names linked with a move to replace Gennaro Gattuso as head coach of the Italy national team. Antonio Conte and Massimiliano Allegri are the current frontrunners for the vacant CT role. 

Mancini was back on home soil on Monday to accept an award at the ‘Inside the Sport 2026’ event at Coverciano, and took a few moments to answer questions from journalists regarding his future, the future of the Italy set-up and the disappointment of the recent failure to qualify for the World Cup. 

“It’s a pleasure to return to Coverciano, I grew up here. I came here for the first time when I was 15. It’s definitely a special feeling,” said Mancini (via TMW). “I’m pleased to receive this award, even if my career will still be quite long yet.” 

The topic of discussion quickly turned to the Italy national team and their loss to Bosnia and Herzegovina in the World Cup play-off final at the end of March. 

“There are times when things go well and we’re all happy, but this is part of sport. You win some and you lose some,” said Mancini, who failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup while he was in charge of the Nazionale. 

“Sometimes incredible things happen. That’s football. We need to roll up our sleeves and continue working.

“If you read what Kimmich said about Germany, Italy has won more than them in the last 10 years. We had done good things. Our national team will have good players in the future to get back on its feet. The same goes for club teams.” 

Mancini refused to answer, though, when asked if he is interested in a potential return to the Italy set-up: “I’m here to accept this award, not to talk about anything else. Next question?” 

Mancini was then asked which Italy youngsters have impressed him the most this season. 

He said: “The one who has impressed me the most is Palestra. Cancellieri also has great qualities, not much is said about him. There are good players.” 

And when asked again about his next career steps once his time with Al-Sadd comes to an end, Mancini replied: “I have to finish the season with Al-Sadd. Sometimes the phone rings. Usually it’s my children who call me.” 

According to Mundo Deportivo, Italy international Alessandro Bastoni will only consider two options in the summer: staying at Inter or joining Barcelona, despite interest from Premier League clubs, including Liverpool.

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Inter star Bastoni is keen to move to Barcelona, and according to several sources, informal talks between the Italian centre-back’s camp and the Catalans are already underway.

According to Mundo Deportivo, the Italian defender will only consider two options in the summer: staying at Inter, where he’s under contract to 2028, or moving to Barcelona.

Bastoni is said to be fascinated by the Blaugrana and the city of Barcelona, but this doesn’t mean he’ll push to leave Inter.

Mundo Deportivo confirms that Bastoni is Barcelona’s priority target to strengthen their defence in 2026-27, even if coach Hansi Flick has yet to give his final green light before club-to-club talks begin.

Inter are unwilling to sell Bastoni on the cheap, and there have been mixed reports about the Nerazzurri’s asking price, which is not expected to be below €60m.

According to Mundo Deportivo, the Nerazzurri’s demands will be even higher at €70m-80m.

Romelu Lukaku has already returned to Belgium to continue individual training, but this time with Napoli’s approval.

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Napoli striker Lukaku has returned to Belgium after a meeting with club directors, according to Italian sources, including Repubblica.

Lukaku returns to Belgium again

Lukaku had remained in Belgium without his club’s consent during the March break, receiving a fine and being frozen out of the team.

He returned to Naples on Sunday after more than two weeks abroad and, according to Repubblica, met with the club’s directors on Monday morning. 

According to the report, the meeting between the two parties was amicable and resulted in the striker receiving the green light to return to Belgium for individual training sessions.

Lukaku’s 2025-26 campaign was marred by a severe muscle injury suffered during the pre-season, which forced him to the sidelines for the first part of the campaign.

Lukaku spent seven months on the sidelines, starting no games with the Partenopei this season and scoring just one goal.

According to Italian reporter Nicolò Schira, Lukaku will be available again for Napoli in two weeks.

Massimo Ambrosini sees a positive environment around Jonathan David at Juventus, but no ‘ruthlessness’ from the Canada international, while Weston McKennie ‘has the ability to position himself wherever he’s needed.’

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Former Milan and Italy midfielder Ambrosini commented on Juventus’ 2-0 win over Bologna on Sunday.

David scored the opening goal in the first half, while McKennie provided the assist for Kehphren Thuram’s strike after the break: “I think David was more involved in other games than in this one, but he’s well-liked by the group, and his teammates defended him,” Ambrosini told DAZN via Tuttosport.

“Spalletti has said he needs a striker who can do different things, but he has improved. I don’t see in him the ruthlessness of a penalty-box killer, something he had before arriving here. He’s always done it throughout his career, but he hasn’t shown it here yet.”

McKennie has become a key player under Spalletti, scoring nine goals and providing eight assists in 32 appearances.

“In Spalletti’s fluid style of football, McKennie has the ability to position himself wherever he’s needed,” noted Ambrosini.

“In the penalty area, he’s more present than the strikers. He plays as a right winger, but in possession, he doesn’t stay there; he acts as an attacking midfielder or box-to-box, even as a forward.”

Diego Coppola, Ciro Immobile and Luca Koleosho started in Paris FC’s win over Metz on Sunday, prompting the Parisiens’ coach, Antoine Kombouaré, to claim: ‘ There are more Italians here than there are Juventus or Milan. That’s why they’re not going to the World Cup.’

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Paris FC coach taunts the Azzurri: ‘There are more Italians here…’

Three Italian players, Coppola, Koloesho and Immobile started in Paris FC’s 3-1 away victory at Metz on Sunday.

Immobile and Coppola contributed to the victory with one assist each, while Koleosho, on loan from Burnley, has scored twice in 12 appearances since moving to Paris in the January window.

Paris FC’s coach Kombouaré sarcastically commented on his team’s victory, saying (via GFNF): “Today, there are more Italians playing for Paris FC than there are at Juventus or AC Milan. That’s why they’re not going to the World Cup.”

Italy have not qualified for the World Cup for the third time in a row, making their last appearance in the competition in 2014.

Furthermore, the Azzurri have not played in the knockout phase of the competition since 2006, when they went on to lift the cup after beating France on penalties in the final.

Les Blues have won the World Cup twice in their history, compared to Italy’s four, but have reached the Final in the last two editions.

Coach Antoine Kombouaré, en roue libre, en pleine forme avec ses trois italiens titulaires ! pic.twitter.com/WFKym1RocJ

— L1+ (@ligue1plus) April 19, 2026

Napoli President Aurelio De Laurentiis insists Giovanni Malagò is the most-suited candidate to become the FIGC President and ‘rebuild’ Italian football, while Giancarlo Abete ‘is a dear friend, but is not a good fit.’

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Malagò and Abete are expected to be the only two candidates at the FIGC Presidential election taking place on June 22, 2026.

Malagò, a former CONI President, is the candidate picked by Lega Serie A, and today representatives of clubs in Italy’s top flight will meet the 67-year-old to outline their project.

Abete, on the other hand, already served as the FIGC President from 2007 to 2014 and is backed by Lega Nazionale Dilettanti (LND), which accounts for 34% of the vote, compared to Serie A’s 18%.

Any candidate, however, needs to secure 51% of the vote to be elected, so Malagò and Abete need to win over other members of the voting panel to win the election.

Napoli President De Laurentiis once again backed Malagò just before the beginning of the Lega Serie A meeting in Milan today.

“I called Malagò, telling him to take charge of the situation because no one can do this better than him,” De Laurentiis said via TMW.

“He’s an entrepreneur and a sportsman with plenty of experience. The only flaw is that he’s in love with Roma, but we’ll put up with that, too,” he added, smiling.

“We are tired of being led by people who have institutional roles just for personal prestige. The most important thing in life is to work, but to do that, you need knowledge. Nobody more than an entrepreneur who does business can fix things that don’t work. From my perspective, Mr Malagò is welcome.

“Abete is a dear friend and a person I truly respect. His brother is a business partner in one of my companies, but he’s not a good fit for this job,” De Laurentiis continued.

“Perhaps, he’ll be upset, but we are accustomed to expressing our thoughts in a democracy, even if Italians, by nature, are cowards.

“We wait for Malagò and hope his ideas match ours. Football in Italy has to be rebuilt. They say I’m a visionary, but I came from the world of cinema in 2004, and I’ve been annoyingly saying since then that everything’s old and that kids wouldn’t watch matches anymore. But nobody is there to listen because everyone is just thinking about their seats.”

Manuel Akanji has admitted that he could have joined Milan instead of Inter during the summer transfer window, but says that he is pleased with the decision he made and has now set his eyes firmly on a cup double this season: ‘It would be incredible to win two titles in my first year’. 

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Akanji and his Nerazzurri teammates have a 12-point advantage at the top of the Serie A table with just five matches of the season remaining, and could potentially secure the Scudetto this coming weekend. 

Before that, though, they will face Como in San Siro in the second leg of their Coppa Italia semi-final, currently level at 0-0 at the halfway stage of the tie, as Inter look to pull off an impressive cup double in Cristian Chivu’s first full season as a head coach. 

Akanji feels that it is a matter of ‘if and when we win these trophies’, but admits that getting past Como in the semi-final of the cup will be no easy task, even with a home advantage. 

Akanji on decision to join Inter, impressive Chivu and cup double ambitions 

Speaking in a feature interview with Sport Mediaset ahead of Tuesday’s Coppa Italia semi-final second leg, Akanji spoke about his decision to join Inter instead of Milan from Manchester City over the summer. 

“The team and coach made it very easy for me to fit in,” he said. “I feel very good playing here in both positions, either in the middle or on the right of the back three. I’ve had a really good season and we’ll try to finish on a high note.

“I spoke with Milan in the summer, but I thought Inter was a more suitable destination for me, and I would say that my choice has worked out. My agent negotiated with the club and it was better for me to come here.” 

Akanji is technically on loan at Inter with an option to buy, but some reports indicate that this will become an obligation to buy in the event that Inter win the Scudetto. The player himself is not giving anything away at this stage, though. 

“If and when we win these trophies, the time will also come to sit down at the table and decide how to move forwards. I feel good here, but I don’t think it’s the right time to talk about it. It will come soon, but I’m focussed on playing well at the moment.” 

Akanji is impressed by the work that Chivu has done in his first season in charge of Inter. The Romanian only picked up his first senior head coach role, with Parma, in February last year. 

“Whether you’re a player or a coach, there’s always something to learn. I think Chivu has managed this season brilliantly, he’s always brought a positive atmosphere and has tried to help us through the difficult moments. 

“It’s not easy at all in a season like this, where there are so many obstacles you can encounter. He’s fought hard with us and has always been on our side.”

Akanji was also asked for his opinions on teammate Alessandro Bastoni, who continues to be linked with a summer move to Barcelona. 

“I understand he’s a big topic in Italy. In every interview I do they ask me about Bastoni. Maybe it would be better to ask him about his future. All I can say is that I get on very well with him. He’s a great teammate and I’d be happy if he stayed.” 

Inter are on the verge of sealing their 21st league title, and could potentially have it mathematically wrapped up this weekend. If not, they will still have another four chances to get the job done. 

“We have a good advantage in Serie A, 12 points over Milan and Napoli with only five games left. It’s a great situation, but the Coppa Italia is another thing,” said Akanji. 

“We don’t start with any advantage expect from maybe playing at home. It’s a semi-final and Como will come to Milan convinced, trying to do their best. But we want to get to the final and put in our best performance.” 

Akanji feels that Inter have had three entirely different experiences when playing against Como so far this season. 

“I’m always a bit sure as to what to expect. We want to get to the final and put in our best performance because you never know. 

“Playing against Como is always complicated. The three games we’ve had against them have always been different. The first was a great performance for us, we won 4-0 at home. In the second, the first leg of the Coppa Italia semi-final, neither side wanted to take risks, while in the last game against Como in the league, it was an open game where we ended up 2-0 down and it didn’t seem like an easy situation. 

“We managed to recover and scored four goals in a row, then they scored a penalty and had a great opportunity to equalise. We’ll see what happens tomorrow.

“It would be incredible to win two titles in my first year. We’re trying to do the Coppa Italia double. Obviously we hoped to go further in the Champions League. We tried, but it would still be great to win these two titles.” 

Vincenzo Montella was full of praise for Juventus and head coach Luciano Spalletti following their 2-0 win over Bologna on Sunday evening, but jokingly warned the Bianconeri tactician: ‘From here until the end of the season, let’s not take any risks with Yildiz’.

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Montella, head coach of Turkiye, was a guest analyst on Sky Sport’s Serie A coverage on Sunday evening and spoke in-depth about his role, his relationship with Yildiz and his previous experiences working under Spalletti. 

Montella on Turkiye role and Italy disappointment: ‘It’s not all negative’

It has been over six years since Montella last worked in Italy, joining Adana Demirspor in 2021 before being appointed as head coach of the Turkiye national team in 2023. 

He explained to Sky Sport viewers why he decided to make the move to Turkiye five years ago: “I didn’t have any interviews in Italy for a year and a half. I went to Turkiye to get back into the game because there weren’t any interviews coming my way here, no chance,” (via Tuttosport).

“I also thought about stopping coaching because there were no chances, then COVID arrived. I was fine at home. Then some teams that I didn’t like came along. Then I decided to go and work my way up in Turkiye and start again.”

And on the difficulties that face Turkiye heading into the 2026 World Cup, he added: “We don’t have a recognised striker, so it becomes important for us to come in with players of great quality, strength and speed, especially in attack. We’ve gathered talent, I’ve brought them together under this banner, we’ve given them a bit of tactical organisation.” 

As we all know, Italy will not be competing at the 2026 World Cup following their third consecutive defeat in the World Cup play-offs back at the end of March. 

“It’s not all negative,” Montella insisted. “Italy, taking away some of the strongest teams, is competitive. There’s a bit of tension with the non-participation in the World Cup, but this team deserved to go because of its technical values. I wouldn’t be so defeatist.” 

Montella on Juventus, Spalletti and Yildiz: ‘He’s always been a genius’

Montella and Spalletti’s paths have crossed several times throughout their careers, first as players at Empoli, and later as player and coach respectively at Sampdoria and Roma. 

“We played together in ‘92. I was at the beginning of my career and he was almost at the end of his. Then he coached me at Empoli, Sampdoria and I saw him again at Roma. He’s always been a genius because he invents, studies, develops and his teams always play well,” said Montella. 

During his time in charge of Milan, Montella also coached a young Manuel Locatelli: “I’m pleased to see him all grown up and the captain of Juve,” he said. 

Montella feels that Juventus could have done with the services of Dusan Vlahovic heading into the final stretch of Serie A fixtures, though: “I’m sorry he’s injured because I think he could have made a big contribution.” 

And on Yildiz, Montella said: “He always wants to improve, he’s balanced. There are signs that make you notice him immediately. ‘Mister, let me do something else’. He never comes off the pitch, he arrives earlier than anyone else and still does. And in my opinion, he’s destined to improve even more. 

“He’s devastating in one-on-ones, the opponents can barely get the ball off him. I like to play him on the left with Turkiye for our organisation, but he also has to come inside and play.” 

And if there’s one piece of advice that Montella can offer Spalletti: “If I have one suggestion, from here until the end of the season, let’s not take any risks with Kenan, please.” 

Paolo Di Canio has warned Milan and Napoli that Juventus are currently the best equipped side to finish the 2025-26 Serie A season in second place now that they have just a three-point deficit to make up heading into the final five matches of the campaign. 

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Di Canio predicts Juventus will overtake Milan and Napoli before the end of the season

Juventus solidified their position in fourth place over the weekend following their 2-0 win over Bologna on Sunday night. That result means that they are now five points clear of both Como and Roma in fifth and sixth place respectively and now only three points behind Milan and Napoli in second and third. 

It has been a particularly impressive run of form under head coach Luciano Spalletti, who has now picked up 16 points from his last six matches in the league. 

Di Canio, speaking as an analyst on Sky Sport on Sunday evening, explained that Spalletti is perhaps Juventus’s ‘best signing’ of the last five years and feels that he is the main reason why the Bianconeri could finish the season in second place. 

“They’re the team that is best off, more than Napoli and Milan in terms of what we’ve seen over the last few games,” Di Canio said. “They look to me like a group that wants to express themselves, who follow their coach with conviction.

“Spalletti has conveyed a clear message: No excessive pressure, but awareness of the importance of the shirt and the path that needs to be built.

“He’s the best arrival over the last five years. He’s made a clear imprint, not just from a tactical point of view, but most importantly in terms of mentality.” 

Reports in Italy indicate that Gian Piero Gasperini is keen to stay on as Roma head coach despite a troubling last week and a public war of words with senior advisor Claudio Ranieri, but there are four key conditions that the coach wants in order to remain at the Stadio Olimpico for 2026-27. 

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There has been plenty of speculation over Gasperini’s future in charge of Roma recently, despite the fact that the former Atalanta tactician was appointed less than a year ago. 

Roma currently find themselves in sixth place in the Serie A table, now highly unlikely to qualify for next season’s Champions League after Juventus moved five points clear in fourth place on Sunday evening. Gasperini has also been involved in a public back-and-forth with senior advisor Ranieri, who claimed that the coach was not even in the club’s top three candidates to fill the role at the end of last season. 

Some reports claimed that Gasperini and Ranieri were effectively ignoring each other at the club’s training ground at the beginning of last week, and multiple outlets in Italy claim that the situation has already become untenable. 

• Read more: Gasperini’s tears of love and tension as Ranieri dispute has Roma fans divided

What needs to happen for Gasperini to stay on with Roma?

According to Monday’s reports from La Gazzetta dello Sport, Ranieri leaving the Giallorossi set-up is one of the key conditions for Gasperini to stay on as Roma head coach next season. 

Additionally, Gasperini is not particularly keen to continue working with sporting director Ricky Massara either. La Gazzetta dello Sport claims that the relationship between the two members of the Roma management never really kicked off and that they continue to disagree over decisions on the transfer market. 

Gasperini is also said to want more ‘control’ over Roma as a whole. La Gazzetta dello Sport writes that Gasperini would excel in an old-school style ‘English manager’, with more of a say in transfers and other decisions within the club, such as the appointment of new medical staff, an issue that the coach has regularly brought up throughout the 2025-26 season. 

Lastly, Gasperini wants guarantees on the transfer market and reassurances that there will be a significant budget to invest on new players after what he feels were two transfer windows of disappointment.

La Gazzetta dello Sport 

Champions League, here we are 

Milan and Juve surge on. Face-to-face in San Siro on Sunday

Rabiot decisive in Verona. Diavolo second and +8 above fifth place. Leao booed and substituted: ‘Always me’

Beautiful lady. David and Thuram beat Bologna. Spalletti reinforces fourth place, +5 above fifth: ‘On the right path’

Inter seeing double 

Mission Scudetto and Coppa Italia 

Chivue and the double with Inter, a feat only previously achieved by Mou. Semi-final against Fabregas’s Como tomorrow 

Gasp

What does he want from Roma? 

In order to stay, he wants Ranieri to leave, then a super transfer window 

Corriere dello Sport 

Lucio breaks away 

Juuve beat Bologna: +5 on Como and Roma 

4th place strengthened | Decisive snapshot in the Champions League race: Italiano beaten (2-0)David finds the advantage after two minutes, Thuram doubles in the second half. Holm off the crossbar and Rowe off the post. Spalletti flying: 16 points in six games 

Max, the Champions League muzzle 

Milan win 1-0 in Verona: +8 above fifth place and qualification getting close 

Goal from Rabiot in the 13th narrow-margined victory: The Rossoneri overtake Napoli into second place and extend above Como and Roma. Assist from Leao, who is then substituted and laments: ‘Why always me?’. Allegri: ‘Me as CT? My head is only here’

Conte, the five days of Napoli 

Champions League mission 

8 points required to wrap up qualification. Possible turning point against Cremonese on Friday: The Fab Four haven’t convinced, in comes Alisson 

Chivu objective: Inter double 

Coppa Italia semi-final

The return leg against Como in San Siro tomorrow (0-0 in the first leg). Atalanta and Lazio start again from 2-2 at the Olimpico on Wednesday 

Gigio, howler and miracles: It’s a Guardiola party 

City beat Arsenal 2-1 and reopen the Premier League: Haaland brings Pep to -3

Tuttosport 

Now Juve bite 

Champions League even closer with David and Thuram 

The Canadian’s header after two minutes stuns Bologna, the goal from the Frenchman 12 minutes into the second half closes the game despite the post from Rowe shortly afterwards. The advantage over Como and Roma increases to five points. Spalletti: ‘Scudetto within a year? We’re calm’. Tributes to Manninger with Buffon and his other former teammates 

Milan, 2nd place and new storms 

Rabiot goal, Napoli overtaken 

A hard-working victory in Verona: Racist boos to Leao, whistles at Maignan. Allegri: ‘Working to stay’. Orban, fight with a fan

Haaland’s City reopens the Premier League 

After the Donnarumma blunder 

Arsenal beaten, remain at +3, but Guardiola has played one game fewer. Germany: 35th title for Bayern with four games to spare 

Toro limp, Pupi’s ‘Cairo out’ armband 

Depressing 0-0 in Cremona 

The legendary Pulci fires up the fans by donning a special captain’s armband 

Genoa, semi Serie A. Pisa, semi Serie B

Lecce-Fiorentina: Nerves

Moise Kean is out of the Fiorentina squad for Monday’s relegation battle with Lecce, so Paolo Vanoli has limited options after the Conference League.

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It kicks off at the Stadio Via del Mare in Lecce on Monday at 19.45 UK time (20.45 CEST).

This is going to be a big game in the battle to avoid the drop, as while Pisa and Verona are essentially doomed, there is one more spot remaining for relegation into Serie B.

Cremonese were held to a 0-0 draw by Torino, leaving Lecce in the bottom three, but a victory would send them leapfrogging over Jamie Vardy’s side.

Fiorentina are not entirely out of the woods yet, as they are currently on 35 points, eight clear of Lecce.

Vanoli has to get his team focused after Thursday’s Conference League quarter-final against Crystal Palace, where they won 2-1, but were eliminated 4-2 on aggregate.

Kean missed that game with a recurring ankle issue and is still not recovered, so was left behind along with Fabiano Parisi, Niccolò Fortini and Tariq Lamptey.

The good news is that Marco Brescianini and Nicolò Fagioli are in the travelling party, though Marin Pongracic and Robin Gosens are not at 100 per cent.

Fagioli and Albert Gudmundsson had been suspended last week against Lazio in Serie A, so should be relatively well rested.

Dodo missed the Crystal Palace game though a ban.

Fiorentina squad for Lecce:

Balbo, Braschi, Brescianini, Christensen, Comuzzo, Dodo, De Gea, Fabbian, Fagioli, Fazzini, Gosens, Gudmundsson, Harrison, Kospo, Kouadio, Lezzerini, Mandragora, Ndour, Piccoli, Pongracic, Puzzoli, Ranieri, Rugani, Solomon

Luciano Spalletti recognises Juventus are ‘on the right track’ after moving closer to second than fifth place. ‘The players care for each other and share the burden.’

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The Bianconeri came flying out the blocks and took the lead within 90 seconds thanks to Jonathan David’s glancing header, then substitute Khephren Thuram made sure after the restart by nodding in Weston McKennie’s cross.

Emil Holm and Bologna’s Jonathan Rowe also rattled the frame of the goal, while Francisco Conceicao had an effort ruled offside for the final 2-0 result.

Spalletti relishing Juventus atmosphere

The first question was on the choreography put together by the players to celebrate Thuram’s goal.

“I don’t know what they cooked up between them, but seeing them celebrate like that together is wonderful,” smiled Spalletti on DAZN Italia.

“It’s marvellous to see a player score and want to share his joy with his team-mates and the fans. It all comes from the affection, the rapport between players, and when you give that friendship, you receive it in return. They say if you want to find a friend, then behave like a friend.”

This is a big win for Juventus, who take advantage of Como, Roma and Atalanta results by opening up a five-point cushion in fourth place.

Even more remarkable, they are now within three points of both Milan and Napoli in joint second, with a showdown against the Rossoneri coming up next week.

“What we absolutely could not do wrong, seeing the other results, was dropping our intensity because we could see ourselves maintaining this position regardless of our performance. That was the risk, so we needed to have the right attitude from the start and maintain it.

“We knew that Bologna had a tough week with travel and the Europa League, so we knew that if we maintained the intensity, it would give us a significant advantage. Everyone did that really well, and we scored early, there were times when the quality of Bologna forced us back, but that’s inevitable with a strong side like Vincenzo Italiano’s.”

It feels as if the season took a turning point on March 1 when Juve came back from 3-1 down to hold Roma 3-3 at the Stadio Olimpico, as they’ve won five of the six games since then, while the Giallorossi visibly faltered.

Before kick-off, Spalletti had shrugged off the suggestions Juventus needed to challenge for the title next season, but he knows it will be inevitable.

“There is certainly a lot of responsibility and pressure here, but the team is trying to play good football, the players care for each other and are ready to share the burden, that is fundamental for a coach.

“We are on the right track and every day I see something more, so we want to keep going like this.”

Vincenzo Italiano admits Bologna’s ‘season is basically over now’ after the 2-0 defeat to Juventus, but is frustrated they ‘had no time to prepare’ after the Europa League with Aston Villa.

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It has been a bit of a nightmare week for the Rossoblu, who were swept aside 4-0 by Aston Villa on Thursday in the Europa League quarter-final, 7-1 on aggregate.

They had the worst possible start in Turin too, going behind to a Jonathan David glancing header in the opening 90 seconds.

It was a particularly surprising development, as Bologna hadn’t conceded a Serie A goal before half-time since February against Milan.

Khephren Thuram added a second, also with a header, while Emil Holm and Jonathan Rowe rattled the frame of the goal.

Italiano frustrated by Bologna calendar

“The performance was because we were up against a strong team that had the chance to prepare every detail for a week,” Italiano told DAZN Italia.

“It’s not an alibi, but it is a fact, that yet again we got off the plane on Friday evening and then had to travel again straight away, so we practically haven’t trained at all. It has been the situation all year.

“We conceded very early today, as we were too stretched out and didn’t have the right shape, but we adjusted a few things at half-time and suffered less. We created a few situations, but I think that early goal made it an uphill struggle.

“It’s tough not being able to prepare for matches because there just isn’t time, especially against a team that had a full week to focus only on their plan.”

Bologna looked fatigued and stretched thin by their midweek commitments, especially as they also lost Federico Bernardeschi to a thigh injury, so ended the game with 10 men as the substitutions had all been completed.

“I told Bernardeschi it was my fault, as I introduced him because I saw how the Juve fans applauded him before kick-off, and felt it would be a lovely moment to get a tribute from this crowd. Santiago Castro was tired too, but unfortunately Fede had just got back to fitness and I don’t think we’ll have him again for the rest of the season,” said Italiano.

“There are always margins for improvement, the season is basically finished for us now, so we have to try to use these games to improve and grow. We had wanted to still be challenging for something important in April, and we achieved that, even if we dropped Serie A points to balance that out.

“Now we have no idea what can happen ahead of us, but we’ve got to just try to get as many points as possible now.”

There is a very tough run-in this season for Bologna, who still have to play Roma, Cagliari, Napoli, Atalanta and Inter.

“We wanted to be more aggressive with the midfielders today rather than the defenders, but we weren’t accustomed to it, so we’ll try to work on that. As I said, we achieved the targets we had set for this season, and it’s a shame that the only games we lost in the Europa League were against Aston Villa, who I feel can win the trophy.

“We’ll try some tactical experiments, test out some new players, and try to at least secure eighth place.”

Juventus secured a vital 2-0 home victory over Bologna, with goals from Jonathan David and Khephren Thuram proving the difference as Luciano Spalletti’s side kept the pressure on their Champions League rivals with a professional and controlled display at the Allianz Stadium.

Football Italia’s Man of the Match was shared between Weston McKennie, who helped dominate the engine room and gave Juventus the platform from which his teammates could do the damage.

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Serie A – Juventus 2-0 Bologna – Player Ratings

Juventus (3-4-2-1): Di Gregorio 6; Kalulu 6.5, Bremer 6.5, Kelly 6.5; Holm 6.5 (Thuram K. 7), Locatelli 6.5, McKennie 7, Cambiaso 6 (Gatti N/A); Conceicao 6 (Zhegrova 6), Boga 6.5 (Openda N/A); David 7 (Yildiz 6)

Best Juventus player: Weston McKennie – McKennie was dominant from start to finish, covering every blade of grass and providing both defensive solidity and driving runs forward, picked up an assist.

Lowest Juventus rating: Francisco Conceicao – A quiet evening from the versatile winger before his withdrawal with twenty minutes to play, unable to make the usual impact.

Coach: Luciano Spalletti 6.5 – A controlled and measured performance from his side when it mattered most. Got his substitutions right and will be delighted with the clean sheet as much as the goals.

Bologna (4-2-3-1): Ravaglia 6; Zortea 6, Helland 5 (Heggem 6), Lucumì 5.5, Miranda 5.5; Freuler 5.5, Pobega 5.5 (Moro 6); Orsolini 6, Sohm 5 (Ferguson 6), Cambiaghi 5.5 (Rowe 5.5); Castro 5 (Bernardeschi N/A)

Best Bologna player: Riccardo Orsolini – In a disappointing collective display, the experienced winger was one of the few Bologna players to consistently ask questions of the Juventus defence. Worked hard throughout and was the most likely source of a response that never came.

Lowest Bologna rating: Santiago Castro – A difficult evening for the Argentine striker, who was well shackled by Bremer and Kelly and rarely able to exert any influence on the match before his substitution. Struggled to hold the ball up or create space for his teammates.

Coach: Vincenzo Italiano 5 – A poor night for the Bologna head coach, whose side were second best in virtually every department. With European ambitions now over too, this was a performance that will concern him heading into the final weeks of the season.

Juventus beat Bologna with Jonathan David and Khephren Thuram goals to create a five-point cushion for fourth place, and close to within three points of Milan and Napoli in joint second.

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The Bianconeri were eager to take advantage of Napoli, Como and Roma all dropping points this weekend, but Kenan Yildiz was only fit for the bench, with Arek Milik, Dusan Vlahovic, Juan Cabal, Mattia Perin and Vasilije Adzic injured. Weston McKennie returned from suspension, with Emil Holm and Joao Mario facing their parent clubs after January loans. Bologna hoped to shrug off Thursday’s 4-0 Europa League quarter-final defeat to Aston Villa, though Lukasz Skorupski, Thijs Dallinga, Nicolò Casale and Benjamin Dominguez missed out.

There was a moving tribute before kick-off for Alex Manninger, the former Juventus and Bologna goalkeeper who died in a car accident this week aged 48, as former teammates Gigi Buffon, Leonardo Bonucci, Giorgio Chiellini, Claudio Marchisio and Antonio Chimenti carried out flowers with his shirt, laying them in the goal while the fans sang his chant.

Ciao Alex. pic.twitter.com/2Pr3y1bOFJ

— JuventusFC (@juventusfc) April 19, 2026

See how it all unfolded on the Liveblog.

It was a lightning fast start from the hosts, as Jeremie Boga’s pull-back forced a corner, and within 110 seconds David had got his head to the Pierre Kalulu cross from six yards, glancing it into the far bottom corner. It was even more remarkable because Bologna hadn’t conceded in the first half of a Serie A match for two months.

Francisco Conceicao had the ball in the net on 12 minutes too after running onto a pass over the top, but he was offside before that precise angled drive.

Tommaso Pobega drilled wide from distance, while Federico Ravaglia had to make himself big for a huge save one-on-one when Conceicao did spring the offside trap.

Emil Holm against his former club almost scored a stunner, as a clearance bounced on the edge of the box, where his powerful volley smacked the underside of the bar.

David nearly doubled his tally before half-time, running onto the Conceicao assist for an angled drive to skim the base of the far post.

After the restart, Riccardo Orsolini finally had the first real Bologna chance, his strike from the right flank flashing all the way across the face of goal and inches wide.

However, Juve substitute Khephren Thuram made an immediate impact, rising at the back stick to meet the Weston McKennie cross from the right for 2-0.

Bologna nearly got back into it, as Nadir Zortea rolled it across the face of goal for substitute Jonathan Rowe to come sliding in at the back stick, hitting the upright from point-blank range.

Nikola Moro also fired over after the Orsolini attempt was charged down, but Federico Bernardeschi limped off with a thigh problem just eight minutes after coming on. Bologna had completed their substitutions, so they played the last six minutes down to 10 men.

Despite that, Rowe still got away on the counter and pulled the cross just behind Orsolini unmarked.

Juventus 2-0 Bologna

David 2 (J), Thuram 57 (J)

19-04-2026 19:45

MatchDay 33

Juventus Stadium (Allianz Stadium)

Juventus

Bologna

2 - 0

Player statistic

1st half

Jonathan David (Assist: Pierre Kalulu)

2'

2nd half

Khéphren Thuram (Assist: Weston McKennie)		57'
Manuel Locatelli		60'

Match statistic

55

Possession %

45

14

Total shots

7

4

Shots on target

4

Shots off target

5

6

Blocked shots

2

6

Corners

1

4

Offsides

10

Fouls

5

Juventus

Bologna

Starting lineups

16

Michele Di Gregorio

Goalkeeper

27

Andrea Cambiaso

Defender

80'

3

Bremer

Defender

2

Emil Holm

Defender

46'

6

Lloyd Kelly

Defender

15

Pierre Kalulu

Defender

5

Manuel Locatelli

Midfielder

22

Weston McKennie

Midfielder

7

Francisco Conceição

Attacker

72'

13

Jeremie Boga

Attacker

86'

30

Jonathan David

Attacker

72'

13

Federico Ravaglia

Goalkeeper

5

Eivind Helland

Defender

68'

26

Jhon Lucumí

Defender

33

Juan Miranda

Defender

20

Nadir Zortea

Defender

8

Remo Freuler

Midfielder

23

Simon Sohm

Midfielder

59'

4

Tommaso Pobega

Midfielder

58'

28

Nicolò Cambiaghi

Attacker

59'

7

Riccardo Orsolini

Attacker

9

Santiago Castro

Attacker

77'

Substitutes

23

Carlo Pinsoglio

Goalkeeper

21

Fabio Miretti

Midfielder

8

Teun Koopmeiners

Midfielder

18

Filip Kostic

Midfielder

42

Simone Scaglia

Goalkeeper

19

Khéphren Thuram

Midfielder

46'

11

Edon Zhegrova

Attacker

72'

10

Kenan Yıldız

Attacker

72'

4

Federico Gatti

Defender

80'

20

Loïs Openda

Attacker

86'

22

Charalampos Lykogiannis

Defender

29

Lorenzo De Silvestri

Defender

41

Martin Vitik

Defender

21

Jens Odgaard

Attacker

17

João Mário

Defender

25

Massimo Pessina

Goalkeeper

82

Matteo Franceschelli

Goalkeeper

73

Francesco Castaldo

Attacker

6

Nikola Moro

Midfielder

58'

19

Lewis Ferguson

Midfielder

59'

11

Jonathan Rowe

Midfielder

59'

14

Torbjørn Heggem

Defender

68'

10

Federico Bernardeschi

Attacker

Romelu Lukaku has landed in Naples, touching down at Capodichino airport on Sunday evening in a private jet from Brussels as he prepares to end a prolonged absence that has become one of the more turbulent subplots of Napoli’s season.

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According to CalcioNapoli24, the Belgian striker offered no comment to waiting journalists as he made his way through the airport, pausing only briefly when a small inconvenience delayed his exit, having left his tablet on the private jet, he was required to wait in a van for several minutes before it was retrieved.

He was visibly preoccupied, understandably so given the circumstances surrounding his return.

Napoli star Lukaku set for Conte meeting

In the coming hours, Lukaku is expected to meet with Antonio Conte and the club’s hierarchy in an attempt to repair a relationship that has been strained since March, when the Belgian chose to remain in Belgium during the international break rather than report to Castel Volturno as instructed.

Napoli responded by fining him for unauthorised absence, a rare and pointed escalation that underlined the seriousness of the situation.

The two men have not come face-to-face since Napoli’s victory over Cagliari on 20 March, making Monday’s planned return to training the first opportunity for a proper reconciliation.

Lukaku’s season has been wretched, a major hamstring injury in pre-season restricted him to just 64 minutes of action before January, and he has managed only 40 minutes of Serie A football since.

With five games remaining and a Champions League place still to be secured, Napoli will hope the return of their record signing, however belated, can provide some additional firepower in the run-in.

Manchester City forward Erling Haaland landed himself in a bit of hot water as he celebrated his side’s 2-1 win over Arsenal on Sunday.

The win sees the Manchester club close the gap at the top of the Premier League to three points, with Haaland’s side still having a game in hand.

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City led the game through an early Cherki goal before a howler from Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma allowed Kai Havertz to equalise shortly after.

Arsenal put up a good fight but the Norwegian forward added to his tally with a goal in the second half, shortly after the Gunners had hit the woodwork.

After the match, Haaland spoke with Sky Sport alongside teammate Bernardo Silva.

When describing a header the Portuguese midfielder won against Swedish forward Victor Gyokeres, Haaland described him as “like f***ing Cannavaro” – in reference to the iconic Italy defender and Ballon d’Or winner.

Sky had to apologise for the striker’s language and have, of course, censored it in all public releases.

Watch: Haaland compares Silva to Cannavaro after win over Arsenal

Gift Orban found himself at the centre of an ugly post-match incident outside the Stadio Bentegodi on Saturday evening, following Verona’s 1-0 defeat to Milan, a result secured by Adrien Rabiot’s goal.

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According to witnesses present at the scene, via the Corriere dello Sport, Orban was visibly frustrated after the final whistle and initially declined to stop for a photograph with a supporter.

The situation escalated when another supporter struck the player’s car with an open hand, at which point the Nigerian striker got out of his vehicle and a heated confrontation ensued, developing into a physical altercation that was captured on mobile phones by bystanders.

Authorities to review Orban clash with supporter

The footage is now being reviewed by authorities, with the Digos, Italy’s specialist police unit responsible for public order at sporting events, attending the scene to carry out their investigations.

Orban joined Verona on loan from Hoffenheim last summer with an option to purchase and has had a productive first season in Serie A, registering seven goals and three assists in 28 league appearances.

His performances have generated genuine interest from clubs monitoring the division’s emerging talents, making the timing of Saturday’s incident particularly unfortunate.

Both the player’s reaction and the supporter’s decision to strike his vehicle will likely come under scrutiny as the investigation progresses. Further details are expected to emerge in the coming days as authorities review the recorded footage.

مهاجم هيلاس فيرونا غيفت أوربان، بعد الهزيمة أمام ميلان، كان متوترًا جدًا ورفض التوقف مع الجماهير لالتقاط الصور، لكن أحد المشجعين قام بضرب سيارته، مما دفع المهاجم النيجيري إلى النزول من السيارة والدخول في شجار معه والاعتداء عليه #SerieA #SerieAEnilive … pic.twitter.com/Zasc6oakjb

— Arte Del Calcio (@ArteDelCalcio) April 19, 2026

The Allianz Stadium fell into a moment of profound emotion before Juventus’ match against Bologna on Saturday evening, as the club paid a heartfelt tribute to former goalkeeper Alex Manninger, who tragically lost his life in a road accident in Austria earlier this week.

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Manninger, who also represented Fiorentina and Siena among others during his career, spent four years at Juventus between 2008 and 2012, making 42 appearances in all competitions and playing a meaningful role in the club’s return to the summit of Italian football following their relegation to Serie B.

He won a Scudetto during his time at the club, a detail that speaks to the significance of his contribution during one of the most important rebuilding periods in the club’s modern history.

All three of Juventus’ current goalkeepers, Michele Di Gregorio, Simone Scaglia and Carlo Pinsoglio, warmed up wearing the number 13 shirt bearing Manninger’s name, a simple but deeply affecting gesture that drew warm applause from around the ground.

Buffon in tears as Juventus pay tribute to Manninger

Before kick-off, Gianluigi Buffon, Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini, former teammates who knew Manninger as a colleague and a friend, carried a floral wreath onto the pitch beneath the home curve, bearing the words “Ciao Alex.”

The cameras caught Buffon visibly moved, his composure tested by the weight of the occasion. The former Italy captain had already expressed his grief publicly on social media in the immediate aftermath of the accident.

Ciao, Alex pic.twitter.com/ZjdEwrVpls

— JuventusFC (@juventusfcen) April 19, 2026

The stadium announcer then read a tribute that captured the essence of what Manninger meant to the club.

“Alex wore our shirt. He was a loyal man, an exemplary teammate, a person of enormous worth. He was one of the protagonists of a group that, step by step, returned to winning. We will never forget Alex, you will always be with us, in our home.”

A minute of silence followed. The football, for a moment, could wait.

Luciano Spalletti asks the media to ‘take some chamomile tea and chill out’ before asking if Juventus should challenge for the Scudetto next season, keeping the focus on Bologna.

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It kicks off at the Allianz Juventus Stadium in Turin at 19.45 UK time (20.45 CEST).

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

This is a huge opportunity for the Bianconeri to consolidate that Champions League qualifying spot, as Napoli, Como, Roma and Atalanta all dropped points this weekend.

As next week there is a showdown with Milan, it is important to keep up the momentum.

Spalletti rejects Juventus pressure

However, Spalletti reacted with a laugh when asked if Juventus would target the Scudetto next season.

“People need to really calm down, they think that if we win one game, that means we’ll be challenging for the title,” Spalletti told DAZN Italia.

“This kind of excessive pressure is also what is damaging to the Italy players, they get affected by the things we talk about. Tonight is a decisive match for the current campaign, not just for having money at our disposal to buy players because we qualify for the Champions League. The careers of players are remembered not by the number of games they play, but the quality shown in certain matches.

“I am not going to talk about next season here, everyone needs to take some chamomile tea and chill out a bit.”

Weston McKennie returns from suspension, but Kenan Yildiz is only fit for the bench after recurring muscular issues, so Jeremie Boga drops into a wider role with Francisco Conceicao supporting Jonathan David.

Dusan Vlahovic, Arek Milik, Juan Cabal, Mattia Perin and Vasilije Adzic are out injured.

Bologna are coming off a 4-0 defeat to Aston Villa in the Europa League quarter-final, losing 7-1 on aggregate, but here too Spalletti contests the question.

“For those who didn’t see the two legs, these were terrible performances, because so few bother to watch matches now, they just view highlights and statistics, but the flow of the games showed Bologna had the right approach,” argued the coach.

“Vincenzo Italiano had already taken Bologna to a high level last season in Italian football. This term has been a little more difficult for them, but the mentality of the coach sees them continue to believe in a modern style of football, with ferocious pressing, intensity and tempo. They know how to look beyond the first pass, and that is a danger, because we saw a few weeks ago how they managed to beat Roma.

“This is a good team, with a strong coach, and a club that has found its place in the leading pack of Serie A.”

There will be a minute’s silence before kick-off and Juve wear black armbands to remember goalkeeper Alex Manninger, who died this week in a car accident at age 48.

He wore their jersey from 2008 to 2012, winning the Scudetto, but was also on the Bologna books from 2003 to 2005, even if he only made four appearances.

Vincenzo Italiano insists Bologna should look at the ‘positive’ aspects of their season after loss to Aston Villa, and they ‘still have objectives’ against Juventus tonight.

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It kicks off at the Allianz Juventus Stadium in Turin at 19.45 UK time (20.45 CEST).

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

The Rossoblu are thrown straight into another very tough match, just days after their 4-0 Europa League quarter-final defeat away to Aston Villa.

Thursday’s result means they lost the tie 7-1 on aggregate, so that will have hit confidence.

Italiano looks on bright side for Bologna

“The real problem was the first leg, where we made big mistakes,” Italiano told DAZN Italia.

“We wanted to play a different game, but they wouldn’t allow us, and their early goals made it difficult for us to keep believing. Aston Villa are an excellent team, and our European adventure was on the whole very positive.

“We must do well to learn from this experience if we want to compete at that level, because Aston Villa have so much quality throughout the squad. We had a tough run in Europe, eliminating Roma in the Round of 16.

“Now we still have objectives and want to end the season on a positive note.”

It looks as if after the Champions League and then Europa League in the last two years, Bologna might not be participating in UEFA tournaments next season.

“As long as we are not mathematically out, it is our duty to keep pushing. Right now, we are eager to lock down eighth place, but the last six rounds give us a very complicated fixture list.

“We must try to keep improving, and then see where we could end up.”

Nicolò Casale is the latest addition to the injury list with Lukasz Skorupski, Thijs Dallinga and Benjamin Dominguez already on the treatment table.

Lewis Ferguson missed last week’s win over Lecce through suspension and returns here, but is surprisingly only on the bench, as there are seven changes from the side that lost to Aston Villa.

“We didn’t get back home until Friday evening, but this is why we wanted to build a squad with double options for every role. Helland makes his first start today, he has quality and we’ll see what he can give us to the end of the season,” concluded Italiano.

Genoa completed a comeback victory in Pisa with Jeff Ekhator and Lorenzo Colombo to practically guarantee their Serie A status for another season.

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This was a big opportunity for Daniele De Rossi to definitively break free of the danger zone, coming off a crucial 2-1 victory over Sassuolo. However, that ill-tempered match meant Ruslan Malinovskyi, Morten Frendrup and Mikael Ellertsson all sat out bans, with Maxwel Cornet, Brooke Norton-Cuffy and Benjamin Siegrist injured. Pisa remained rock bottom and missed Marius Marin along with the usual Daniel Denoon.

See how it all unfolded on the Liveblog.

Tommaso Baldanzi drilled just wide from the edge of the area for Genoa early on, but it was Pisa who took the lead by taking advantage of the usual Grifone weakness on set plays.

Samuele Angori floated in a corner for the towering header of defender Simone Canestrelli into the far bottom corner, VAR waving away appeals for a push on Stefano Sabelli.

It should’ve been 2-0 moments later when Pisa broke on the counter-attack from a Genoa corner, but Angori failed to beat Justin Bijlow one-on-one.

Aaron Martin fired a promising free kick into the wall, but Genoa equalised from a throw-in. Baldanzi combined with Lorenzo Colombo and laid it off for Jeff Ekhator, who smashed a left-foot screamer into the roof of the net from just inside the area.

Genoa nearly turned it around on the stroke of half-time, as Colombo bent a great finish from a tricky angle down the right and it shaved a coat of paint off the far top corner of the crossbar. They were doubly frustrated, as officials did not spot the deflection off Canestrelli.

Colombo came close again after the restart, meeting the Baldanzi disguised pass to force a tricky save from Semper at the near post.

Canestrelli slipped when trying to block off Baldanzi in the box and stuck out an arm to parry the finish for an inevitable penalty. The Grifone had missed four of the previous eight spot-kicks in Serie A this season, but Colombo put a perfect left-foot finish into the top corner.

Leo Ostigard tripped Stefano Moreo just outside the box and Bijlow needed a big save to deny Michel Aebischer at the near post, while Semper got down to keep out the Colombo angled drive at the other end.

Pisa 1-2 Genoa

Canestrelli 19 (P), Ekhator 41 (G), Colombo pen 55 (G)

19-04-2026 17:00

MatchDay 33

Arena Garibaldi – Stadio Romeo Anconetani

Pisa

Genoa

1 - 2

Player statistic

1st half

Simone Canestrelli (Assist: Samuele Angori)		19'
Arturo Calabresi		32'
		41'		Jeff Ekhator (Assist: Tommaso Baldanzi)

2nd half

		55'		Lorenzo Colombo
		67'		Leo Östigard
Michel Aebischer		80'
Antonio Caracciolo		87'

Match statistic

44

Possession %

56

12

Total shots

13

4

Shots on target

5

4

Shots off target

3

4

Blocked shots

5

5

Corners

5

1

Offsides

1

21

Fouls

16

Pisa

Genoa

Starting lineups

1

Adrian Šemper

Goalkeeper

4

Antonio Caracciolo

Defender

33

Arturo Calabresi

Defender

61'

35

Felipe Loyola

Defender

56'

3

Samuele Angori

Defender

5

Simone Canestrelli

Defender

14

Ebenezer Akinsanmiro

Midfielder

61'

15

Idrissa Touré

Midfielder

70'

10

Matteo Tramoni

Midfielder

70'

20

Michel Aebischer

Midfielder

32

Stefano Moreo

Attacker

16

Justin Bijlow

Goalkeeper

3

Aarón Martín

Defender

27

Alessandro Marcandalli

Defender

22

Johan Vásquez

Defender

5

Leo Östigard

Defender

20

Stefano Sabelli

Defender

86'

4

Amorim

Midfielder

78'

73

Patrizio Masini

Midfielder

8

Tommaso Baldanzi

Midfielder

65'

21

Jeff Ekhator

Attacker

65'

29

Lorenzo Colombo

Attacker

79'

Substitutes

22

Simone Scuffet

Goalkeeper

12

Nicolas

Goalkeeper

39

Raúl Albiol

Defender

23

Calvin Stengs

Attacker

26

Francesco Coppola

Defender

8

Malthe Höjholt

Midfielder

2

Rosen Bozhinov

Defender

81

Filip Stojilkovic

Attacker

9

Henrik Meister

Attacker

56'

11

Juan Cuadrado

Midfielder

61'

21

Isak Vural

Midfielder

61'

36

Gabriele Piccinini

Attacker

70'

17

Rafiu Durosinmi

Attacker

70'

39

Daniele Sommariva

Goalkeeper

1

Nicola Leali

Goalkeeper

75

Gaël Lafont

Midfielder

13

Nils Zätterström

Defender

80

Jacopo Grossi

Midfielder

99

Latif Ouedraogo

Defender

10

Junior Messias

Attacker

65'

14

Jean Onana

Midfielder

65'

9

Vitinha

Attacker

78'

18

Caleb Ekuban

Attacker

79'

34

Sebastian Otoa

Defender

86'

Juventus can break away in fourth place, but Jeremie Boga and Jonathan David start upfront against Santiago Castro’s Bologna eager to put the Europa League behind them.

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It kicks off at the Allianz Juventus Stadium in Turin at 19.45 UK time (20.45 CEST).

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

There will be a minute’s silence before kick-off and Juve wear black armbands to remember goalkeeper Alex Manninger, who died this week in a car accident at age 48.

He wore their jersey from 2008 to 2012, winning the Scudetto, but was also on the Bologna books from 2003 to 2005, even if he only made four appearances.

The Bianconeri are on sparkling form and after winning four of their last five are hoping to lock down fourth place, especially after Como and Roma dropped points behind them.

However, Kenan Yildiz has been struggling for a while with a fitness issue and is therefore allowed some respite on the bench, so Boga and Francisco Conceicao support centre-forward David.

Weston McKennie returns from suspension to bolster the midfield, and Emil Holm faces the club he left in January as part of an exchange of loans with Joao Mario.

Arek Milik is back on the treatment table with Dusan Vlahovic, Juan Cabal, Mattia Perin and Vasilije Adzic, so Michele Di Gregorio is again in goal.

Bologna need to put the bitter disappointment of the Europa League quarter-final behind them, having been hammered 4-0 by Aston Villa on Thursday evening.

Injuries remain an issue, with Lukasz Skorupski, Thijs Dallinga, Nicolò Casale and Benjamin Dominguez struggling.

Lewis Ferguson missed last week’s win over Lecce through suspension and returns here, but surprisingly not in the starting XI.

Santiago Castro is being worn into the ground in the absence of other options, and starts again here flanked by Riccardo Orsolini and Niccolo Cambiaghi, rotating the wide men.

Jhon Lucumi is also one to watch, as he has been linked with a potential Bianconeri offer over the summer.

Juventus vs. Bologna line-ups

Juventus: Di Gregorio; Kalulu, Bremer, Kelly; Holm, Locatelli, McKennie, Cambiaso; Conceicao, Boga; David

Bologna: Ravaglia; Zortea, Lucumì, Helland, Miranda; Sohm, Freuler, Pobega; Cambiaghi, Castro, Orsolini

19-04-2026 19:45

MatchDay 33

Juventus Stadium (Allianz Stadium)

Juventus

Bologna

2 - 0

Player statistic

1st half

Jonathan David (Assist: Pierre Kalulu)

2'

2nd half

Khéphren Thuram (Assist: Weston McKennie)		57'
Manuel Locatelli		60'

Match statistic

55

Possession %

45

14

Total shots

7

4

Shots on target

4

Shots off target

5

6

Blocked shots

2

6

Corners

1

4

Offsides

10

Fouls

5

Juventus

Bologna

Starting lineups

16

Michele Di Gregorio

Goalkeeper

27

Andrea Cambiaso

Defender

80'

3

Bremer

Defender

2

Emil Holm

Defender

46'

6

Lloyd Kelly

Defender

15

Pierre Kalulu

Defender

5

Manuel Locatelli

Midfielder

22

Weston McKennie

Midfielder

7

Francisco Conceição

Attacker

72'

13

Jeremie Boga

Attacker

86'

30

Jonathan David

Attacker

72'

13

Federico Ravaglia

Goalkeeper

5

Eivind Helland

Defender

68'

26

Jhon Lucumí

Defender

33

Juan Miranda

Defender

20

Nadir Zortea

Defender

8

Remo Freuler

Midfielder

23

Simon Sohm

Midfielder

59'

4

Tommaso Pobega

Midfielder

58'

28

Nicolò Cambiaghi

Attacker

59'

7

Riccardo Orsolini

Attacker

9

Santiago Castro

Attacker

77'

Substitutes

23

Carlo Pinsoglio

Goalkeeper

21

Fabio Miretti

Midfielder

8

Teun Koopmeiners

Midfielder

18

Filip Kostic

Midfielder

42

Simone Scaglia

Goalkeeper

19

Khéphren Thuram

Midfielder

46'

11

Edon Zhegrova

Attacker

72'

10

Kenan Yıldız

Attacker

72'

4

Federico Gatti

Defender

80'

20

Loïs Openda

Attacker

86'

22

Charalampos Lykogiannis

Defender

29

Lorenzo De Silvestri

Defender

41

Martin Vitik

Defender

21

Jens Odgaard

Attacker

17

João Mário

Defender

25

Massimo Pessina

Goalkeeper

82

Matteo Franceschelli

Goalkeeper

73

Francesco Castaldo

Attacker

6

Nikola Moro

Midfielder

58'

19

Lewis Ferguson

Midfielder

59'

11

Jonathan Rowe

Midfielder

59'

14

Torbjørn Heggem

Defender

68'

10

Federico Bernardeschi

Attacker

Italy international Gianluigi Donnarumma went wild with his celebrations after Manchester City made up for his howler to beat Arsenal, diving into the crowd with fans.

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The goalkeeper had been devastated after a horrible error playing out from the back saw him kick his clearance onto Kai Havertz, the ricochet taking the ball into the empty net.

That was the equaliser following Rayan Cherki’s opener just a few minutes earlier, but he made up for his error with a couple of big saves, also thanking the woodwork on two occasions.

Donnarumma lets loose in Manchester

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by GIANLUIGI DONNARUMMA (@donnarumma)

Donnarumma in the crowd! pic.twitter.com/w7nkAjXGHB

— Sam Lee (@SamLee) April 19, 2026

So when Erling Haaland turned in the decisive goal and the final whistle blew, Donnarumma went wild with his celebrations.

Wait for the limbs

Donnarumma celebrated amongst the Man City fans at full time pic.twitter.com/CBLpBL9XIi

— LiveScore (@livescore) April 19, 2026

The Italian was caught on camera diving headlong into the crowd of Manchester City supporters behind his goal, disappearing into the sea of sky blue.

His relief was palpable after fearing that the costly error would be a decisive turning point in the Premier League race.

Instead, the victory puts Manchester City just three points behind leaders Arsenal with a game in hand to be played against Crystal Palace.

Donnarumma is on track to potentially win the Premier League title at his first attempt, having joined the club after taking the Champions League and Ligue 1 for Paris Saint-Germain.

There will be several initiatives to remember Alex Manninger this evening, because the goalkeeper represented both Juventus and Bologna during his Serie A career.

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It kicks off at the Allianz Juventus Stadium in Turin at 19.45 UK time (20.45 CEST).

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

There will be a minute’s silence before kick-off and Juventus wear black armbands to remember former goalkeeper Manninger, who died this week in a car accident in Austria at age 48.

He wore their jersey from 2008 to 2012, winning the Scudetto, and the Bianconeri will have footage of his performances on the big screens before the match.

His shirt is hanging in the locker room: ‘Always with us’ and the Juve goalkeepers will wear it during the warm-up.

Sempre con noi. pic.twitter.com/ysOPckfGXA

— JuventusFC (@juventusfc) April 19, 2026

Manninger left his mark at Juventus

Manninger was also on the Bologna books from 2003 to 2005, even if he only made four appearances, as there were loan spells at Brescia and Siena during that period.

Much of his career was in Italy, also representing Torino, Fiorentina and Udinese, while his other clubs were Arsenal, Espanyol, RB Salzburg, Augsberg and Liverpool.

The goalkeeper made 137 Serie A appearances, along with 45 in the Austrian Bundesliga, 39 in the Premier League, and 36 in the German Bundesliga.

Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma confirmed his greatest weakness with a howler that allowed Arsenal to equalise against Manchester City.

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The former Milan and Paris Saint-Germain star is one of the best shot-stoppers in the sport right now, but his biggest problem has always been playing the ball with his feet.

It was inevitable this might become an issue when joining Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, a side known for playing out from the back and using their goalkeeper as an added sweeper.

Donnarumma always struggled with his feet

"WOAHHHHH!!"

Kai Havertz pulls Arsenal level in chaotic fashion! pic.twitter.com/A4ZjjDF921

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) April 19, 2026

Oh no, Donnarumma pic.twitter.com/Jkgm0icamt

— CBS Sports Golazo (@CBSSportsGolazo) April 19, 2026

Donnarumma had improved recently with this part of his game, but the old errors returned at the worst possible time, just after City had taken the lead in the Premier League top of the table showdown with Arsenal.

He was under pressure from Kai Havertz, took a far too heavy touch, and then kicked his clearance onto Havertz, the ricochet taking it into the empty net.

The Italian looked distraught as his teammates tried to console him, but it is hardly the first time that his difficulties with the ball at his feet have proved costly.

Max Allegri insists Milan ‘have to knuckle down’ and lock down a Champions League spot, with reassuring words on his future. ‘We started a journey together and will continue.’

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The Rossoneri confidence was low after two consecutive heavy defeats to Napoli and Udinese, so the 4-3-3 formation was scrapped for a return to the 3-5-2.

It was far from a strong performance at the Stadio Bentegodi, as Adrien Rabiot got the only goal running onto a Rafael Leao assist before half-time, but Mike Maignan made several big saves.

Matteo Gabbia also had a goal disallowed for offside, while Alexis Saelemaekers saw his strike cleared off the line by Nicolas Valentini.

Allegri keeps Milan focused on results

“Today’s game was complicated because we were coming off two defeats, and when you are six rounds from the end, the fear and pressure sets in that you might not reach your target,” Allegri told DAZN Italia.

“Trips to Verona are always complicated, regardless of the fact this team only picked up 18 points this season, as they have these rapid counter-attacks that threaten goals. We should’ve done better, but at this moment you have to knuckle down and get the points for our Champions League objective.”

Rafael Leao was hauled off the pitch as a substitute just past the hour mark, and although he did not repeat his tantrum, the Portugal international did seem irritated and asked assistant Aldo Dolcetti why he had been taken off.

Allegri also seemed furious with Santiago Gimenez in the final minutes and threatened to replace the substitute with Niclas Fullkrug, although he did not go through with that.

“We could’ve attacked the space better with our strikers, as Verona had been stretched out a bit. The best thing is that everyone participated when off the ball, everyone realised the importance of this victory.

“At this stage, the result goes beyond the consideration for quality football, that’s natural. We need to improve in certain situations, because we allowed an opportunity on the counter-attack when Bartesaghi ran forward and was out of position. This is his first real Serie A season, so he is still learning, but we must do better.”

Despite it being a poor result, it does still allow Milan to catch Napoli in second place, and create a buffer from Juventus in fourth ahead of next week’s showdown with Allegri’s former club.

“We haven’t locked down a Champions League spot yet, but we’re close.”

Leao was jeered by Milan fans last week for his performance against Udinese, so were there improvements this afternoon, despite the substitution?

“Leao had a good game, he provided an assist, but I needed a striker with different characteristics at that moment and I chose Gimenez. Everyone must feel they have a role to play in this season, including those who are currently on the bench.”

There were also concerns for Youssouf Fofana, who was substituted after pulling up clutching his leg, amid fears it was more than mere cramp.

Allegri was asked outright about his future, amid reports that he could be tempted by a call from the FIGC for the Italy job.

“There are no calls and anyway, my focus is on Milan. We have started a journey together, and will continue it together,” he replied.

Adrien Rabiot admits Milan didn’t play well when beating Verona, but the result keeps them on track for the top four. ‘I don’t know what Max Allegri will do next season, only he knows that.’

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The Rossoneri scraped a 1-0 victory at the Stadio Bentegodi thanks to a goal from Rabiot, who won the ball back in midfield and surged forward to complete a give and go with Rafael Leao.

It proved just about enough, along with several Mike Maignan saves, a disallowed Matteo Gabbia goal, and late Nicolas Valentini goal-line clearance on Alexis Saelemaekers.

Rabiot Man of the Match for Milan

“It was important at this stage of the season to win and get points to achieve our target,” Rabiot told DAZN Italia.

“We made too many mistakes, we could’ve done much better, and that ends up making us work much harder than we need to do, which increases fatigue.”

This result does allow Milan to catch Napoli in second place and create a buffer zone from the chasing pack for a top four finish, but they inevitably lost some focus and motivation after the Scudetto drifted out of sight.

“We’re football players, we know that this is the sport, so we have to be concentrated on achieving the primary target of Champions League qualification. Fatigue can set in, but even if we didn’t play well today, we had the right spirit that allowed us to get the result,” added Rabiot.

“Our mentality is not the issue, we need to improve how we play.”

Much has been said this week about Allegri and the tension with Milan directors, but the players are adamant they want the coach to stay for another campaign.

“That is not a question, I don’t know what the coach will do, only he knows that, but he gave us so much during this season. We have to achieve our target for us, the fans, but also the coach and staff who work every day to put us in the right condition,” concluded Rabiot.

“I don’t know what will happen in future, but until we achieve our objective, we have to keep focused.”

The infamous #ConteOut hashtag on social media has reappeared on Saturday and Sunday as disgruntled Napoli fans have begun to call for the coach’s head after the disappointing 2-0 defeat against Lazio at the Stadio Maradona. 

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Napoli’s slim hopes of challenging Inter for the 2025-26 Serie A title took a major blow with their 2-0 defeat at home against Lazio, a game in which Conte’s side failed to register a shot on target. La Gazzetta dello Sport suggests that this might have been Napoli’s worst performance under the stewardship of the 2024-25 Scudetto winner. 

The result leaves Napoli 12 points behind Inter with just five games of the season left to play, and though the Partenopei still look set to secure Champions League qualification, there have been some calls for Conte to leave the club as the result of various events over the last few weeks. 

Napoli’s last two results have been underwhelming: A 1-1 draw against Parma preceded the Lazio loss, which ended a string of five consecutive victories. 

Conte has regularly pointed to Napoli’s injury troubles at various stages of the 2025-26 campaign, but given that the club’s star players – Kevin De Bruyne, Scott McTominay, Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Stanislav Lobotka – have all been available for the last few weeks after a difficult season of injuries, this excuse is no longer valid. 

There is a sense that, despite the injury troubles, Napoli should have been slightly more competitive this season given the summer of heavy spending they had during the transfer window. 

Some fans also feel that Conte has not adequately addressed the reports linking him with a return to the Italy national team set-up as a replacement for Gennaro Gattuso, either, leaving a cloud of uncertainty over the club during the final run-in. 

• Read more: Four potential replacements if Conte leaves to take over Italy national team job

Fans call for Conte to leave Napoli

Ma vi sembra normale che un allenatore prima di una partita dica che arrivare secondi o quarti non cambia nulla???

Un calciatore che deve pensare? Con che spirito può scendere in campo?#Conteout

— 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗰4⃣ 𝙁𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙕𝙖𝙢𝙗𝙤 (@licekimi7) April 18, 2026

Lobotka, Anguissa, Spinazzola e Politano CAMMINANO e in panchina continuano a marcire calciatori come #Gilmour (che non gioca mai e non si sa perché), Alisson Santos, Elmas, Gutierrez e chi più ne ha più ne metta.#CONTEOUT#NapoliLazio

— MaRiOh ! #ConteOUT (@Dekmar83) April 18, 2026

#conteout è semplice, 0 gioco, 0 idee, 8 milioni all'anno e gestione del triplo impegno pessima.

— Peppedm (@pepped992) April 18, 2026

Un solo aereo per Conte Manna Savic Beukema Buongiorno Politano Di Lorenzo Lang Lucca KdB e tutto lo Staff di Conte,tutti via da Napoli.
Non se ne può più.#ConteOut#Napoli https://t.co/BmcsEtzA3G

— El 4-3-3 (@Naples___) April 19, 2026

#NapoliLazio

Biancocelesti DOMINANTI, l'allenatore da 10 milioni all'anno si ostina a inserire i fantomatici FAB4 relegando e mortificando il talento di #McTominay schierato fuori ruolo.
SE NE DEVE ANDARE! #ConteOUT

— MaRiOh ! #ConteOUT (@Dekmar83) April 18, 2026

#CONTEOUT ….VIA DA NAPOLI STANOTTE E COME HAI DETTO IN SILENZIO…..

— Asaw (@weswesas) April 18, 2026

Chi tiene davvero alla maglia azzurra e alla squadra del Napoli e, come me, ne ha seguito le sorti anche nei momenti più bui della sua storia, desidera che Antonio Conte vada via a fine stagione. Tutto il resto è falsità e visione non oggettiva degli eventi.#ConteOUT

— MaRiOh ! #ConteOUT (@Dekmar83) April 18, 2026

The Adrien Rabiot goal proved just enough for Milan to scrape victory away to rock bottom Verona and go into second place, as Rafael Leao was again disappointing despite his assist.

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The Rossoneri abandoned their 4-3-3 tactical experiment after back-to-back defeats to Napoli and Udinese, so returned to 3-5-2 with under-fire Rafael Leao upfront and Matteo Gabbia back two months after surgery on a sports hernia. Hellas were rock bottom, as Daniel Mosquera and Kieron Bowie joined Suat Serdar. on the treatment table, with Armel Bella-Kotchap and Sandi Lovric only fit for the bench.

See how it all unfolded on the Liveblog.

Rafael Leao tried to run onto a Christian Pulisic flick over the top in the opening 90 seconds, but Lorenzo Montipò was quick off his line to smother.

Leao and Victor Nelsson accidentally fell on Daniel Oyegoke, leaving the Verona defender with a sprained ankle and forcing an early change.

Adrian Rabiot was the most consistent attacking player for Milan in the first half, his angled drive testing Montipò after a Pulisic back-heel flick and Youssouf Fofana through ball.

Rabiot was decisive to open the scoring, as he won back possession in midfield and immediately ran forward to complete the give and go with Leao, sweeping first-time past the on-rushing Montipò.

Verona nearly equalised with the last kick of the half, as Rafik Belghali sprung the offside trap to go clear on goal, but was denied by a great one-handed Mike Maignan save.

There was some racist abuse before the second half kicked off as Maignan made his way to the goal under the Hellas ultras end, and the protocol activated.

Belghali threatened again with a ferocious strike just wide from distance, but Fofana pulled up clutching the back of his thigh and was substituted along with Rafael Leao, who walked over and muttered something to Max Allegri while covering his mouth.

Another Belghali attempt was deflected wide, and Maignan scrambled across to get his palm to a Ioan Vermesan daisy-cutter, the same player curling just wide with the right foot moments later.

Gabbia had the ball in the net on his comeback with a header at the back post on the Alexis Saelemaekers cross, but it was disallowed for a Santiago Gimenez offside earlier in the move.

Gabbia was decisive at the other end with a desperate block to stop two Verona players bundling the low cross over the line from six yards, throwing himself in their path.

Verona pushed to the end, as Modric had to charge down an Orban strike at the near post, but Milan also had the opportunity to double their lead when Nicolas Valentini performed a goal-line clearance to deny the Saelemaekers rocket from the edge of the area.

Verona 0-1 Milan

Rabiot 41 (M)

19-04-2026 14:00

MatchDay 33

Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi

Verona

Milan

0 - 1

Player statistic

1st half

Jean-Daniel Akpa Akpro		24'
		41'		Adrien Rabiot (Assist: Rafael Leão)

2nd half

Moatasem Al-Musrati

84'

Match statistic

47

Possession %

53

13

Total shots

6

2

Shots on target

3

4

Shots off target

1

7

Blocked shots

2

6

Corners

1

Offsides

1

13

Fouls

6

Verona

Milan

Starting lineups

1

Lorenzo Montipò

Goalkeeper

5

Andrias Edmundsson

Defender

2

Daniel Oyegoke

Defender

21'

12

Domagoj Bradaric

Defender

46'

6

Nicolás Valentini

Defender

7

Rafik Belghali

Defender

15

Victor Nelsson

Defender

24

Antoine Bernede

Midfielder

82'

11

Jean-Daniel Akpa Akpro

Midfielder

64'

63

Roberto Gagliardini

Midfielder

83'

16

Gift Orban

Attacker

16

Mike Maignan

Goalkeeper

33

Davide Bartesaghi

Defender

23

Fikayo Tomori

Defender

46

Matteo Gabbia

Defender

31

Strahinja Pavlovic

Defender

24

Zachary Athekame

Defender

63'

12

Adrien Rabiot

Midfielder

14

Luka Modric

Midfielder

19

Youssouf Fofana

Midfielder

64'

11

Christian Pulisic

Attacker

80'

10

Rafael Leão

Attacker

63'

Substitutes

21

Abdou Harroui

Midfielder

34

Simone Perilli

Goalkeeper

37

Armel Bella-Kotchap

Defender

94

Giacomo Toniolo

Goalkeeper

3

Martin Frese

Defender

72

Junior Ajayi

Attacker

19

Tobias Slotsager

Defender

70

Fallou Cham

Defender

14

Pol Lirola

Defender

21'

90

Ioan Vermesan

Attacker

46'

73

Moatasem Al-Musrati

Midfielder

64'

41

Isaac

Attacker

82'

4

Sandi Lovric

Midfielder

83'

1

Pietro Terracciano

Goalkeeper

5

Koni De Winter

Defender

8

Ruben Loftus-Cheek

Midfielder

2

Pervis Estupiñán

Defender

30

Ardon Jashari

Midfielder

9

Niclas Füllkrug

Attacker

37

Matteo Pittarella

Goalkeeper

27

David Odogu

Defender

56

Alexis Saelemaekers

Midfielder

63'

7

Santiago Giménez

Attacker

63'

4

Samuele Ricci

Midfielder

64'

18

Christopher Nkunku

Attacker

80'

Gianluigi Donnarumma starts in goal for Manchester City, but there is no Riccardo Calafiori in the Arsenal squad as the two sides prepare to do battle in a potential decider for the Premier League title on Sunday afternoon. 

Donnarumma starts but no Calafiori in Man City vs. Arsenal

The Premier League title race could go down to the wire as just six points separates the leaders Arsenal and reigning champions Man City heading into the final stretch of the 2025-26 campaign. City have played one game fewer than their title rivals ahead of Sunday’s meeting. 

Italy international Donnarumma starts in goal for Manchester City in what is his 29th consecutive Premier League appearance. The Azzurri captain has played every league fixture and all but one of the Champions League fixtures he has been available for since joining city from PSG over the summer. 

There is no Calafiori in the Arsenal squad, however. Head coach Mikel Arteta confirmed during his pre-match press conference that the former Roma and Bologna defender was touch and go for the Man City game, but the Gunners have decided to go with Piero Hincapie at left-back and have decided to leave Calafiori out altogether. 

Arteta had an opportunity to observe Calafiori along with Jurrien Timber and Martin Odegaard, who had all been doubts, during Saturday’s training session. Odegaard is the only one of those three to have been called up and goes straight into the starting line-up.

Reports in Italy claim that Atletico Madrid will seek to negotiate a discount with Juventus for winger Nico Gonzalez, despite the fact that the two sides have already agreed upon the terms of a conditional obligation to buy. 

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Where Juventus and Atletico Madrid stand with Nico Gonzalez

Nico Gonzalez is on loan at Atletico Madrid with a conditional obligation to buy from Juventus. The Argentine moved to Madrid for a loan fee of €1m, with potential bonuses of up to another million, and a potential obligation to buy fee that is set at €32m. 

According to recent updates, Atletico Madrid will trigger Nico Gonzalez’s buy option in the event that he plays for at least 45 minutes in 21 (roughly 60%) of the team’s LaLiga fixtures this season. 

As things stand, Nico Gonzalez has made 22 appearances in LaLiga, providing three goals in the process, but has only played for 45 minutes or more in 15 of those matches. 

Given that Atleti only have seven league matches of the 2025-26 season left to play, and given that Nico Gonzalez has only played for 45 minutes or more twice in the last seven league matches, there is a chance that the obligation to buy clause is not triggered. 

According to recent reports from Matteo Moretto on Fabrizio Romano’s YouTube channel, Atletico are still satisfied with the performances that Nico Gonzalez has put in this season and are still keen to bring him on board for 2026-27, but are keen to avoid having to pay the €32m fee they agreed with Juventus last summer. 

Assuming that the obligation to buy clause is not triggered, Atletico will look to negotiate a discounted fee with Juventus ahead of a potentially permanent deal for Nico Gonzalez in the coming summer transfer window.

Sunday’s reports claim that Gian Piero Gasperini is disappointed by the lack of public support from Roma owner Dan Friedkin following last week’s back-and-forth with senior advisor Claudio Ranieri. 

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Gasperini and Ranieri have come to blows in a series of interviews and press conferences and reports earlier this week claimed that the two were effectively ignoring each other at the club’s training ground as a result. 

Ranieri claimed in an interview that Ranieri was not among the club’s top three candidates to come in as head coach at the end of last season, while Gasperini has often been critical of the players that have been brought in and of the club’s medical staff as well. 

This situation has left fans divided, picking sides and there have been suggestions that it is fairly inconceivable to see both Gasperini and Ranieri working together at the club next season. 

• Read more: Gasperini’s tears of love and tension as Ranieri dispute has Roma fans divided

Gasperini unhappy with lack of Friedkin support at Roma 

According to reports from La Gazzetta dello Sport, Gasperini has been left disappointed by the lack of public support from the club’s ownership in the midst of this war of words with Ranieri. 

The Friedkins have flown into Rome on several occasions previously when there has been tension between the head coach and the club’s senior management, i.e with Jose Mourinho and Tiago Pinto, and with Daniele De Rossi and Lina Souloukou, but this time around, the Americans are not expected to visit the Italian capital until the end of the season. 

La Gazzetta dello Sport claims that Gasperini feels there has been a ‘lack of protection’ and that the ‘risk’ of the head coach walking away from his position at the end of the season isi ‘growing more and more’.

Milan director Igli Tare insists Max Allegri ‘has a very long contract and we are working with him to plan for the future,’ but Champions League qualification is essential.

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It kicks off at the Stadio Bentegodi at 14.00 UK time (15.00 CEST).

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

So much has been said in recent weeks about the future of Allegri, who has been heavily linked with the vacant Italy job, and is also reportedly not entirely pleased with the club structure.

Tare and Milan trust Allegri to stay

“I think it is futile talking about this now, we need to focus all our energy on achieving our objective, which is Champions League qualification. That would mean so much for the future and strategy of this club,” insisted Tare on DAZN Italia.

“There is nothing to say about Allegri, he has done a very good job this season, he has a very long contract with this club, as he said yesterday he likes to plan long-term, so we are working with him to plan for the future.”

It has also been suggested that Tare’s own future might depend on whether or not Allegri stays at Milan next term.

“I honestly don’t think about this situation, as it is part of football. When results are lacking, everything is up for debate, we are aware of that. The most important thing for us is to achieve our targets, then once that has happened, we can all sit down with Furlani, Ibrahimovic and the others to plan for next season.”

There is a strange situation in these closing weeks of the campaign, as the Rossoneri are coming off painful back-to-back defeats to Napoli and Udinese.

However, Napoli’s loss to Lazio yesterday means a win here would send them back into second place, with the focus now on consolidating Champions League qualification.

“There are six finals for us and the next is always the most important, so we have the maximum respect for Verona, a team with nothing to lose. It means we must put in a good performance from the very start and set us on track for a good end to the season,” concluded Tare.

The 4-3-3 tactical experiment is abandoned after the dismal 3-0 loss to Udinese, so they return to 3-5-2 with Matteo Gabbia back in action two months after surgery on a sports hernia.

There is one other issue they need to worry about, because with Juventus coming up next week, Luka Modric, Rafael Leao, Youssouf Fofana, Zachary Athekame and Alexis Saelemaekers are all one yellow card away from suspension.

The threat of relegation remains for Cremonese, who were held to a 0-0 draw at home against Torino in Serie A’s early kick-off on Sunday afternoon. 

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La Cremo came into today’s game needing a result, sitting in 17th place but level on points with Lecce in the relegation zone. They made just one change to their starting line-up with Antonio Sanabria returning to the XI in place of David Okereke, while visitors Torino went with an unchanged team after recording back-to-back victories over the last two weeks. 

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

It wasn’t a spectacular showing from either side in the opening 45 minutes: The two sides registered a combined two shots in the opening 45 minutes, neither of which were on target. 

The first was a blocked attempt by Alberto Grassi following a Cremonese corner and the second was a wildly flashed shot from Federico Bonazzoli off his left foot from the corner of the penalty area 41 minutes in. 

Bonazzoli came much closer with the game’s first shot on target 57 minutes in, bending an effort off his left again, which was heading for the top corner this time. Alberto Paleari was at full stretch to tip it behind for a corner.

Federico Baschirotto thought he had opened the scoring two thirds of the way through proceedings after a scramble in the area following an Alessio Zerbin delivery, but the goal was later ruled out after a VAR check. The officials deemed that Baschirotto had committed a foul on goalkeeper Paleari while lunging in with his attempt to get the ball over the line. 

David Okereke provided a great ball across the face of goal after a bursting run down the right flank, but Marcus Holmgren Pedersen got a crucial interception in just before it arrived at the feet of Sanabria.

Despite their best efforts, Cremonese and Torino ended Sunday’s meeting goalless. Cremoense remain without a win at home in Serie A since early December and are now just one point above the relegation zone with 18th-placed Lecce due to play on Monday night, now aware that an overtake is on. Torino stay put in 12th place and will remain there for the week regardless of the other results on Sunday and Monday.

Cremonese 0-0 Torino

19-04-2026 11:30

MatchDay 33

Stadio Giovanni Zini

Cremonese

Torino

0 - 0

Player statistic

2nd half

		78'		Saúl Coco
		80'		Alieu Njie
		80'		Enzo Ebosse

Match statistic

65

Possession %

35

14

Total shots

4

4

Shots on target

1

6

Shots off target

2

4

Blocked shots

1

6

Corners

1

0

Offsides

1

11

Fouls

12

Cremonese

Torino

Starting lineups

1

Emil Audero

Goalkeeper

6

Federico Baschirotto

Defender

3

Giuseppe Pezzella

Defender

22

Romano Floriani Mussolini

Defender

60'

5

Sebastiano Luperto

Defender

84'

33

Alberto Grassi

Midfielder

73'

24

Filippo Terracciano

Midfielder

27

Jari Vandeputte

Midfielder

60'

38

Warren Bondo

Midfielder

99

Antonio Sanabria

Attacker

84'

90

Federico Bonazzoli

Attacker

1

Alberto Paleari

Goalkeeper

77

Enzo Ebosse

Defender

13

Guillermo Maripán

Defender

68'

16

Marcus Pedersen

Defender

33

Rafa Obrador

Defender

76'

23

Saúl Coco

Defender

22

Cesare Casadei

Midfielder

66

Gvidas Gineitis

Midfielder

10

Nikola Vlasic

Midfielder

76'

19

Ché Adams

Attacker

18

Giovanni Simeone

Attacker

68'

Substitutes

69

Lapo Nava

Goalkeeper

16

Marco Silvestri

Goalkeeper

23

Federico Ceccherini

Defender

15

Matteo Bianchetti

Defender

55

Francesco Folino

Defender

30

Mika Faye

Defender

21

Simone Lottici Tessadri

Midfielder

77

David Okereke

Attacker

60'

7

Alessio Zerbin

Attacker

60'

32

Martín Payero

Midfielder

73'

9

Milan Djuric

Attacker

84'

4

Tommaso Barbieri

Defender

84'

81

Franco Israel

Goalkeeper

20

Valentino Lazaro

Defender

61

Adrien Tameze

Midfielder

8

Ivan Ilić

Midfielder

6

Emirhan Ilkhan

Midfielder

98

Matteo Prati

Midfielder

99

Lapo Siviero

Goalkeeper

35

Luca Marianucci

Defender

68'

34

Cristiano Biraghi

Defender

76'

14

Tino Anjorin

Midfielder

76'

17

Sandro Kulenovic

Attacker

90'

92

Alieu Njie

Attacker

Milan scrap the tactical experiment and return to 3-5-2 with Rafael Leao and Christian Pulisic upfront, as they visit troubled Hellas Verona.

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It kicks off at the Stadio Bentegodi at 14.00 UK time (15.00 CEST).

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

The Rossoneri are coming off back-to-back defeats against Napoli and Udinese, yet Napoli’s defeat to Lazio yesterday means a victory would let them leapfrog back into second place.

The real worry is consolidating a Champions League qualifying spot, especially as next week they face Juventus, so Max Allegri abandons the tactical experiment of a 4-3-3 and returns to his tried and tested 3-5-2 formation.

That means Leao partnering Pulisic again, despite their obvious difficulties working together, with Zachary Athekame and Davide Bartesaghi as wing-backs.

Matteo Gabbia returns two months after surgery on a sports hernia, and goes straight into the starting XI for his comeback, as Koni De Winter drops to the bench.

There is one other issue they need to worry about, because with Juventus coming up next week, Luka Modric, Rafael Leao, Youssouf Fofana, Athekame and Alexis Saelemaekers are all one yellow card away from suspension.

Verona are rock bottom of the Serie A table alongside Pisa and just waiting for the mathematical certainty of their relegation, but will want to give home fans something to cheer this season.

They famously cost Milan two editions of the Scudetto with shock victories at the Bentegodi (5-3 in 1973 and 2-1 in 1990), making the phrase ‘Fatal Verona’ a legendary one in Rossoneri circles.

Hellas have lost their last 10 meetings with the Diavolo, and go into this game without Suat Serdar, but both Kieron Bowie and Daniel Mosquera are late additions to the absentee list.

Domagoj Bradaric therefore steps in to partner Gift Orban upfront, while Armel Bella-Kotchap and Sandi Lovric have recovered for a spot on the bench.

Verona vs. Milan line-ups

Verona: Montipò; Edmundsson, Nelsson, Valentini; Oyegoke, Akpa-Akpro, Gagliardini, Bernede, Belghali; Bradaric, Orban

Milan: Maignan; Tomori, Gabbia, Pavlovic; Athekame, Fofana, Modric, Rabiot, Bartesaghi; Pulisic, Leao

19-04-2026 14:00

MatchDay 33

Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi

Verona

Milan

0 - 1

Player statistic

1st half

Jean-Daniel Akpa Akpro		24'
		41'		Adrien Rabiot (Assist: Rafael Leão)

2nd half

Moatasem Al-Musrati

84'

Match statistic

47

Possession %

53

13

Total shots

6

2

Shots on target

3

4

Shots off target

1

7

Blocked shots

2

6

Corners

1

Offsides

1

13

Fouls

6

Verona

Milan

Starting lineups

1

Lorenzo Montipò

Goalkeeper

5

Andrias Edmundsson

Defender

2

Daniel Oyegoke

Defender

21'

12

Domagoj Bradaric

Defender

46'

6

Nicolás Valentini

Defender

7

Rafik Belghali

Defender

15

Victor Nelsson

Defender

24

Antoine Bernede

Midfielder

82'

11

Jean-Daniel Akpa Akpro

Midfielder

64'

63

Roberto Gagliardini

Midfielder

83'

16

Gift Orban

Attacker

16

Mike Maignan

Goalkeeper

33

Davide Bartesaghi

Defender

23

Fikayo Tomori

Defender

46

Matteo Gabbia

Defender

31

Strahinja Pavlovic

Defender

24

Zachary Athekame

Defender

63'

12

Adrien Rabiot

Midfielder

14

Luka Modric

Midfielder

19

Youssouf Fofana

Midfielder

64'

11

Christian Pulisic

Attacker

80'

10

Rafael Leão

Attacker

63'

Substitutes

21

Abdou Harroui

Midfielder

34

Simone Perilli

Goalkeeper

37

Armel Bella-Kotchap

Defender

94

Giacomo Toniolo

Goalkeeper

3

Martin Frese

Defender

72

Junior Ajayi

Attacker

19

Tobias Slotsager

Defender

70

Fallou Cham

Defender

14

Pol Lirola

Defender

21'

90

Ioan Vermesan

Attacker

46'

73

Moatasem Al-Musrati

Midfielder

64'

41

Isaac

Attacker

82'

4

Sandi Lovric

Midfielder

83'

1

Pietro Terracciano

Goalkeeper

5

Koni De Winter

Defender

8

Ruben Loftus-Cheek

Midfielder

2

Pervis Estupiñán

Defender

30

Ardon Jashari

Midfielder

9

Niclas Füllkrug

Attacker

37

Matteo Pittarella

Goalkeeper

27

David Odogu

Defender

56

Alexis Saelemaekers

Midfielder

63'

7

Santiago Giménez

Attacker

63'

4

Samuele Ricci

Midfielder

64'

18

Christopher Nkunku

Attacker

80'

Inter are on their way to claiming the 2025-26 Scudetto and a potential date for the trophy celebrations has already been identified. 

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When could Inter receive the Serie A trophy?

Inter have a 12-point lead at the top of the Serie A table heading into the final five matches of the 2025-26 season after their 3-0 victory over Cagliari and second-placed Napoli’s 2-0 defeat at home against Lazio on Sunday. 

This means that there is a chance that Cristian Chivu’s side mathematically secure the title in their next Serie A fixture against Torino. The Nerazzurri will still have several chances to mathematically secure the Serie A trophy before the final round of the 2025-26 season even if they fail to win next weekend. 

If Inter secure the Serie A title within the next three matches, which is highly likely given their +12 advantage and a reasonable run of fixtures against Torino and Parma coming up in the next two weeks, they will receive the Serie A trophy on the pitch in their final home match of the 2025-26 season, which falls against Hellas Verona on May 17. 

The time of Inter’s match against Verona on May 17 is yet to be officially confirmed.

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Reports in Italy claim that Romelu Lukaku is finally set to return to Napoli after a rift with the club that saw him fined after failing to report for training in March. 

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Lukaku finally expected to return to Napoli

According to reports from Corriere dello Sport, Lukaku is expected to return to Napoli training on Monday ahead of the final five matches of the 2025-26 Serie A season. The Belgian reportedly communicated the decision to the club via his agent. 

The Belgium international has only been fit enough for 64 minutes of action across seven substitute appearances in all competitions this season after suffering a major hamstring injury in a pre-season friendly against Olympiacos just before the Serie A campaign got underway. 

This injury and subsequent fitness issues kept Lukaku out of action until January, but he has only gone on to play for 40 minutes in Serie A since then. 

As a result, Lukaku did not join up with the Belgium national team for the March international break and due to a hip flexor issue. He had been due to report to Napoli’s training ground during the international break, but despite the club’s wishes, the striker instead decided to stay in Belgium to continue his recovery. Napoli decided to fine the 32-year-old for his leave of unauthorised absence. 

According to Corriere dello Sport, Lukaku and head coach Antonio Conte have not seen each other face-to-face since Napoli’s 1-0 victory over Cagliari on March 20, but this will soon change as Lukaku prepares to return to training with the rest of his teammates on Monday.

Reports in Italy claim that Pierre Kalulu will be the next player whose contract Juventus seek to extend following the recent renewals of captain Manuel Locatelli, star attacker Kenan Yildiz, versatile midfielder Weston McKennie and head coach Luciano Spalletti. 

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Kalulu to receive new and improved Juventus contract?

Juventus have been busy tying up the futures of some of their key players in recent months. Locatelli, Yildiz and McKennie have all committed their futures to the Bianconeri until the summer of 2030, while Spalletti has signed up for at least another two years, until the summer of 2028. 

According to Tuttosport, Kalulu is likely to be the next players to receive a contract extension from Juventus. 

The Frenchman has played more minutes than any other Juventus player this season with 3,841 across 43 appearances in all competitions. This is almost 400 minutes more than the second-most featured Juventus player, Lloyd Kelly on 3,426 minutes. 

Kalulu already has a contract that runs until the summer of 2029, so there is no real rush for the Bianconeri to get a deal done, but Sunday’s reports claim that there is ‘great desire’ on the club’s part to hand Kalulu a new contract. 

This contract is likely to come with an extension of one or two years, until the summer of 2030 or 2031, and will also come with an increase in wages. 

Kalulu reportedly earns around €2.5m per season on his current deal with the Bianconeri, and Tuttosport claims that a new contract could see him earn similar figures to Locatelli, who reportedly receives around €4m per season on his new contract. 

More pressing for Juventus, however, is the currently injured Dusan Vlahovic, who is the highest earner in Serie A but has a contract that will expire at the end of the 2025-26 season. CEO Damien Comolli has recently confirmed that there is unlikely to be any news on that front until the end of the season.

Cremonese and Torino have made just one personnel change between them as the two sides prepare to do battle at the Stadio Zini in Serie A’s early Sunday kick-off. 

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Hosts Cremonese currency find themselves in 17th place in the Serie A table, but are level on points with Lecce in the relegation zone. They were beaten 1-0 by Cagliari last time out in Serie A and have not won since their 2-0 victory over Parma in March. 

Torino have won back-to-back matches under Roberto D’Aversa, most recently claiming a 2-1 victory at home against Hellas Verona, which has them up to 12th in the league standings after 32 matches. 

Cremonese have made just one alteration to their starting line-up for Sunday’s clash against Torino, with Antonio Sanabria returning to the XI to replace David Okereke at centre-forward. Jamie Vardy remains out with muscular fatigue. 

Torino, meanwhile, are completely unchanged after their victory last weekend, with Che Adams, Giovanni Simeone and Nikola Vlasic leading the attack, supported by a midfield of Cesare Casadei and Gvidas Gineitis. 

Kick-off is due at 11.30 BST.

Cremonese vs. Torino: Confirmed line-ups 

Cremonese (4-4-2): Audero; Terracciano, Baschirotto, Luperto, Pezzella; Floriani Mussolini, Bondo, Grassi, Vandeputte; Bonazzoli, Sanabria.

Torino (3-4-1-2): Paleari; Coco, Marzipan, Ebosse; Pedersen, Casadei, Gineitis, Obrador; Vlasic; Simeone, Adams. 

19-04-2026 11:30

MatchDay 33

Stadio Giovanni Zini

Cremonese

Torino

0 - 0

Player statistic

2nd half

		78'		Saúl Coco
		80'		Alieu Njie
		80'		Enzo Ebosse

Match statistic

65

Possession %

35

14

Total shots

4

4

Shots on target

1

6

Shots off target

2

4

Blocked shots

1

6

Corners

1

0

Offsides

1

11

Fouls

12

Cremonese

Torino

Starting lineups

1

Emil Audero

Goalkeeper

6

Federico Baschirotto

Defender

3

Giuseppe Pezzella

Defender

22

Romano Floriani Mussolini

Defender

60'

5

Sebastiano Luperto

Defender

84'

33

Alberto Grassi

Midfielder

73'

24

Filippo Terracciano

Midfielder

27

Jari Vandeputte

Midfielder

60'

38

Warren Bondo

Midfielder

99

Antonio Sanabria

Attacker

84'

90

Federico Bonazzoli

Attacker

1

Alberto Paleari

Goalkeeper

77

Enzo Ebosse

Defender

13

Guillermo Maripán

Defender

68'

16

Marcus Pedersen

Defender

33

Rafa Obrador

Defender

76'

23

Saúl Coco

Defender

22

Cesare Casadei

Midfielder

66

Gvidas Gineitis

Midfielder

10

Nikola Vlasic

Midfielder

76'

19

Ché Adams

Attacker

18

Giovanni Simeone

Attacker

68'

Substitutes

69

Lapo Nava

Goalkeeper

16

Marco Silvestri

Goalkeeper

23

Federico Ceccherini

Defender

15

Matteo Bianchetti

Defender

55

Francesco Folino

Defender

30

Mika Faye

Defender

21

Simone Lottici Tessadri

Midfielder

77

David Okereke

Attacker

60'

7

Alessio Zerbin

Attacker

60'

32

Martín Payero

Midfielder

73'

9

Milan Djuric

Attacker

84'

4

Tommaso Barbieri

Defender

84'

81

Franco Israel

Goalkeeper

20

Valentino Lazaro

Defender

61

Adrien Tameze

Midfielder

8

Ivan Ilić

Midfielder

6

Emirhan Ilkhan

Midfielder

98

Matteo Prati

Midfielder

99

Lapo Siviero

Goalkeeper

35

Luca Marianucci

Defender

68'

34

Cristiano Biraghi

Defender

76'

14

Tino Anjorin

Midfielder

76'

17

Sandro Kulenovic

Attacker

90'

92

Alieu Njie

Attacker

Inter now have a 12-point lead at the top of the Serie A table heading into the final five rounds of 2025-26 Serie A fixtures, which means that Cristian Chivu’s side could mathematically confirm the league title next weekend. 

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Cristian Chivu is on course to win the Scudetto in his first full season as a head coach. The Nerazzurri have amassed 78 points after 33 rounds of Serie A fixtures, 12 more than Napoli and 15 more than Milan, who have played one game fewer. 

Inter’s chances of claiming the Serie A table were boosted even further after their 3-0 win over Cagliari on Friday night, while second-placed Napoli fell to a 2-0 home defeat against Lazio on Saturday. 

What needs to happen for Inter to win the Serie A title next week?

Inter have a chance of claiming the Serie A title in their next league fixture, away against Torino on Sunday evening, however, this scenario depends on results elsewhere going their way. 

In order for Inter to win the Serie A title next week, they will need to beat Torino, which they are widely expected to do, but will also require Napoli dropping points at home against Cremonese on Friday night and for third-placed Milan to drop points against either Verona or Juventus in their next two matches. 

Inter could also draw against Torino and still win the Serie A title next weekend, but that requires Napoli to lose at home against Cremonese and for Milan to not pick up any more than three points in their next two matches against Verona and Juventus. 

Luciano Spalletti has a big call to make regarding the selection of Kenan Yildiz for Juventus’s upcoming Serie A clash against eighth-placed Bologna on Sunday evening. 

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Yildiz returned to training with the Bianconeri group on Saturday, but missed the vast majority of the week’s training due to recurring pain and inflammation in his knee. Spalletti is hoping that the Turkish talent will be available, but it remains to be seen whether he or Jeremie Boga will start on Juventus’s left wing against Bologna. 

Juventus are also without Dusan Vlahovic in attack as they prepare for the crucial final six league matches of the 2025-26 season. 

Spalletti’s side are currently in fourth place and have an opportunity to move five points clear of the fifth-placed Como and sixth-placed Roma with a victory against Bologna on Sunday. 

Bologna, meanwhile, are looking to get back to winning ways after being eliminated by Aston Villa in the quarter-final of the Europa League on Thursday night. Vincenzo Italiano’s side have, however, won their last two Serie A matches leading into the Juventus clash. 

Pre-match reports indicate that it will be Federico Bernardeschi and Jonathan Rowe supporting Santiago Castro from the wings, rather than Riccardo Orsolini and Nicolo Cambiaghi. 

Kick-off is due at 19.45 BST. 

Juventus vs. Bologna: Probable line-ups 

Juventus (4-2-3-1): Di Gregorio; Kalulu, Bremer, Kelly, Cambiaso; Thuram, Locatelli; Conceicao, McKennie, Boga; David. 

Bologna (4-3-3): Ravaglia; J.Mario, Lucumi, Heggem, Miranda; Ferguson, Freuler, Pobega; Bernardeschi, Castro, Rowe. 

Where to watch Juventus vs. Bologna 

Tonight’s game will be available to watch live in the UK on TNT Sports 1 and through DAZN. Supporters in the USA are able to tune in via Paramount+. 

Join us for all the pre-match build-up, in-game coverage and post-match reactions on the Football Italia Liveblog.

Massimiliano Allegri is expected to revert to a more familiar 3-5-2 shape when Milan take on Hellas Verona away from home in Serie A on Sunday evening. 

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The Rossoneri experimented with a four-at-the-back system last time out in the league, but fell to a massively disappointing 3-0 defeat at home against Udinese in the process. 

That result has left Milan in third place in the Serie A table, and ahead of kick-off against Verona, they are currently three points shy of Napoli in second and 15 shy of rivals Inter at the summit, having played one game fewer than both. 

Hosts Verona, meanwhile, are stuck in the relegation zone in 19th place on 18 points after 32 matches and require a miracle if they are to avoid relegation to Serie B at the end of the 2025-26 season. 

Verona have Tomas Suslov back from suspension, but he might have to restart from the substitutes bench. Armel Bella-Kotchap is also available again after missing the last five matches with a hamstring injury, but is unlikely to be thrown straight back into the starting XI. 

Pre-match reports indicate that Christian Pulisic and Rafael Leao will both keep their places in the Milan attack and that Alexis Saelemaekers is likely to start from the bench. Zachary Athekame is expected to start for the Rossoneri at right wing-back. 

Matteo Gabbia is also in line to return to the starting line-up, likely alongside Fikayo Tomori and Strahinja Pavlovic in Allegri’s back three. 

Kick-off is due at 14.00 BST.

Verona vs. Milan: Probable line-ups 

Verona (3-5-2): Montipo; Edmundsson, Nelsson, Frese; Belghali, Akpa Akpro, Gagliardini, Bernede, Bradaric; Bowie, Orban. 

Milan (3-5-2): Maignan; Tomori, Gabbia, Pavlovic; Athekame, Fofana, Modric, Rabiot, Bartesaghi; Leao, Pulisic. 

Where to watch Verona vs. Milan

Today’s game will be available to watch live in the UK through DAZN and will also be available to watch on the BBC iPlayer through BBC Alba’s coverage. Supporters in the USA are able to tune in via Paramount+. 

Join us for all the pre-match build-up, in-game coverage and post-match reactions on the Football Italia Liveblog.

La Gazzetta dello Sport 

Inter here we go 

Napoli crumble, 21st Scudetto very close 

The Nerazzurri stay at +12, now need four points from their next five matches. Conte slips against Lazio and departs the throne: ‘That’s that done, it’s better to stay quiet now’

Milan and Juve, Champions League time 

Big opportunities in Verona and against Bologna 

The Devil Allegri: ‘It’s not in my DNA to change often’. Spalletti sets the tone: Boga and Conceicao ready, Yildiz doubt 

Gasp draws then Ranieri stings 

Atalanta comeback 

‘Don’t put me on the same level as him’. And fourth place slips away

Corriere dello Sport 

All for Lucio 

Juve see the ChampionsLeague, Objective +5 

Roma stopped: 1-1 against Atalanta, Spalletti takes on Bologna at 19.45 

He could tie up fourth place and lengthen the gap upon Gasp and Fabrega. Conceicao, David and Boga looking for the fifth victory in the last six games. Yildiz starts from the bench. Italiano trap: He’s won eight games away from home 

Inter, Scudetto in Turin 

Napoli sink | Lazio clear out the Maradona (0-2): Chivu could become champion on Sunday 

Goals from Cancellieri and Basic bring the Nerazzurri closer to their 21st title. Milan in Verona (14.00) to draw level with Conte 

Tuttosport 

‘Juve, even more!’ 

Against Bologna to draw closer to the Champions League: Spalletti raises the pressure 

Despite the win against Atalanta and the missteps from Como and Roma that have consolidated fourth place, the coach calls for a raise of the defence and of levels: ‘This isn’t enough for me, I want more intensity’.  Yildiz is improving: He’s available. Defenders: Baidoo from Lens emerges. After Locatelli, Kalulu’s contract is being negotiated. 

Inter, Scudetto already on Sunday? 

Napoli crumble against Lazio: 0-2 

Cancellieri and Basic violate the Maradona. Four points away from mathematically winning it, but Chivu (+12) already has the possibility of celebrating against Torino

‘Toro, winning is the bare minimum’ 

In Cremona at 11.30: D’Aversa pushes 

The coach demands heads held high for the season finale: ‘A draw? I wouldn’t be happy’. Simeone still talking about River Plate. Cairo, loans and doubts 

Krstovic also score for Lucio 

Atalanta hold Roma 

Hermoso equalises in the final minute of the first half, but the Giallorossi can’t get any further: The Champions League spots could move five points away this evening

Max: ‘Leao? The boos are deserved’ 

Verona-Milan at 14.00 

Gian Piero Gasperini gave a very open-ended reply when asked about his Roma future. ‘This has been an extraordinary experience for me, we’ll discuss it at the end of the season.’

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The Giallorossi went behind to Atalanta at the first opportunity on home turf, as Nikola Krstovic blasted in from the edge of the area, with Mario Hermoso’s volley drawing level on the stroke of half-time.

Although the hosts had the best chances to win it, forcing saves from Serie A Man of the Match Marco Carnesecchi and clipping the crossbar, they were unable to get more than a 1-1 draw.

Gasperini won’t commit future to Roma

“Carnesecchi made several great saves, Svilar too on one occasion, but we certainly tried to win it more than Atalanta,” Gasperini told Sky Sport Italia.

“The first half was very entertaining, after the break a bit of fatigue set in, so there were a few more errors, but we always tried to get the full result to the final whistle.”

This had been a big chance to leapfrog Como into fifth place after Cesc Fabregas and his team lost to Sassuolo yesterday, but instead they only catch the Lariani on 58 points, and risk falling further behind Juventus in fourth.

Roma’s dismal record in the big matches continues, scraping only seven points in matches against the other teams in the top seven.

“Sometimes like against Juventus and Napoli, we were in the lead, we did well against Milan, then at Como were down to 10 men, but the only one we lost in the second half of the season was against Inter, who are a step above. More often than not, we were closest to the victory.”

Matias Soulé and Gianluca Mancini were still visibly not at 100 per cent, while Devyne Rensch went off with a muscular problem.

“Until mid-December, we had a consistency in our line-up that allowed us to defend very well. When Malen arrived in January, we vastly improved our attack, but at the same time got weaker in defence. It was a remarkable defensive record at the start that we would’ve struggled to maintain for long,” insisted Gasperini.

It has been a difficult few days for Roma, as Gasperini and director Claudio Ranieri engaged in a very public war of words, prompting many fans to take sides and assume they cannot work together next season.

There was also some tension at the final whistle with some jeers from the crowd. He was asked outright, will the club have to choose between the coach and Ranieri?

“I was dragged into this thing, people have talked about nothing else for a week. I never replied, I will continue to not reply, as I don’t think it is a very pleasant thing for all the people in the stadium,” replied Gasperini.

“There are five games to go, we are still challenging for some important targets, and if we are four points clear of an Atalanta side who were third last season, that shows we’ve done something right. We are close to Como and Juve, we saw today Napoli lost, so I am concentrated on this situation.

“We need to end the season well, because this has been an extraordinary experience for me, having arrived here with a lot of scepticism around me, and a little rivalry.

“There is a team that continues to follow me, I am grateful to them and always will be, just as I am to the fans for what they have given me so far. As for what happens after that, these are things we will discuss at the end of the season.”

Raffaele Palladino ‘enjoyed myself’ watching Atalanta’s 1-1 draw with Roma, feeling either team could win it, but the Coppa Italia semi-final is ‘the most important match of the season.’

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La Dea knew that this was their last real chance to challenge for a Champions League spot, and they had taken the lead at the Stadio Olimpico with the first Nikola Krstovic effort on goal.

However, Mario Hermoso’s acrobatic volley cancelled it out on the stroke of half-time, and the defender almost got a second when his header bounced off the crossbar.

Marco Carnesecchi made several big saves and was named Lega Serie A Man of the Match, but this point was not the birthday present Palladino had hoped for.

Palladino relishing Atalanta performances

“It was a good game of football played between two teams who wanted to win, playing with intensity, courage and quality. I’ll be honest, I enjoyed myself tonight,” Palladino told Sky Sport Italia.

“We took on a team that was eager to beat us, especially as we beat them earlier this season. Coming here into this atmosphere with such spirit was not easy, so I congratulated my players.

“It was an open match and frankly either side could’ve won it, as we had the chances to go 2-0 up, and then they had opportunities in the second half. We take this point and feel it is probably the right result.”

This result means Atalanta remain in seventh place and four points adrift of Roma in sixth, so it will be a struggle to make up that ground now.

Winning the Coppa Italia could therefore be their best chance of qualifying for the Europa League, and they host Lazio in Wednesday’s semi-final, after the first leg ended 2-2.

“I won’t say this was a wasted opportunity, as we closed one point from Como and stayed at the same distance from Roma. We won’t give up to the last game, I think against Juventus and Roma they were two really good performances, showing we’ll fight it out with anyone,” noted Palladino.

“Now the semi-final of the Coppa Italia is probably our most important match of the season so far, we really want to get into the Final.”

Atalanta made three changes at half-time, two of them in defence, so what was behind that decision?

“Giorgio Scalvini had a knock to the hip and was struggling to keep up the pace of the game, while Kolasinac had a slight muscular twinge and we will need to evaluate it over the next few days. With an eye on Wednesday, I didn’t want to take any risks.

“Charles De Ketelaere wasn’t sharp today, as he had flu earlier this week and didn’t have his usual energy. We had trouble with our defenders in the first half, but they were largely physical issues.”

Gianluca Scamacca was expected to start this evening, but Krstovic got the nod and scored the opening goal. Could they play together?

“I have faith in both strikers, they will prove themselves when given the chance. I needed players with different characteristics today, as Nikola can attack the space more, whereas Gianluca tends to connect with the midfield. Whether they can play together next season, I don’t know, we’ve got time to think about that.”

Roberto De Zerbi’s wait for a first victory as Tottenham head coach goes on after a maddening 2-2 draw with Brighton at a packed stadium, a result that felt like a defeat given the manner in which the points were conceded, with goals for the visitors arriving in the final moments of both halves to deny Spurs what would have been a crucial win in their battle against relegation.

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Despite the frustration, De Zerbi refused to allow negativity to take hold, delivering a characteristically passionate and defiant assessment of where his side stand with five games remaining.

“I’m very proud because the players gave their best, with the right mentality, the right blood, the right character,” he said, with quotes via Football.London.

“I’m disappointed only for the result, for my players and for the fans, because the atmosphere was incredible. In a very tough situation, the stadium was amazing.”

De Zerbi: ‘Spurs can win five games in a row’

On Danso’s error that led to Brighton’s late equaliser, De Zerbi was protective of his player.

“I prefer to make mistakes with the personality to play than to concede a goal without personality or courage,” he said. “Now we need courage. To win games we have to be positive and play football.”

His ambition for what remains of the season may have raised eyebrows, but it was delivered with total conviction.

“This team is able to win five games in a row,” he said. “Now it is difficult to hear my words, but if you analyse the level of these players, we have the quality to fight and win games consecutively.”

His message to any player tempted to feel sorry for themselves was equally direct.

“They have to come to the training ground on Monday with a smile, otherwise they go home. I have no time for negative people or sad players. We are lucky to be working at a big club in the Premier League. Be positive. Stop.”

Roma and Atalanta were both left frustrated with a point apiece in this showdown for European places, as Mario Hermoso cancelled out the Nikola Krstovic opener.

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This was a pure head-to-head for European ambitions, but also an emotional reunion for Gian Piero Gasperini with his former club, and protégé Raffaele Palladino. Paulo Dybala, Manu Koné, Wesley, Lorenzo Pellegrini, Artem Dovbyk and Evan Ferguson were still out of action, with Nicolò Pisilli and Gianluca Mancini not at 100 per cent either.

La Dea had to prepare for Wednesday’s Coppa Italia semi-final against Lazio, though Isak Hien and Kamaldeen Sulemana were injured, so Giacomo Raspadori started against the club he turned down in January.

Atalanta had a remarkable recent record against the Giallorossi, unbeaten since March 2022 with six wins and a draw going into this game.

See how it all unfolded on the Liveblog.

The visitors scored with the first chance of the game, as Marten de Roon robbed Mario Hermoso in midfield and sent Nikola Krstovic through the middle, the striker’s ferocious right-foot finish beating Mile Svilar.

Matias Soulé cut inside for a curler from the edge of the area that was deflected over by Berat Djimsiti, then in a similar position forced the low one-handed Marco Carnesecchi save.

Carnesecchi did even better when rushing off his line for a desperate block on Donyell Malen’s tap-in from seven yards, when Stephan El Shaarawy had rolled across.

Malen also tested the Atalanta goalkeeper at the near post on the counter-attack, while Mile Svilar denied Ederson one-on-one moments later after the midfielder had left El Aynaoui in his wake.

Roma equalised on the stroke of half-time, as Devyne Rensch nodded down the Zeki Celik cross for an acrobatic Hermoso left-foot volley from eight yards into the roof of the net.

Atalanta made a triple change at half-time, including ex-Roma youth product Nicola Zalewski, who immediately blasted wide from distance.

El Shaarawy stung Carnesecchi’s gloves at the near post with a volley from a tricky angle, as did Malen from a very similar position, while the goalkeeper was ready for a Hermoso header.

Lorenzo Venturino’s strike was deflected over, but on the resulting corner a Hermoso looping header bounced off the top of the crossbar.

Devyne Rensch hobbled off with a muscular problem, while Robinio Vaz couldn’t take advantage of Carnesecchi fumbling a Venturino cross.

Roma 1-1 Atalanta

Krstovic 12 (A), Hermoso 45 (R)

18-04-2026 19:45

MatchDay 33

Stadio Olimpico

Roma

Atalanta

1 - 1

Player statistic

1st half

		12'		Nikola Krstovic (Assist: Marten de Roon)
Mario Hermoso (Assist: Devyne Rensch)		45'

2nd half

		65'		Éderson
Niccolò Pisilli		75'
		90+1'		Berat Djimsiti

Match statistic

53

Possession %

47

19

Total shots

8

9

Shots on target

2

4

Shots off target

3

6

Blocked shots

3

7

Corners

6

1

Offsides

3

4

Fouls

14

Roma

Atalanta

Starting lineups

99

Mile Svilar

Goalkeeper

2

Devyne Rensch

Defender

78'

5

Evan Ndicka

Defender

23

Gianluca Mancini

Defender

60'

22

Mario Hermoso

Defender

19

Zeki Celik

Defender

4

Bryan Cristante

Midfielder

8

Neil El Aynaoui

Midfielder

60'

14

Donyell Malen

Attacker

18

Matìas Soulé

Attacker

71'

92

Stephan El Shaarawy

Attacker

60'

29

Marco Carnesecchi

Goalkeeper

19

Berat Djimsiti

Defender

77

Davide Zappacosta

Defender

42

Giorgio Scalvini

Defender

46'

16

Raoul Bellanova

Defender

23

Sead Kolasinac

Defender

46'

13

Éderson

Midfielder

80'

15

Marten de Roon

Midfielder

17

Charles De Ketelaere

Attacker

46'

18

Giacomo Raspadori

Attacker

90

Nikola Krstovic

Attacker

Substitutes

3

Angeliño

Defender

95

Pierluigi Gollini

Goalkeeper

24

Jan Ziolkowski

Defender

97

Bryan Zaragoza

Attacker

70

Giorgio De Marzi

Goalkeeper

61

Niccolò Pisilli

Midfielder

60'

87

Daniele Ghilardi

Defender

60'

20

Lorenzo Venturino

Attacker

60'

78

Robinio Vaz

Attacker

71'

12

Konstantinos Tsimikas

Defender

78'

10

Lazar Samardžić

Midfielder

57

Marco Sportiello

Goalkeeper

9

Gianluca Scamacca

Attacker

5

Mitchel Bakker

Defender

7

Kamaldeen Sulemana

Midfielder

6

Yunus Musah

Midfielder

59

Nicola Zalewski

Midfielder

46'

3

Odilon Kossounou

Defender

46'

69

Honest Ahanor

Defender

46'

8

Mario Pasalic

Midfielder

80'