Luciano Spalletti confirmed Kenan Yildiz wanted to take the penalty against Sassuolo, but Manuel Locatelli was given the ball, leading to the third consecutive failed Juventus spot-kick.

• Read Football Italia Ad-Free and get access to Exclusive News – Free Trial – Click Here

The Bianconeri were held to a 1-1 draw at home by Sassuolo this evening, which has significantly damaged their chances of qualifying for the Champions League with a top four finish.

Kenan Yildiz had scored the opener, cancelled out by Andrea Pinamonti, and Dusan Vlahovic’s header struck Jay Idzes on the arm for a late penalty.

What happened before Juventus penalty

What the cameras perhaps did not capture was the conversation going on when the VAR call was being made, as Yildiz was standing near the spot, hoping to be given the ball.

Instead, Spalletti called Locatelli over to the touchline, and after a brief conversation, the midfielder went over to inform Yildiz of the decision.

It didn’t pay off, as Locatelli’s weak and central penalty was smothered by Arijanet Muric.

“Locatelli came over and told me he felt ready to take it,” confirmed Spalletti to DAZN Italia.

“There were two or three players who wanted to step up, but Locatelli is the designated taker. It’s fine, anyone can miss a penalty, we are just disappointed about not bringing home the victory.”

This means Juventus have now failed to convert three consecutive Serie A penalty kicks with three different players.

Jonathan David got it wrong in another stalemate with Lecce, while Yildiz was denied in a 5-0 victory over Cremonese.

In total, the Bianconeri have received seven Serie A penalties this term, converting four of them.

Locatelli remains their best taker, converting two out of his three, while Kenan Yildiz has a 50 per cent rate.

Vlahovic scored his only attempt too, but made his comeback today for the first time since injury at the end of November.

Fabio Grosso admits he ‘took a gamble and Sassuolo showed courage’ by fighting to a 1-1 draw away to Juventus, despite a week dominated by a whooping cough outbreak.

• Read Football Italia Ad-Free and get access to Exclusive News – Free Trial – Click Here

The Neroverdi certainly didn’t have the ideal preparation for this trip to the Allianz Juventus Stadium, as along with injured Fali Candé, Alieu Fadera, Daniel Boloca and Edoardo Pieragnolo, they were affected by a whooping cough outbreak.

Only one case has been confirmed so far, but another four players were forced to isolate after showing symptoms of the highly-infectious virus that affects the respiratory system, with Nemanja Matic, Kristian Thorstvedt, Woyo Coulibaly and Stefano Turati left behind.

Grosso proud of Sassuolo courage

“It was a fantastic performance, incredible really, going beyond all the rosiest possible expectations,” smiled Grosso on Sky Sport Italia.

“This has been a very difficult week, but we dug deep for courage and were rewarded for that. The lads played at such a high level, and so often in these situations you need a bit of luck too, but with our system, our attitude and determination, we earned this point.”

Despite the difficulties, and coming off two consecutive Serie A defeats, Sassuolo fought back from the Kenan Yildiz opener to equalise with Andrea Pinamonti.

Manuel Locatelli had the chance to win it for Juventus late on, but Arijanet Muric sealed his Man of the Match status by smothering the penalty.

“We had got so close to the end when the penalty was awarded, there were so many difficulties, but I asked the players to hang in there no matter what happened,” continued Grosso.

“At a certain point, they were perhaps the only ones in the world who at the 93^rd minute away to Juventus went to take two consecutive corners and just kept pushing for another goal, without trying to let the clock run out.

“That is the great thing about this Sassuolo side, this courage and naïve confidence that allowed us to get this result.”

Sassuolo had never drawn away to Juventus in Serie A before, losing nine of their trips here and winning only once in 2021.

“I took a big gamble tonight, but I trusted the young players who deserved this opportunity. By asking the lads for courage, I had to show some of my own too, otherwise I wouldn’t have been credible. I picked a lot of attacking players, we took risks, but I liked the attitude and that we created quite a few chances against a strong opponent.”

Grosso famously scored the penalty that gave Italy the 2006 World Cup, so with the play-offs on the horizon and Gianluca Scamacca of Atalanta injured, would he suggest Gennaro Gattuso call up Pinamonti instead?

“Andrea is a great striker, but I am biased. He can still improve and be more decisive, but he is a complete striker who has everything required. We are all cheering on the Nazionale and trust the decisions that Rino will make, so we must try to support and encourage them, not try to always find something to complain about. We need positive energy.”

Luciano Spalletti was torn between praise and criticism of his Juventus players after a 1-1 draw with Sassuolo. ‘We created so many chances, but often made the wrong decisions.’

• Read Football Italia Ad-Free and get access to Exclusive News – Free Trial – Click Here

The Bianconeri had been building momentum to recapture a Champions League spot, and were hosting a Sassuolo side decimated by injuries and a whooping cough outbreak in the squad.

They had taken the lead through Kenan Yildiz, but when Andrea Pinamonti equalised, Manuel Locatelli saw the late opportunity to win it go to waste with Arijanet Muric’s penalty save.

This is the third consecutive penalty that Juventus have failed to convert in Serie A, after Kenan Yildiz and Jonathan David also made mistakes.

Spalletti sees Juventus wasted chances

“When you play with four at the back, you have to spread the ball and surround them, so you create one-on-one situations. I kept telling them to find Yildiz and Conceicao, because Sassuolo were pinned back into their own penalty area,” Spalletti told Sky Sport Italia.

“If you play through the middle and lose the ball, you struggle to get it back. If you lose it out wide, you can stop the counter and win it back quickly. Instead, we made decisions that in the long run we paid a price for, because too many times we didn’t make the right choices, there wasn’t enough maturity.

“We conceded the equaliser, created quite a few situations similar to the one that Sassuolo scored, we had at least 10 of those, but we weren’t reactive enough, didn’t make the smartest choices.”

There were some good choices for the goal, because Mattia Perin immediately launched Francisco Conceicao down the right after a Sassuolo corner, and then the Portuguese talent pulled it back for Yildiz.

“Perin and Conceicao made the right decisions there, but Conceicao had another six of those situations in the first half alone where he chose the wrong option, or he had a bad shot, or he passed it to Kalulu who missed the finish past the far post. When you do not execute the chances you create, you pay for that eventually,” explained Spalletti.

“Considering the chances and the way we poured forward to the end, I think if we had won, then it would’ve been deserved.”

The result means Juve are at the very best left in fifth place this weekend, and could fall further behind Como as well as potentially be caught by Roma.

“We are distraught with disappointment for the result, but smile anyway, because we create so many situations where we could’ve won it, but we have to accept the result. There were some good things in the second half, even if we moved the ball a bit too slowly,” noted the coach.

There was some good news for Juventus too, because in a late double substitution Spalletti gave Dusan Vlahovic his first appearance since the end of November 2025, and Arek Milik his first game since May 2024.

Finally, the former Italy coach was asked about the upcoming World Cup play-off against Northern Ireland, a qualifying campaign that he had started before being sacked two games in.

“I think we should have faith in this Nazionale. I believe Gattuso made the right decisions, so we have everything it takes to qualify for the World Cup.”

Arijanet Muric reveals he felt ‘confident’ facing the Manuel Locatelli penalty and there was a ‘much more difficult’ save to earn Sassuolo the 1-1 draw with Juventus.

• Read Football Italia Ad-Free and get access to Exclusive News – Free Trial – Click Here

It was a dramatic evening in Turin, partly for the build-up because Sassuolo were missing four injured players, plus Nemanja Matic, Kristian Thorstvedt, Woyo Coulibaly and Stefano Turati who were left behind after showing symptoms of whooping cough.

The highly-infectious disease of the respiratory system swept through the squad and made it an extraordinarily difficult situation to deal with.

Nonetheless, they came back from the Kenan Yildiz strike with Andrea Pinamonti, then late on Muric smothered the Locatelli spot-kick.

Muric and Sassuolo snatched result

“I think the team did very well, it’s all about energy, we had it spot on today, created a lot of chances as well, so I think we deserved to go home with a point,” Muric told Sky Sport Italia.

Juventus have now failed to convert three consecutive Serie A penalties, after Kenan Yildiz and Jonathan David errors, so what was Muric thinking when Locatelli stepped up?

“It was about a feeling, the moment he kicked it, I thought I’m going to save it. I was feeling confident. The header from Milik was much more difficult, but I managed to keep that out too, so it’s a great day.”

Sassuolo captain Domenico Berardi also congratulated Muric on his Serie A Man of the Match status.

“Aro has been giving us a big hand for a while now, he’s got great qualities and has been impressing for some time,” Berardi told Sky Sport Italia.

“We came here to have our say against a great opponent. Juventus are doing really well, but we managed to stay in the game after going behind, played with sacrifice, but also quality and good passing. We are happy to go home with a result.”

A Sassuolo side decimated by a whooping cough outbreak managed to stall Juventus, as Andrea Pinamonti replied to Kenan Yildiz, with Manuel Locatelli’s late penalty saved.

• Read Football Italia Ad-Free and get access to Exclusive News – Free Trial – Click Here

The Bianconeri were back in the hunt for Champions League spots after a 3-3 draw at Roma and two straight wins, as Jeremie Boga was chosen to lead the attack flanked by Kenan Yildiz and Francisco Conceicao from the start. Emil Holm was the only remaining absentee, with Dusan Vlahovic on the bench four months after his serious injury. Sassuolo’s build-up was dominated by an unusual outbreak of whooping cough in the squad, ruling out Nemanja Matic, Kristian Thorstvedt, Woyo Coulibaly and Stefano Turati. On top of that, Fali Candé, Alieu Fadera, Daniel Boloca and Edoardo Pieragnolo were injured, following back-to-back defeats to Lazio and Bologna.

See how it all unfolded on the Liveblog.

Arijanet Muric had to make a save in the third minute when Manuel Locatelli was allowed a free header on Boga’s corner, then Francisco Conceicao’s volley was charged down by Tarik Muharemovic on the Weston McKennie knockdown.

Juventus broke through with some route one football, as Mattia Perin captured a corner and immediately launched Conceicao down the right with a long ball, the Portuguese talent cut inside and rolled across for Kenan Yildiz to sweep into the bottom corner from the edge of the area. It was his 10th Serie A goal of the season, a new personal best.

Khephren Thuram surged forward to sting Muric’s gloves, the goalkeeper also pushing a Yildiz looping effort over the bar, but Sassuolo threatened too when Andrea Pinamonti nodded over from point-blank range at the back post when Jay Idzes flicked on a corner.

Conceicao dribbled to the by-line and pulled back for Pierre Kalulu to sweep just wide of the far bottom corner from a very promising position.

On the stroke of half-time, only a decisive Lloyd Kelly toe deflection took the Domenico Berardi roll across away from Ulisses Garcia, who was ready to tap in from six yards.

Sassuolo equalised with a similar move after the restart, as Cristian Volpato sent Berardi down the right, and this time Pinamonti was there to meet it from close range, getting in front of Gleison Bremer.

Conceicao rode one tackle, but not the Aster Vranckx challenge inside the area, and Boga tested Muric from distance.

When Boga chipped a ball over the top for Kalulu, the defender decided to knock it back for Teun Koopmeiners and the finish was deflected over.

Conceicao stood up a cross to the far post for a Boga free header, but was denied by the sensational Muric reaction save.

There was a very special moment, as Juventus gave Dusan Vlahovic his first game since November 2025, and Arkadiusz Milik had his first competitive appearance since May 25, 2024.

Vlahovic made an immediate impact, as his header struck Idzes on the arm and it was spotted by VAR for a late Juventus penalty. However, Locatelli stepped up and the weak, central spot-kick was smothered by Muric. It was the third consecutive penalty that Juventus failed to convert in Serie A.

Idzes made up for the error with a crucial clearance to stop Vlahovic tapping in the Kalulu cross, then Muric made a desperate save on the line from the Milik towering header and the attempted Vlahovic follow-up.

Kenan Yildiz fired over from a tricky angle with his left foot deep into stoppages.

Juventus 1-1 Sassuolo

Yildiz 14 (J), Pinamonti 52 (S)

Saved penalty: Locatelli 87 (J)

21-03-2026 19:45

MatchDay 30

Juventus Stadium (Allianz Stadium)

Juventus

Sassuolo

1 - 1

Player statistic

1st half

Kenan Yıldız (Assist: Francisco Conceição)

14'

2nd half

		52'		Andrea Pinamonti (Assist: Domenico Berardi)
Bremer		64'
		74'		Ulisses Garcia
Manuel Locatelli		87'
		90+5'		Luca Lipani

Match statistic

65

Possession %

35

18

Total shots

7

8

Shots on target

1

6

Shots off target

2

4

Blocked shots

4

9

Corners

4

1

Offsides

0

7

Fouls

7

Juventus

Sassuolo

Starting lineups

1

Mattia Perin

Goalkeeper

27

Andrea Cambiaso

Defender

62'

3

Bremer

Defender

6

Lloyd Kelly

Defender

79'

15

Pierre Kalulu

Defender

19

Khéphren Thuram

Midfielder

62'

5

Manuel Locatelli

Midfielder

22

Weston McKennie

Midfielder

7

Francisco Conceição

Attacker

88'

13

Jeremie Boga

Attacker

79'

10

Kenan Yıldız

Attacker

49

Arijanet Muric

Goalkeeper

21

Jay Idzes

Defender

6

Sebastian Walukiewicz

Defender

80

Tarik Muharemovic

Defender

23

Ulisses Garcia

Defender

40

Aster Vranckx

Midfielder

80'

7

Cristian Volpato

Midfielder

69'

50

Darryl Bakola

Midfielder

69'

90

Ismaël Koné

Midfielder

99

Andrea Pinamonti

Attacker

80'

10

Domenico Berardi

Attacker

90'

Substitutes

23

Carlo Pinsoglio

Goalkeeper

4

Federico Gatti

Defender

16

Michele Di Gregorio

Goalkeeper

20

Loïs Openda

Attacker

18

Filip Kostic

Midfielder

30

Jonathan David

Attacker

32

Juan Cabal

Defender

17

Vasilije Adžić

Midfielder

21

Fabio Miretti

Midfielder

62'

8

Teun Koopmeiners

Midfielder

62'

9

Dusan Vlahovic

Attacker

79'

14

Arkadiusz Milik

Attacker

79'

11

Edon Zhegrova

Attacker

88'

19

Filippo Romagna

Defender

12

Giacomo Satalino

Goalkeeper

16

Gioele Zacchi

Goalkeeper

24

Luca Moro

Attacker

66

Pedro Felipe

Defender

33

Christian Frangella

Midfielder

45

Armand Lauriente

Attacker

69'

35

Luca Lipani

Midfielder

69'

8

M’Bala Nzola

Attacker

80'

44

Edoardo Iannoni

Midfielder

80'

3

Josh Doig

Defender

90'

Sassuolo director Giovanni Carnevali admits it has ‘not been an easy week’ for them dealing with a whooping cough outbreak, but they ‘feel ready to have our say’ against Juventus anyway.

• Read Football Italia Ad-Free and get access to Exclusive News – Free Trial – Click Here

It kicks off at the Allianz Juventus Stadium at 19.45 GMT (20.45 CET).

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

The Neroverdi are dealing with a truly extraordinary situation, as an outbreak of whooping cough has spread throughout the squad.

There is one confirmed diagnosis, with five others isolated after exhibiting symptoms, although the club has not named any of them due to privacy concerns.

It is fairly easy to work out who is missing from the squad today, namely Nemanja Matic, Kristian Thorstvedt, Woyo Coulibaly and Stefano Turati.

Sassuolo were already without injured Fali Candé, Alieu Fadera, Daniel Boloca and Edoardo Pieragnolo.

Carnevali has faith in decimated Sassuolo

“The week has certainly not been an easy one, but we’ve got to focus on the match against a very strong team,” Carnevali told Sky Sport Italia and DAZN Italia.

“When you face a side like Juventus, you will always have extra motivation, regardless of the circumstances. We know that we are not in the best situation possible, but we do feel ready to have our say in this game.

“The players who were taken ill are already improving, it’s part of the game and it gives an opportunity to those who haven’t played as much.”

The build-up has seen Sassuolo bring back Covid-era protocols to prevent the spread of this highly-infectious illness, which can even be fatal for babies.

That includes not shaking hands before kick-off, no exchange of jerseys at the final whistle, while families were warned not to get too close together in the stands either.

“Even if we haven’t beaten the big clubs yet this season, we always caused them a lot of problems.”

There is a first start for 18-year-old Darryl Bakola, who was purchased from Olympique Marseille in January for €10m plus €2m in add-ons.

“He is a young player and Sassuolo always trust youth, we made a big investment, we wanted him at all costs and beat a lot of competition from more prestigious clubs,” explained Carnevali.

“His growth process certainly doesn’t depend on this match, it’s a long-term project, and we believe Sassuolo is the ideal club for him to flourish.”

The Neroverdi have a veteran too, but Domenico Berardi was not called up for the Italy squad going into the 2026 World Cup play-offs.

“I had hoped he would get that call, as Domenico is having a great season. We’ve just got to hope that the Nazionale reach the World Cup, regardless of Berardi.”

Luciano Spalletti warns against Juventus getting ‘arrogant’ due to the Sassuolo whooping cough crisis, while he welcomes back Dusan Vlahovic and trusts Jeremie Boga in a new role.

• Read Football Italia Ad-Free and get access to Exclusive News – Free Trial – Click Here

It kicks off at the Allianz Juventus Stadium at 19.45 GMT (20.45 CET).

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

Sassuolo are in a very strange situation, as there is one confirmed case of whooping cough in the squad, and another four players who have been isolated after showing symptoms.

Although the club has not named any of them due to privacy concerns, notably Nemanja Matic, Kristian Thorstvedt, Woyo Coulibaly and Stefano Turati are not here today.

The Neroverdi were already without injured Fali Candé, Alieu Fadera, Daniel Boloca and Edoardo Pieragnolo, but Spalletti refuses to see this as an advantage.

Spalletti does not expect struggling Sassuolo

“Any team usually has 15-16 first choice players, naturally there are some who play more, but that doesn’t mean the others aren’t valid,” Spalletti told Sky Sport Italia.

“I remember during the Covid era when there were only 13 players who came here with Napoli, we got a draw with a wonderful Mertens goal. So this sort of thing can create a bit of arrogance if you are not intelligent enough to handle the news, or on the other side gives you extra motivation to give something more and help your teammates out.”

The Bianconeri got themselves back in the hunt for a Champions League spot thanks to the fightback for a 3-3 draw at Roma, then two consecutive Serie A victories over Pisa and Udinese.

Among the keys to the turnaround was the move to a 4-3-3 formation, with Jeremie Boga as the centre-forward this time from the start rather than at half-time, sending Jonathan David to the bench.

“I asked all those who worked with Boga, they said he has to play on the left, but when I put him in the centre, he proved that he knows how to hurt the opposition centre-backs,” explained Spalletti.

“If he has 10 metres behind him, he can use that with a lethal change of pace, it’s impossible to keep up with him. So we’ll try to make the most of that, as well as his technique, as he does well with the ball at his feet.”

Dusan Vlahovic is back on the bench for the first time since November 29, when he suffered a serious thigh injury, and his future at the club remains to be seen with a contract that expires on June 30.

“Arek Milik is on the bench too, so we’ve got four centre-forwards on the bench. Vlahovic is doing well, naturally he has different characteristics, he had a lot of difficulty sticking to the rules after a very serious injury, but seeing as we are at the end of that process now, we will try not to do any more damage.”

Milan got back on track with a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Torino, including spectacular Strahinja Pavlovic strike from distance, and Santiago Gimenez made his comeback.

• Read Football Italia Ad-Free and get access to Exclusive News – Free Trial – Click Here

The Rossoneri were feeling the pressure after going from Scudetto dream to nightmare in the space of a week, their defeat to Lazio leaving them closer to fifth place than the leaders. Rafael Leao had an adductor injury, so Niclas Fullkrug stepped in, with Santiago Gimenez on the bench for the first time since October. Davide Bartesaghi and Adrien Rabiot were also available again. Toro had two wins and a narrow defeat to Napoli since replacing Marco Baroni with Roberto D’Aversa, but missed Zakaria Aboukhlal, Alieu Njie and Zanos Savva.

See how it all unfolded on the Liveblog.

It was an aggressive start from the visitors, as Matteo Prati fired over from the edge of the box, then Nikola Vlasic got in front of Koni De Winter and Mike Maignan to flick on the Marcus Pedersen ball across the face of goal.

Maignan fingertipped a looping Ardian Ismajli header out from under the bar on a corner, while Christian Pulisic and Bartesaghi had efforts charged down inside the area.

Rabiot unleashed a screamer from distance that Albert Paleari flew to palm away, and it was only a warning for Milan to take the lead moments later. Saul Coco nodded a cross clear to around 25 yards, where Pavlovic took a touch, let it bounce, and smashed the left-footed half-volley in off the underside of the crossbar.

Duvan Zapata tested Maignan at the near post moments later, and Pavlovic’s goal-line clearance on Pedersen wouldn’t have counted because Simeone was offside on the assist.

Torino did equalise on the stroke of half-time, as Maignan got down for a one-handed save on the Vlasic effort from the edge of the area, it took a double ricochet off the upright and his shoulder, until Simeone was quickest to react on the loose ball.

After the restart, Milan were much more aggressive after changing to a four-man defence. Ismajli came sliding in to charge down a Pulisic effort, and Bartesaghi’s volley was deflected wide.

The pressure eventually paid off when Christian Pulisic pulled across from the right and Rabiot was ready to bundle it over the line from point-blank range with his knee. It was his first goal scored at San Siro in the Rossoneri jersey.

Moments later they extended their advantage, as Zachary Athekame’s through ball was gathered by Fofana, who was allowed to take three touches and turn in a crowd of Torino players, firing in from 13 yards.

Maignan made a sensational reaction save, sticking out a trailing leg to deny Simeone’s first-time sweep from 12 yards, then Cholito had another dangerous volley charged down for a corner.

There was a big moment, as Santiago Gimenez made his return after ankle surgery, his first appearance since the end of October 2025.

Samuele Ricci nearly scored against his former club, Alberto Paleari getting down to parry at the near post, but just before that was an incident that was spotted by VAR. Pavlovic had dragged back Simeone with an arm across his face and neck inside the penalty area, so even if he wasn’t going to reach the ball, it was a clear foul.

A penalty was awarded and converted into the top corner by Nikola Vlasic to get Torino back into the game.

The Granata had more penalty appeals for a Koni De Winter handball, but the arm was judged to be in a natural position.

Milan 3-2 Torino

Pavlovic 36 (M), Simeone 44 (T), Rabiot 54 (M), Fofana 56 (M), Vlasic pen 83 (T)

21-03-2026 17:00

MatchDay 30

San Siro Stadium (Stadio Giuseppe Meazza)

Milan

Torino

3 - 2

Player statistic

1st half

Fikayo Tomori		9'
Strahinja Pavlovic		37'
		44'		Giovanni Simeone

2nd half

Adrien Rabiot (Assist: Christian Pulisic)		54'
Youssouf Fofana (Assist: Zachary Athekame)		56'
Strahinja Pavlovic		82'
		83'		Nikola Vlasic
Santiago Giménez		90+6'
		90+3'		Emirhan Ilkhan

Match statistic

63

Possession %

37

15

Total shots

18

6

Shots on target

7

2

Shots off target

8

7

Blocked shots

3

4

Corners

6

1

Offsides

2

9

Fouls

10

Milan

Torino

Starting lineups

16

Mike Maignan

Goalkeeper

33

Davide Bartesaghi

Defender

23

Fikayo Tomori

Defender

46'

5

Koni De Winter

Defender

31

Strahinja Pavlovic

Defender

12

Adrien Rabiot

Midfielder

56

Alexis Saelemaekers

Midfielder

90'

14

Luka Modric

Midfielder

19

Youssouf Fofana

Midfielder

70'

11

Christian Pulisic

Attacker

77'

9

Niclas Füllkrug

Attacker

70'

1

Alberto Paleari

Goalkeeper

44

Ardian Ismajli

Defender

77

Enzo Ebosse

Defender

89'

16

Marcus Pedersen

Defender

33

Rafa Obrador

Defender

89'

23

Saúl Coco

Defender

66

Gvidas Gineitis

Midfielder

74'

98

Matteo Prati

Midfielder

63'

10

Nikola Vlasic

Midfielder

91

Duván Zapata

Attacker

63'

18

Giovanni Simeone

Attacker

Substitutes

1

Pietro Terracciano

Goalkeeper

2

Pervis Estupiñán

Defender

30

Ardon Jashari

Midfielder

37

Matteo Pittarella

Goalkeeper

24

Zachary Athekame

Defender

46'

4

Samuele Ricci

Midfielder

70'

18

Christopher Nkunku

Attacker

70'

7

Santiago Giménez

Attacker

77'

27

David Odogu

Defender

90'

34

Cristiano Biraghi

Defender

81

Franco Israel

Goalkeeper

20

Valentino Lazaro

Defender

61

Adrien Tameze

Midfielder

8

Ivan Ilić

Midfielder

13

Guillermo Maripán

Defender

14

Tino Anjorin

Midfielder

35

Luca Marianucci

Defender

99

Lapo Siviero

Goalkeeper

19

Ché Adams

Attacker

63'

6

Emirhan Ilkhan

Midfielder

63'

22

Cesare Casadei

Midfielder

74'

17

Sandro Kulenovic

Attacker

89'

25

Niels Nkounkou

Defender

89'

Juventus have Dusan Vlahovic back in the squad after four months, but Jeremie Boga starts with Kenan Yildiz and Francisco Conceicao against a Sassuolo side affected by a virus outbreak.

Read Football Italia Ad-Free and get access to Exclusive News – Free Trial – Click Here

It kicks off at the Allianz Juventus Stadium at 19.45 GMT (20.45 CET).

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

The Bianconeri are back in the hunt for a top four finish after the 3-3 thriller with Roma, then back-to-back victories over Pisa and Udinese.

The key was dropping Jonathan David for Boga as a False 9, flanked by Conceicao and Yildiz, so that is repeated here today with Boga facing his former club.

Emil Holm is now the only remaining absentee, because both long-term injury cases Vlahovic and Arek Milik are on the bench.

Mattia Perin keeps the gloves, with Khephren Thuram preferred to Teun Koopmeiners.

Sassuolo had a very strange build-up to this game, as six players were isolated after showing symptoms of whooping cough.

The identities of the players affected were not confirmed, with only one confirmed case of pertussis, which is an infection of the lungs and breathing tubes.

The Neroverdi had been on fine form until recently, then suffered back-to-back defeats with Lazio and Bologna.

Sassuolo were already missing injured Fali Candé, Alieu Fadera, Daniel Boloca and Edoardo Pieragnolo.

The players not in the squad are Nemanja Matic, Kristian Thorstvedt, Woyo Coulibaly and Stefano Turati.

These teams met on January 6, with Juve running out 3-0 winners away from home.

Juventus vs. Sassuolo line-ups

Juventus: Perin; Kalulu, Bremer, Kelly, Cambiaso; McKennie, Locatelli, Thuram; Conceicao, Boga, Yildiz

Sassuolo: Muric; Walukiewicz, Idzes, Muharemovic, Garcia; Bakola, Vranckx, Koné; Berardi, Pinamonti, Volpato

21-03-2026 19:45

MatchDay 30

Juventus Stadium (Allianz Stadium)

Juventus

Sassuolo

1 - 1

Player statistic

1st half

Kenan Yıldız (Assist: Francisco Conceição)

14'

2nd half

		52'		Andrea Pinamonti (Assist: Domenico Berardi)
Bremer		64'
		74'		Ulisses Garcia
Manuel Locatelli		87'
		90+5'		Luca Lipani

Match statistic

65

Possession %

35

18

Total shots

7

8

Shots on target

1

6

Shots off target

2

4

Blocked shots

4

9

Corners

4

1

Offsides

0

7

Fouls

7

Juventus

Sassuolo

Starting lineups

1

Mattia Perin

Goalkeeper

27

Andrea Cambiaso

Defender

62'

3

Bremer

Defender

6

Lloyd Kelly

Defender

79'

15

Pierre Kalulu

Defender

19

Khéphren Thuram

Midfielder

62'

5

Manuel Locatelli

Midfielder

22

Weston McKennie

Midfielder

7

Francisco Conceição

Attacker

88'

13

Jeremie Boga

Attacker

79'

10

Kenan Yıldız

Attacker

49

Arijanet Muric

Goalkeeper

21

Jay Idzes

Defender

6

Sebastian Walukiewicz

Defender

80

Tarik Muharemovic

Defender

23

Ulisses Garcia

Defender

40

Aster Vranckx

Midfielder

80'

7

Cristian Volpato

Midfielder

69'

50

Darryl Bakola

Midfielder

69'

90

Ismaël Koné

Midfielder

99

Andrea Pinamonti

Attacker

80'

10

Domenico Berardi

Attacker

90'

Substitutes

23

Carlo Pinsoglio

Goalkeeper

4

Federico Gatti

Defender

16

Michele Di Gregorio

Goalkeeper

20

Loïs Openda

Attacker

18

Filip Kostic

Midfielder

30

Jonathan David

Attacker

32

Juan Cabal

Defender

17

Vasilije Adžić

Midfielder

21

Fabio Miretti

Midfielder

62'

8

Teun Koopmeiners

Midfielder

62'

9

Dusan Vlahovic

Attacker

79'

14

Arkadiusz Milik

Attacker

79'

11

Edon Zhegrova

Attacker

88'

19

Filippo Romagna

Defender

12

Giacomo Satalino

Goalkeeper

16

Gioele Zacchi

Goalkeeper

24

Luca Moro

Attacker

66

Pedro Felipe

Defender

33

Christian Frangella

Midfielder

45

Armand Lauriente

Attacker

69'

35

Luca Lipani

Midfielder

69'

8

M’Bala Nzola

Attacker

80'

44

Edoardo Iannoni

Midfielder

80'

3

Josh Doig

Defender

90'

Max Allegri gives an important injury update on Rafael Leao and warns Milan ‘need to be on our toes’ against Torino. ‘Niclas Fullkrug has different characteristics.’

• Read Football Italia Ad-Free and get access to Exclusive News – Free Trial – Click Here

It kicks off at San Siro at 17.00 GMT (18.00 CET).

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

It has been a strange couple of weeks for the Rossoneri, as they went from sudden Scudetto contenders beating Inter in the Derby della Madonnina, to losing 1-0 at Lazio and finding themselves closer to fifth place than to the Serie A leaders.

Allegri forced to make Milan changes

“It is an important match, as we are coming off a defeat, the table is closing up, and we need to be on our toes,” Allegri told DAZN Italia.

“Torino are doing very well, they are defensively strong, solid on second balls and deadly with counter-attacks, so we need focus and determination.”

Rafael Leao had a touchline tantrum when substituted against Lazio, but that won’t be repeated tonight because he is out with an adductor injury, replaced by Niclas Fullkrug.

It had been reported there was no lesion and it therefore wasn’t serious, but Allegri notes it is still sufficient to rule Leao out of international duty.

“Unfortunately, he felt this twinge in training yesterday, we talked with Rafa, and decided it was best not to risk it. I think Portugal removed him from their squad too for international duty, so he’ll have a couple of weeks to make a full recovery, then we can dive into the final eight games of the season.

“He needs specific work to get back to 100 per cent, Leao is in no condition to play for Portugal either.”

With Fullkrug as a centre-forward on loan from West Ham United, it is a very different interpretation of the role to Leao, and so Milan will be expected to provide more crosses.

“Fullkrug has different characteristics. Even if he didn’t score that many goals, Leao moved well acting as a centre-forward, we just didn’t give him the right service,” insisted Allegri.

“Of course, Fullkrug is more accustomed to that position.”

Santiago Gimenez is on the bench for the first time since his ankle problem started in October, while Adrien Rabiot returns from suspension and Davide Bartesaghi is back in the starting XI.

“I am fortunate enough to see Modric train every day and I think it’ll be tough to see one like him again in future,” noted Allegri when asked if the 40-year-old is planning on retirement this summer.

Slovakia coach Francesco Calzona reveals behind the scenes drama during his Napoli experience. ‘Victor Osimhen never trained, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia wasn’t happy, there were problems with the club.’

• Read Football Italia Ad-Free and get access to Exclusive News – Free Trial – Click Here

The Partenopei won the Scudetto in 2023 with Luciano Spalletti, who had Calzona as his assistant manager, but the coach and his staff walked away that summer because they felt it could not be topped.

The general feeling within the group was a negative one, seeing them finish 10^th in Serie A after going through three coaches, culminating with Calzona sharing the Slovakia job with Napoli from February 19 to June 30.

Calzona came to Napoli’s rescue during crisis

“Napoli remain in my heart and I’d go back tomorrow morning, without the slightest doubt,” Calzona told Radio Kiss Kiss via Tuttomercatoweb.

“Nobody can dare say no to Napoli, it feels like my home.”

When Calzona picked up the pieces at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, he inherited a chaotic situation both on and off the field.

“As what happened later confirms, everyone was already seeing a way out in June and that had a big influence, as well as the other problems.

“There were issues between players and the club, people who just wanted to get to the end of the season and leave. More than anything else, the five or six new signings that were made, none of them were up to the standard of playing in that season, so by the end of that term they were all frozen out.

“So that was a fundamental problem at the core of it, but apart from that, there was a general sense of unhappiness and grumbling.

“Osimhen never trained, Kvaratskhelia wasn’t happy, there were so many problems I won’t list here. I didn’t expect to find myself in such a delicate situation, but it was still a wonderful experience,” concluded Calzona.

Osimhen had signed a new contract with Napoli, but with the understanding he would be sold that summer, so when several different negotiations collapsed, he was loaned to Galatasaray in September 2024.

Kvaratskhelia had also been pushing for the exit, but was not allowed to leave for Paris Saint-Germain until January 2025.

Milan are feeling the pressure without Rafael Leao, so Niclas Fullkrug starts with Christian Pulisic and Adrien Rabiot against a Torino revitalised by new coach Roberto D’Aversa.

• Read Football Italia Ad-Free and get access to Exclusive News – Free Trial – Click Here

It kicks off at San Siro at 17.00 GMT (18.00 CET).

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

The Rossoneri had been dreaming of the Scudetto after beating rivals Inter to close the gap on the leaders, but a surprising defeat to Lazio saw them drop closer to fifth now than first place.

To make matters worse, Rafael Leao suffered an adductor injury after his tantrum at being substituted, so he is ruled out here along with Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Matteo Gabbia.

It means Fullkrug is chosen to lead the attack with Pulisic, but the good news is that Santiago Gimenez gets his first appearance on the bench since his ankle injury in October.

Rabiot also returns from suspension to bolster the midfield with Luka Modric, while Davide Bartesaghi is back from injury to replace Pervis Estupinan.

Torino sacked coach Marco Baroni after a dismal run of results and have been revitalised by the arrival of D’Aversa this month.

He oversaw two victories over Lazio and Parma, narrowly falling 2-1 to Napoli.

Zakaria Aboukhlal, Alieu Njie and Zanos Savva did not make the trip, but Nikola Vlasic, Giovanni Simeone and Duvan Zapata lead the attack, with Che Adams and January signing Sandro Kulenovic ready to come off the bench.

When these sides met back in December, Milan ran out 3-2 winners in Turin, ending a run of just one point from three previous meetings with Toro.

Milan vs. Torino line-ups

Milan: Maignan; Tomori, De Winter, Pavlovic; Saelemaekers, Fofana, Modric, Rabiot, Bartesaghi; Fullkrug, Pulisic

Torino: Paleari; Coco, Ismajli, Ebosse; Pedersen, Gineitis, Prati, Obrador; Vlasic; Simeone, Zapata

21-03-2026 17:00

MatchDay 30

San Siro Stadium (Stadio Giuseppe Meazza)

Milan

Torino

3 - 2

Player statistic

1st half

Fikayo Tomori		9'
Strahinja Pavlovic		37'
		44'		Giovanni Simeone

2nd half

Adrien Rabiot (Assist: Christian Pulisic)		54'
Youssouf Fofana (Assist: Zachary Athekame)		56'
Strahinja Pavlovic		82'
		83'		Nikola Vlasic
Santiago Giménez		90+6'
		90+3'		Emirhan Ilkhan

Match statistic

63

Possession %

37

15

Total shots

18

6

Shots on target

7

2

Shots off target

8

7

Blocked shots

3

4

Corners

6

1

Offsides

2

9

Fouls

10

Milan

Torino

Starting lineups

16

Mike Maignan

Goalkeeper

33

Davide Bartesaghi

Defender

23

Fikayo Tomori

Defender

46'

5

Koni De Winter

Defender

31

Strahinja Pavlovic

Defender

12

Adrien Rabiot

Midfielder

56

Alexis Saelemaekers

Midfielder

90'

14

Luka Modric

Midfielder

19

Youssouf Fofana

Midfielder

70'

11

Christian Pulisic

Attacker

77'

9

Niclas Füllkrug

Attacker

70'

1

Alberto Paleari

Goalkeeper

44

Ardian Ismajli

Defender

77

Enzo Ebosse

Defender

89'

16

Marcus Pedersen

Defender

33

Rafa Obrador

Defender

89'

23

Saúl Coco

Defender

66

Gvidas Gineitis

Midfielder

74'

98

Matteo Prati

Midfielder

63'

10

Nikola Vlasic

Midfielder

91

Duván Zapata

Attacker

63'

18

Giovanni Simeone

Attacker

Substitutes

1

Pietro Terracciano

Goalkeeper

2

Pervis Estupiñán

Defender

30

Ardon Jashari

Midfielder

37

Matteo Pittarella

Goalkeeper

24

Zachary Athekame

Defender

46'

4

Samuele Ricci

Midfielder

70'

18

Christopher Nkunku

Attacker

70'

7

Santiago Giménez

Attacker

77'

27

David Odogu

Defender

90'

34

Cristiano Biraghi

Defender

81

Franco Israel

Goalkeeper

20

Valentino Lazaro

Defender

61

Adrien Tameze

Midfielder

8

Ivan Ilić

Midfielder

13

Guillermo Maripán

Defender

14

Tino Anjorin

Midfielder

35

Luca Marianucci

Defender

99

Lapo Siviero

Goalkeeper

19

Ché Adams

Attacker

63'

6

Emirhan Ilkhan

Midfielder

63'

22

Cesare Casadei

Midfielder

74'

17

Sandro Kulenovic

Attacker

89'

25

Niels Nkounkou

Defender

89'

Marco Giampaolo had a dream Cremonese debut, dragging Parma right back into the relegation battle with rare Youssef Maleh and Jari Vandeputte goals at the Stadio Tardini.

• Read Football Italia Ad-Free and get access to Exclusive News – Free Trial – Click Here

The Ducali were still fairly comfortably mid-table, despite just two points from the last three rounds, including a 4-1 defeat to Torino. Enrico Delprato was suspended, with Adrian Bernabé, Benja Cremaschi, Pontus Almqvist and Matija Frigan injured.

Cremonese were increasingly desperate after the 4-1 hammering by Fiorentina left them three points adrift in the drop zone, sacking Davide Nicola. Warren Bondo sat out a ban, with Federico Baschirotto, Michele Collocolo and Faris Moumbagna still sidelined, but Giampaolo moved to a 4-4-2 formation.

See how it all unfolded on the Liveblog.

Jari Vandeputte sprinted away on the counter from his own half to sting Zion Suzuki’s gloves at the near post, while Federico Bonazzoli’s acrobatic overhead kick flashed over the bar.

Cremonese had the ball in the net on 24 minutes with Bonazzoli tapping in a poor clearance, but it didn’t count as Alessio Zerbin was offside in the build-up.

Mateo Pellegrini drilled the first Parma opportunity just wide, while Bonazzoli’s glancing header was smothered by Suzuki.

Cremonese took the lead when a poor Sasha Britschgi clearance fell to Maleh, who still had plenty to do with a ferocious first-time left-foot strike from 20 metres into the far bottom corner. It was his first Serie A goal since 2021.

They doubled the deserved advantage when Jamie Vardy came off the bench and within minutes provided the decisive assist, rolling across from the left for Vandeputte to run through the centre, taking a touch to then beat the on-rushing Suzuki.

Gabriel Strefezza fired high and wide, but Hans Nicolussi Caviglia’s strike was going on target until deflected inches wide by Sebastiano Luperto’s backside.

Martin Payero should’ve made more from a similar Vardy assist late on, but his first touch let him down. Cremonese’s last victory in Serie A was 2-0 against Lecce on December 7, followed by four draws and 11 defeats.

Parma 0-2 Cremonese

Maleh 54 (C), Vandeputte 68 (C)

21-03-2026 14:00

MatchDay 30

Parma Store (Stadio Ennio Tardini)

Parma

Cremonese

0 - 2

Player statistic

2nd half

		50'		Tommaso Barbieri
		54'		Youssef Maleh
Jacob Ondrejka		66'
		68'		Jari Vandeputte (Assist: Jamie Vardy)
Mariano Troilo		90+2'
Lautaro Valenti		90+3'
		90+1'		Martín Payero
		90+3'		Giuseppe Pezzella

Match statistic

52

Possession %

48

8

Total shots

7

1

Shots on target

4

4

Shots off target

2

3

Blocked shots

1

3

Corners

1

Offsides

3

20

Fouls

15

Parma

Cremonese

Starting lineups

31

Zion Suzuki

Goalkeeper

39

Alessandro Circati

Defender

60'

14

Emanuele Valeri

Defender

5

Lautaro Valenti

Defender

37

Mariano Troilo

Defender

27

Sascha Britschgi

Defender

16

Mandela Keita

Midfielder

73'

22

Oliver Sörensen

Midfielder

61'

7

Gabriel Strefezza

Attacker

17

Jacob Ondrejka

Attacker

73'

9

Mateo Pellegrino

Attacker

1

Emil Audero

Goalkeeper

3

Giuseppe Pezzella

Defender

15

Matteo Bianchetti

Defender

89'

5

Sebastiano Luperto

Defender

33

Alberto Grassi

Midfielder

24

Filippo Terracciano

Midfielder

27

Jari Vandeputte

Midfielder

79'

29

Youssef Maleh

Midfielder

7

Alessio Zerbin

Attacker

46'

99

Antonio Sanabria

Attacker

67'

90

Federico Bonazzoli

Attacker

67'

Substitutes

29

Franco Carboni

Defender

66

Filippo Rinaldi

Goalkeeper

40

Edoardo Corvi

Goalkeeper

3

Abdoulaye Ndiaye

Defender

24

Christian Ordoñez

Midfielder

63

Marlon Mena Martinez

Defender

41

Hans Nicolussi Caviglia

Midfielder

60'

21

Gaetano Oristanio

Midfielder

61'

8

Nahuel Estévez

Midfielder

73'

23

Nesta Elphege

Attacker

73'

69

Lapo Nava

Goalkeeper

16

Marco Silvestri

Goalkeeper

23

Federico Ceccherini

Defender

9

Milan Djuric

Attacker

77

David Okereke

Attacker

22

Romano Floriani Mussolini

Defender

30

Mika Faye

Defender

4

Tommaso Barbieri

Defender

46'

10

Jamie Vardy

Attacker

67'

32

Martín Payero

Midfielder

67'

2

Morten Thorsby

Midfielder

79'

55

Francesco Folino

Defender

89'

Federico Chiesa was called up for Italy’s World Cup play-offs, but Liverpool fans were left bemused and angry by Arne Slot’s decision to snub him against Brighton.

• Read Football Italia Ad-Free and get access to Exclusive News – Free Trial – Click Here

The attacking winger had not been in the Azzurri for several months, as he asked Gennaro Gattuso to leave him out until he managed to regain full fitness with regular playing time at Anfield.

Chiesa not getting a chance at Liverpool

That doesn’t seem to be happening, and he received another sign that it won’t change when he was forced to watch from the bench as Hugo Ekitike went off injured in the opening minutes against Brighton, only for midfielder Curtis Jones to be introduced instead.

It didn’t pay off for Slot, as Liverpool lost 2-1 and the fans raged online against his decision to ignore Chiesa yet again until the final 13 minutes of the match.

Chiesa watching a striker come off for a midfielder while he sits on the bench… pic.twitter.com/sfV6eKlyks

— Anything Liverpool (@AnythingLFC_) March 21, 2026

Chiesa has now made 31 competitive appearances for Liverpool so far this season, contributing three goals and three assists.

However, he played a total 660 minutes of football, with only four starts this term.

Fiorentina continue their search for a new coach next season, and Turkish reports claim Fabio Paratici has contacted Fenerbahce boss Domenico Tedesco.

• Read Football Italia Ad-Free and get access to Exclusive News – Free Trial – Click Here

The Viola are already planning for the future, as current coach Paolo Vanoli will not remain after this term, regardless of whether they secure Serie A status.

Tedesco latest target for Fiorentina

New director Paratici has been tasked with finding the right man, and the latest candidate to be mentioned is Tedesco.

Although the 40-year-old is Italian, he moved to Germany at a young age and made his career there with Schalke 04, RB Leipzig, then had two years as coach of the Belgium national team from 2023 to 2025.

Fenerbahce appointed Tedesco on September 9, having sacked Jose Mourinho, and he has so far overseen 24 wins, 11 draws and five defeats for the club.

According to Turkish news site Fanatik, Paratici has been in contact with the coach on behalf of Fiorentina for next season.

His current deal with Fenerbahce is valid until June 2027.

Lazio forward Daniel Maldini is tipped to potentially receive an Italy call-up for the World Cup play-offs after Gianluca Scamacca’s injury, but it is not yet clear whether there will be a replacement.

• Read Football Italia Ad-Free and get access to Exclusive News – Free Trial – Click Here

Coach Gennaro Gattuso named his group for the decisive steps towards qualification for the 2026 World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the USA.

However, he was immediately forced into changes, because Atalanta confirmed Scamacca has sustained a muscular issue in training and the lesion to the adductor in the right leg rules him out for several weeks.

Inter are also keeping the Azzurri on edge after announcing Alessandro Bastoni won’t be in their group to face Fiorentina this weekend, and will require tests with the Nazionale staff to see if he could recover for the play-offs.

Maldini top option for Italy attack

According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Daniel Maldini is the most likely candidate to step in, should Gattuso choose to call in an extra player to replace Scamacca.

That is by no means certain right now, as Gattuso still has 27 players to draw from.

Maldini is more of a support striker than a centre-forward, but has been used in that role by Maurizio Sarri since the move to Lazio in January.

The 24-year-old scored just one goal all season with three assists in 19 competitive games.

Gian Piero Gasperini admits Roma showed ‘our best and worst’ in the Europa League exit to Bologna, but also pointed to the lack of alternatives. ‘I dreamed of repeating certain attacking situations’ from Atalanta.

• Read Football Italia Ad-Free and get access to Exclusive News – Free Trial – Click Here

The Giallorossi were always chasing this tie, both in the first leg that ended 1-1, then here coming back from 3-1 down to force extra time with goals from Evan Ndicka, Donyell Malen and Lorenzo Pellegrini.

It was ultimately decided by the fresh legs of Nicolò Cambiaghi, whose snooker shot finish sealed the 4-3 victory on the night for Bologna, 5-4 on aggregate.

Gasperini frustrated with Roma highs and lows

“It was certainly a fascinating match, naturally we leave it with great regret, because we saw us at our best and our worst tonight,” Gasperini told Sky Sport Italia.

“The best was almost the entire game, the worst was in the goals we conceded, which meant we were always chasing the comeback, despite doing some really good things. It’s a pity that after this performance, we also made these mistakes.”

The defensive errors saw Bologna surge into a 3-1 lead, although Gasperini reserved criticism also for Gianluca Mancini’s complaints after a tussle with Rowe for the opening goal.

“Mancini stayed down after a shirt tug, so Rowe was free to go forward. It was an anomalous situation, but unfortunately, we were naïve.”

Roma’s difficult spell therefore continues, as now they are without a win in five competitive games and slipped down from fourth to sixth in the Serie A table.

“When you reach this stage of the season, the levels go up, so does the pressure, and the fatigue makes itself felt too. This is a team that has spirit, because it conceded with a penalty just before half-time, it came back from 3-1 down, it felt like the momentum was behind us,” noted Gasperini.

“When you make mistakes like this, then you can lose games, that’s clear.”

Manu Koné went off injured in the opening minutes, yet Gasperini made only two substitutions in the 90 minutes, then four overall out of a possible six, because there is a bonus slot in extra time.

The options in attack were limited in the absence of Paulo Dybala, Matias Soulé, Artem Dovbyk and Evan Ferguson, while Lorenzo Venturino is not on the UEFA list.

“In extra time, there was some fatigue, but we couldn’t make changes. Bologna put on three quick and fresh strikers, so it was tough. Clearly, if you are missing four or five players all in the same section of the squad, you will suffer in the long run.

“Despite that, we have brought in an extraordinary Malen who has made our attacks a lot more dangerous. In the first half of the season, we found goals from various different players, but the lack of attacking options is something we’ve been carrying since the start of the season.”

Gasperini won the Europa League trophy with Atalanta, but has found the shift to Roma very different, including tension behind the scenes with the club forming this squad.

“I came to Roma with the dream of repeating certain attacking situations, but due to injuries or not being able to sign players with those characteristics, we never quite managed to recreate that. Nonetheless, my players have always put in so much effort, including tonight.

“Over the last week or so, against Como and Bologna, I cannot complain too much about my players, as they put in a strong performance.”

Another January signing made an impression this evening, as Robinio Vaz came off the bench and constantly troubled Jhon Lucumi, winning a penalty too.

“Undoubtedly, he is very young and a big investment, which weighs on him because of the expectations. He needs time to grow, but has vivacity and strength, he can be useful, but in order to aim higher, you need players with more experience and pedigree.”

Vincenzo Italiano insists Roma ‘are superior in every way, but Bologna climbed a mountain’ to set up a Europa League quarter-final clash with Aston Villa. ‘We’ll be the underdogs there too.’

• Read Football Italia Ad-Free and get access to Exclusive News – Free Trial – Click Here

The Rossoblu will face Aston Villa in the Europa League quarter-final, and go in as underdogs, but that was also the case in this all-Italian derby with Roma.

“We have already faced Aston Villa on their turf twice, so we go in again knowing that we are the underdogs, but we’ll prepare something and try to do something else extraordinary,” Italiano told Sky Sport Italia.

The first leg will be at the Stadio Dall’Ara on April 9, with the decider at Villa Park a week later.

Italiano hails Bologna coup in Eternal City

“You saw the atmosphere in the stadium from the start, we were against a strong side and I said our odds were 49-51 to go through, but we managed to turn them around and continue in an important European competition.

“The match was wonderful, we are truly happy to come here and do what we did, which was climb the mountain. I can only congratulate the lads for an extraordinary performance, as winning in this atmosphere against this Roma side was a genuine achievement.”

They were never behind in this tie at any point, conceding the equaliser for a 1-1 draw in the first leg at the Stadio Dall’Ara, then going in front here too with Jonathan Rowe’s scorcher.

Bologna were even 3-1 up at the Stadio Olimpico through Federico Bernardeschi’s penalty and Santiago Castro, only to fumble it for 3-3 and go into extra time.

Here too, fresh legs were decisive with Nicolò Cambiaghi off the bench to squeeze in the finish from the tightest of angles.

“We struggled in the first 20 minutes to keep the pressure on Roma, but then we started to take hold in their half and begin to do more of what we had prepared,” continued Italiano.

“Once you get into extra time, it’s first goal wins, and we managed to get the goal.”

The Stadio Olimpico is confirmed as a positive venue for Bologna, who already had wild celebrations here last year when beating Milan in the Coppa Italia Final to lift their first piece of silverware for 51 years.

Italiano clearly also has a special affinity with Cup competitions, as he also took Fiorentina to two Conference League Finals and a Coppa Italia Final before coming to Bologna.

“I just try to honour each competition in the best possible way, have the right spirit, preparation, and utmost effort. It’s not a very long path in these tournaments, so you try to find strategies to cause problems for opponents, even if they are of a higher quality on paper.

“We got through a tough league phase, won a difficult play-off, and today beat a team that is superior to us in every way. However, playing your cards in the best way brings you to these results.”

Bologna players are still celebrating under the section of away supporters in the stands while Italiano is giving his interviews.

“I had to rush back and leave the lads during their celebration, because since I had that pneumonia, the doctor wants me to immediately get back where it’s warm and wrap up,” smiled Italiano.

The coach spent some of the season having to direct his team’s training sessions remotely, as he was hospitalised for a week with pneumonia.

Bryan Cristante admits Roma fans ‘let us hear their disappointment’ at the Europa League exit to Bologna after a 4-3 defeat in extra time. ‘We seemed in control.’

• Read Football Italia Ad-Free and get access to Exclusive News – Free Trial – Click Here

The Giallorossi were never leading at any point over the two legs of this Round of 16 tie, as Lorenzo Pellegrini equalised after the Federico Bernardeschi opener at the Stadio Dall’Ara.

When it came to the second leg, Jonathan Rowe had put Bologna in front, then after Evan Ndicka’s opener, the visitors surged 3-1 up through Bernardeschi and Santiago Castro.

Roma managed to force extra time with Donyell Malen’s spot-kick and another Pellegrini strike, but Nicolò Cambiaghi sealed it to send Bologna through to the Europa League quarter-final against Aston Villa.

Cristante recognises Roma errors

“We shouldn’t have conceded all these goals. We went behind, we did so well to get back into it, seemed in control during extra time and ready to score the decisive goal, but instead it went the other way,” Cristante told Sky Sport Italia.

When Roma players went over to the Curva Sud to salute the fans after the final whistle, but the ultras jeered and reacted angrily, telling them not to bother.

“We are all disappointed to be out of the competition, the fans let us hear their disappointment. It’s tough, because we had got it back on track, we were convinced we had the right approach, but we lost,” added Cristante.

Roma’s difficult spell therefore continues, as now they are without a win in five competitive games and slipped down from fourth to sixth in the Serie A table.

Are they struggling with the injury crisis and starting to feel fatigue from having the same players in every match?

“You can feel fatigue at certain points of the season, but we were there, we were in the right position to get through to the next stage of the Europa League. We cannot complain about fatigue, we’ve just got to roll our sleeves up and keep going,” concluded Cristante.

Roma came back repeatedly to force the tie to extra time after a 3-3 thriller at the Stadio Olimpico, but Bologna will face Aston Villa in the Europa League quarter-final.

• Read Football Italia Ad-Free and get access to Exclusive News – Free Trial – Click Here

The first leg ended 1-1, so it was all to play for in this Italian derby for the chance to face Aston Villa in the quarter-final. Paulo Dybala, Matias Soulé, Artem Dovbyk and Evan Ferguson were still out injured, with Lorenzo Venturino not on the UEFA list, after just two draws in four competitive games. Lukasz Skorupski picked up an injury in the win at Sassuolo, so Federico Ravaglia took the Rossoblu gloves. The Stadio Olimpico is a special venue for Bologna, as they won the Coppa Italia here last season.

See how it all unfolded on the Liveblog.

Santiago Castro went on a rapid counter-attack for the finish deflected wide by Zeki Celik, but Roma were forced into an early change when Manu Koné hobbled off the field with a muscular issue.

Moments later, Bologna took the lead when Jonathan Rowe smashed a ferocious effort into the roof of the net from the edge of the area, but Roma complained that the England striker had pushed Gianluca Mancini in the build-up, creating that gap through the centre of their defence.

Jonathan Rowe hit that one so clean!

@tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/6f7dF9no4l

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) March 19, 2026

Svilar got down for a one-handed save on Federico Bernardeschi’s angled drive, but after Lorenzo Pellegrini’s free kick smacked against the top of the upright, it was scrambled out for a corner.

From this set play, Evan Ndicka rose in the crowd to nod in Roma’s equaliser from six yards.

Malen just failed to connect with a Mancini glancing header at the back post, while Svilar parried a Joao Mario attempt after a corner.

On the stroke of half-time, Stephan El Shaarawy bundled into the back of Nadir Zortea and the referee pointed to the spot. Bernardeschi sent Svilar the wrong way to convert and restore Bologna’s advantage.

Malen tested Ravaglia from the edge of the box after the restart, but it was Bologna who added another goal. Rowe chased down a bouncing ball, battling first with Bryan Cristante and then Ndicka to knock it down for Castro to smash a screamer into the roof of the net from the edge of the area.

Roma were also awarded a penalty when Remo Freuler pressured Robinio Vaz, so Malen passed it precisely into the bottom corner past Ravaglia’s fingertips.

Moments later, Ravaglia did get to the Pellegrini free kick at the near top corner, but was beaten when Vaz pulled back to the edge of the area where Pellegrini passed it into the far bottom corner with the inside of the left foot to draw it all level again.

Freuler’s weak finish was smothered by Svilar, while Wesley fired over on the half-volley, but they could not be separated and the tie went to extra time.

Ravaglia immediately flew to palm a Zeki Celik scorcher out from under the bar, while Pellegrini had to track back to stop Riccardo Orsolini going clear.

Bologna again went in front when Nicolò Cambiaghi completed a give and go with Thijs Dallinga to break into the box and drew out Svilar, his snooker shot of a finish going in off the inside of the near post to roll across the line.

Vaz had penalty appeals in the final moments, but he had a handful of Lucumi’s shirt instead and simply lost his balance.

Roma 3-4 Bologna aet (4-5 agg)

Rowe 22 (B), Ndicka 32 (R), Bernardeschi pen 45+2 (B), Castro 58 (B), Malen pen 69 (R), Pellegrini 80 (R), Cambiaghi 111 (B)

19-03-2026 20:00

1/8 Final

Stadio Olimpico

Roma

Bologna

0 1

3 - 4

Player statistic

1st half

		22'		Jonathan Rowe (Assist: Santiago Castro)
		26'		Martin Vitik
Evan Ndicka (Assist: Lorenzo Pellegrini)		32'
		45+2'		Federico Bernardeschi

2nd half

Zeki Celik		55'
		58'		Santiago Castro (Assist: Jonathan Rowe)
Donyell Malen		69'
		71'		Nadir Zortea
		76'		Jhon Lucumí
Lorenzo Pellegrini		80'

Extra time

		108'		Remo Freuler
		111'		Nicolò Cambiaghi (Assist: Thijs Dallinga)
		116'		Lewis Ferguson
Gianluca Mancini		120+3'

Match statistic

61

Possession %

39

24

Total shots

14

7

Shots on target

9

10

Shots off target

3

7

Blocked shots

2

8

Corners

4

3

Offsides

1

21

Fouls

27

Roma

Bologna

Starting lineups

99

Mile Svilar

Goalkeeper

5

Evan Ndicka

Defender

23

Gianluca Mancini

Defender

22

Mario Hermoso

Defender

43

Wesley

Defender

19

Zeki Celik

Defender

109'

4

Bryan Cristante

Midfielder

17

Manu Koné

Midfielder

20'

61

Niccolò Pisilli

Midfielder

104'

Donyell Malen

Attacker

92

Stephan El Shaarawy

Attacker

57'

13

Federico Ravaglia

Goalkeeper

26

Jhon Lucumí

Defender

João Mário

Defender

41

Martin Vitik

Defender

73'

20

Nadir Zortea

Defender

11

Jonathan Rowe

Midfielder

73'

19

Lewis Ferguson

Midfielder

8

Remo Freuler

Midfielder

114'

4

Tommaso Pobega

Midfielder

91'

10

Federico Bernardeschi

Attacker

79'

9

Santiago Castro

Attacker

73'

Substitutes

95

Pierluigi Gollini

Goalkeeper

12

Konstantinos Tsimikas

Defender

2

Devyne Rensch

Defender

87

Daniele Ghilardi

Defender

24

Jan Ziolkowski

Defender

70

Giorgio De Marzi

Goalkeeper

8

Neil El Aynaoui

Midfielder

104'

Bryan Zaragoza

Attacker

109'

7

Lorenzo Pellegrini

Midfielder

20'

Robinio Vaz

Attacker

57'

22

Charalampos Lykogiannis

Defender

Simon Sohm

Midfielder

21

Jens Odgaard

Attacker

30

Benja Domínguez

Attacker

25

Massimo Pessina

Goalkeeper

82

Matteo Franceschelli

Goalkeeper

14

Torbjørn Heggem

Defender

114'

16

Nicolò Casale

Defender

73'

28

Nicolò Cambiaghi

Attacker

73'

24

Thijs Dallinga

Attacker

73'

7

Riccardo Orsolini

Attacker

79'

6

Nikola Moro

Midfielder

91'

Fiorentina are through to the Conference League quarter-finals after Cher Ndour’s deflected effort and a Marin Pongracic goal from his own half beat Rakow.

They will face either Crystal Palace or AEK Larnaca, as that Round of 16 tie is going to extra time.

• Read Football Italia Ad-Free and get access to Exclusive News – Free Trial – Click Here

The Viola had a slender 2-1 first leg lead thanks to the last-gasp Albert Gudmundsson penalty in this Round of 16. Moise Kean returned from injury for his first start since March 2, with Niccolò Fortini, Manor Solomon, Luca Lezzerini and Tariq Lamptey injured. Rakow finished second in the league phase of the tournament and won the Polish title in 2023, but again left top scorer Lamine Diaby-Fadiga initially on the bench.

See how it all unfolded on the Liveblog.

Kean made an immediate impact, cutting inside from the left after three minutes for two shots charged down from close range by Stratos Svarnas.

Ivi Lopez tested Oliver Christensen with a free kick at the near post, but the hosts lost Fran Tudor to injury after just 19 minutes.

When Lopez pulled back from the by-line for Jonatan Braut Brunes, the finish from six yards was charged down by Giovanni Fabbian.

Nicolò Fagioli floated a ball over the top for Kean to volley straight at the goalkeeper, then the midfielder went for goal himself on a Fabiano Parisi cross on the stroke of half-time, forcing a save under the crossbar.

Within 22 seconds of the restart, Rakow had taken the lead on the night, drawing level on aggregate 2-2. Karol Struski cut inside Cher Ndour from the left and drilled hard and low into the near bottom corner, surprising Christensen.

Svarnas threw himself in the way of a Giovanni Fabbian strike, with Ndour nodded over from the resulting corner.

The Viola started to pour forward and rack up a series of corners, Ndour unable to tap in from six yards, then Parisi stinging Oliwier Zych’s gloves from the edge of the area.

Roberto Piccoli came so close on 67 minutes when nodding the Robin Gosens cross onto the base of the upright from point-blank range.

The pressure paid off, as after good work from Parisi, the Ndour strike from the edge of the box took a big deflection off teammate Piccoli to wrongfoot the goalkeeper and slot into the far bottom corner, restoring Fiorentina’s advantage on aggregate.

The Viola kept pushing anyway to consolidate their lead overall, Piccoli firing wide from close range and Parisi’s strike skimming the near post.

Zych also had to fly to palm the Fagioli curler out of the top corner from the edge of the area, but there was a huge scare when the referee pointed to the spot for a penalty. He changed his mind following the VAR review and instead booked Brunes for the obvious dive, as there was no contact with Christensen.

Fiorentina were under siege in stoppages, with even Zych going up for a set play, but this left the goal unprotected, and Marin Pongracic on the counter-attack intelligently passed it into the empty net from inside his own half.

Rakow 1-2 Fiorentina (2-4 agg)

Struski 46 (R), Ndour 68 (F), Pongracic 98 (F)

19-03-2026 17:45

1/8 Final

Raków Municipal Stadium

Raków Częstochowa

Fiorentina

1 - 2

Player statistic

2nd half

Stratos Svarnas (Assist: Ivi López)		46'
		68'		Roberto Piccoli (Assist: Cher Ndour)
		71'		Dodô
Leonardo Rocha		85'
		85'		Cher Ndour
Jonatan Braut Brunes		86'
		90+5'		Marin Pongracic
		90+7'		Marin Pongracic (Assist: Albert Gudmundsson)

Match statistic

50

Possession %

50

13

Total shots

21

1

Shots on target

7

3

Shots off target

7

9

Blocked shots

7

2

Corners

5

3

Offsides

1

10

Fouls

11

Raków Częstochowa

Fiorentina

Starting lineups

48

Oliwier Zych

Goalkeeper

25

Bogdan Racovițan

Defender

7

Fran Tudor

Defender

19'

4

Stratos Svarnas

Defender

23

Karol Struski

Midfielder

80'

6

Oskar Repka

Midfielder

10

Ivi López

Attacker

69'

20

Jean Carlos Silva

Attacker

80'

18

Jonatan Braut Brunes

Attacker

19

Michael Ameyaw

Attacker

9

Patryk Makuch

Attacker

79'

Oliver Christensen

Goalkeeper

2

Dodô

Defender

88'

65

Fabiano Parisi

Defender

6

Luca Ranieri

Defender

15

Pietro Comuzzo

Defender

27

Cher Ndour

Midfielder

80

Giovanni Fabbian

Midfielder

22

Jacopo Fazzini

Midfielder

61'

44

Nicolò Fagioli

Midfielder

90'

17

Jack Harrison

Attacker

90'

20

Moise Kean

Attacker

61'

Substitutes

24

Zoran Arsenic

Defender

1

Kacper Trelowski

Goalkeeper

44

Bogdan Mirčetić

Midfielder

35

Mitja Ilenic

31

Dominik Czeremski

21

Jerzy Napieraj

2

Ariel Mosor

Defender

19'

80

Lamine Diaby-Fadiga

Attacker

69'

17

Leonardo Rocha

79'

5

Marko Bulat

Midfielder

80'

11

Adriano

Attacker

80'

43

David de Gea

Goalkeeper

60

Eddy Kouadio

Defender

50

Pietro Leonardelli

Goalkeeper

23

Eman Kospo

Defender

61

Riccardo Braschi

Attacker

62

Luis Balbo

Defender

63

Piergiorgio Bonanno

Midfielder

91

Roberto Piccoli

Attacker

61'

21

Robin Gosens

Midfielder

61'

5

Marin Pongracic

Defender

88'

10

Albert Gudmundsson

Attacker

90'

8

Rolando Mandragora

Midfielder

90'

Roma director Ricky Massara ‘can’t wait to experience’ the Europa League Round of 16 against Bologna, noting the trophy is ‘a target we want to aim for.’

It kicks off at the Stadio Olimpico at 20.00 GMT (21.00 CET).

• Read Football Italia Ad-Free and get access to Exclusive News – Free Trial – Click Here

You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens from this game and Rakow vs. Fiorentina on the Liveblog.

The first leg ended 1-1 at the Stadio Dall’Ara, so it’s winner takes all today for a place in the quarter-final against either Aston Villa or Lille.

Roma ready for Bologna test

“This is a stadium that can really push the players, there is a great atmosphere, and it will be a wonderful event,” Massara told Sky Sport Italia.

“We can’t wait to experience this match. Roma have a strong ambition in the Europa League, it is a target we want to aim for.

“There are many games to be played from here to the end, starting with a strong Bologna side, so this is going to be difficult.”

Roma have been going through a bit of a rough spell lately, managing only two draws from their last four competitive games and sliding down from fourth in the Serie A table to sixth.

Their progress in the Europa League therefore becomes particularly important, as winning the trophy represents another avenue into Champions League qualification.

“There will be strong motivation this evening from the crowd, but we also need to keep clear heads to deal with many dangers,” added Massara.

“We have confidence, we expect the experienced players to act as guides for the younger ones who aren’t as accustomed to this type of match.”

Roma look to Donyell Malen and Stephan El Shaarawy for the Europa League all-Italian derby, as Bologna trust Santiago Castro and Federico Bernardeschi.

• Read Football Italia Ad-Free and get access to Exclusive News – Free Trial – Click Here

It kicks off at the Stadio Olimpico at 20.00 GMT (21.00 CET).

You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens from this game and Rakow vs. Fiorentina on the Liveblog.

The first leg ended 1-1 at the Stadio Dall’Ara, meaning it is all to play for in the Eternal City for a place in the Europa League quarter-finals.

Whoever wins will go through to face either Aston Villa or Lille.

Roma continue to have a serious injury crisis, missing Paulo Dybala, Matias Soulé, Artem Dovbyk and Evan Ferguson, while Lorenzo Venturino is not on the UEFA list.

Stephan El Shaarawy is chosen to start in support of centre-forward Malen, despite Lorenzo Pellegrini scoring in the first leg.

Once again, Bryan Cristante and Niccolò Pisilli will share the task of pushing into a more advanced position from midfield at different times in the game.

It has been a difficult period for Roma, who managed just two draws in four competitive games, sliding from fourth to sixth in the Serie A table.

Bologna have problems too, because Juan Miranda is suspended, while former Roma goalkeeper Lukasz Skorupski is ruled out after picking up an injury at the weekend in the Serie A their 1-0 victory away to Sassuolo.

It means Federico Ravaglia has to take over the gloves, while Nikola Moro is not at 100 per cent and Lorenzo De Silvestri isn’t on the UEFA list.

Once again, Riccardo Orsolini is left on the bench, as Bernardeschi and Jonathan Rowe are in fine form supporting Castro upfront.

The Stadio Olimpico is a special place for Bologna, as this is where they beat Milan last season to win the Coppa Italia and qualify for the Europa League.

When these sides met here in Serie A back in August 2025, it ended 1-0 for Roma with a Wesley goal on his debut.

Roma vs. Bologna line-ups

Roma: Svilar; Mancini, Ndicka, Hermoso; Celik, Koné, Pisilli, Wesley; Cristante; El Shaarawy, Malen

Roma bench: De Marzi, Gollini, Rensch, Pellegrini, El Aynaoui, Tsimikas, Ziolkowski, Vaz, Ghilardi, Zaragoza

Bologna: Ravaglia; Zortea, Vitik, Lucumì, Joao Mario; Ferguson, Freuler, Pobega; Bernardeschi, Castro, Rowe

Bologna bench: Pessina, Franceschelli, Moro, Orsolini, Heggem, Casale, Odgaard, Lykogiannis, Sohm, Dallinga, Cambiaghi, Dominguez

Ref: Kovacs (ROU)

19-03-2026 20:00

1/8 Final

Stadio Olimpico

Roma

Bologna

0 1

3 - 4

Player statistic

1st half

		22'		Jonathan Rowe (Assist: Santiago Castro)
		26'		Martin Vitik
Evan Ndicka (Assist: Lorenzo Pellegrini)		32'
		45+2'		Federico Bernardeschi

2nd half

Zeki Celik		55'
		58'		Santiago Castro (Assist: Jonathan Rowe)
Donyell Malen		69'
		71'		Nadir Zortea
		76'		Jhon Lucumí
Lorenzo Pellegrini		80'

Extra time

		108'		Remo Freuler
		111'		Nicolò Cambiaghi (Assist: Thijs Dallinga)
		116'		Lewis Ferguson
Gianluca Mancini		120+3'

Match statistic

61

Possession %

39

24

Total shots

14

7

Shots on target

9

10

Shots off target

3

7

Blocked shots

2

8

Corners

4

3

Offsides

1

21

Fouls

27

Roma

Bologna

Starting lineups

99

Mile Svilar

Goalkeeper

5

Evan Ndicka

Defender

23

Gianluca Mancini

Defender

22

Mario Hermoso

Defender

43

Wesley

Defender

19

Zeki Celik

Defender

109'

4

Bryan Cristante

Midfielder

17

Manu Koné

Midfielder

20'

61

Niccolò Pisilli

Midfielder

104'

Donyell Malen

Attacker

92

Stephan El Shaarawy

Attacker

57'

13

Federico Ravaglia

Goalkeeper

26

Jhon Lucumí

Defender

João Mário

Defender

41

Martin Vitik

Defender

73'

20

Nadir Zortea

Defender

11

Jonathan Rowe

Midfielder

73'

19

Lewis Ferguson

Midfielder

8

Remo Freuler

Midfielder

114'

4

Tommaso Pobega

Midfielder

91'

10

Federico Bernardeschi

Attacker

79'

9

Santiago Castro

Attacker

73'

Substitutes

95

Pierluigi Gollini

Goalkeeper

12

Konstantinos Tsimikas

Defender

2

Devyne Rensch

Defender

87

Daniele Ghilardi

Defender

24

Jan Ziolkowski

Defender

70

Giorgio De Marzi

Goalkeeper

8

Neil El Aynaoui

Midfielder

104'

Bryan Zaragoza

Attacker

109'

7

Lorenzo Pellegrini

Midfielder

20'

Robinio Vaz

Attacker

57'

22

Charalampos Lykogiannis

Defender

Simon Sohm

Midfielder

21

Jens Odgaard

Attacker

30

Benja Domínguez

Attacker

25

Massimo Pessina

Goalkeeper

82

Matteo Franceschelli

Goalkeeper

14

Torbjørn Heggem

Defender

114'

16

Nicolò Casale

Defender

73'

28

Nicolò Cambiaghi

Attacker

73'

24

Thijs Dallinga

Attacker

73'

7

Riccardo Orsolini

Attacker

79'

6

Nikola Moro

Midfielder

91'

Fiorentina director general Alessandro Ferrari has a clear message for the Conference League with Rakow. ‘We must take nothing for granted.’

It kicks off at the Zaglebiowski Park Sportowy in Sosnowiec at 17.45 GMT (18.45 CET).

You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens from this game and Roma vs. Bologna on the Liveblog.

• Read Football Italia Ad-Free and get access to Exclusive News – Free Trial – Click Here

The Viola have a 2-1 first leg lead in this Round of 16 tie, thanks to the late Albert Gudmundsson penalty after goals from Cher Ndour and Jonatan Braut Brunes at the Stadio Artemio Franchi.

Fiorentina turn focus to Conference League

“The Conference League is a tournament where we want to go as far as possible, and have also an opportunity to shrug off the worries of Serie A this season,” Ferrari told Sky Sport Italia.

“We’ve seen how difficult it is in European football, so nothing can be taken for granted.”

Moise Kean was only expected to be on the bench after an ankle injury, but he gets his first start since March 2, and only the second start of the Conference League proper.

“The team had one approach up until January, then changed gear after that. We hope that there was progress in dealing with situations, understanding the issues, but also we’ve seen how easy it is to fall back into bad habits. Hopefully we have learned to focus on just one game at a time and take nothing for granted.”

Today is a special commemoration for Fiorentina, as it is two years since the death of director Joe Barone, who had come so close to winning the Conference League, losing two Finals.

“Barone left an enormous mark on us all. Rocco Commisso put in the money for the Viola Park, Barone had the tenacity and determination to get it built. He is missed not just by Fiorentina, but by the world of sport, and he will always be with us.”

Fiorentina have a slender 2-1 first leg lead in the Conference League Round of 16, as they visit Polish side Rakow with Moise Kean and Jack Harrison.

• Read Football Italia Ad-Free and get access to Exclusive News – Free Trial – Click Here

It kicks off at the Zaglebiowski Park Sportowy in Sosnowiec at 17.45 GMT (18.45 CET).

You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens from this game and Roma vs. Bologna on the Liveblog.

The Viola came back from a goal down to win the first leg 2-1 thanks to a last-gasp Albert Gudmundsson penalty, so have a slender lead going to Poland.

They are also fresh from a morale-boosting 4-1 Serie A victory over Cremonese that took them away from the relegation zone.

Moise Kean returns to the starting XI, while Niccolò Fortini, Manor Solomon, Luca Lezzerini and Tariq Lamptey are injured.

Robin Gosens is rested after a knock to the ribs, as Harrison and Jacopo Fazzini complete the attack.

Marin Pongracic returns after missing the first leg through suspension, but is only on the bench.

It’s going to be an emotional day for Fiorentina, as it is two years ago that director Joe Barone died of a heart attack.

Rakow have never reached a UEFA quarter-final, so if they do manage to get past the Viola, it will be an historic event.

They’ve impressed in the Conference League so far, finishing second in the league phase, having won the Polish title in 2023.

Jonatan Braut Brunes was rested at the weekend to lead the line here, as he is the cousin of Erling Braut Haaland and scored at the Stadio Artemio Franchi in the first leg.

Lamine Diaby-Fadiga remains their top scorer in the Conference League this season with six goals in 12 games.

Rakow vs. Fiorentina line-ups

Rakow: Zych; Tudor, Racovitan, Svarnas; Ameyaw, Repka, Struski, Jean Carlos; Makuch, Brunes, Ivi Lopez

Rakow bench: Trelowski, Czeremski, Mosor, Bulat, Amorim, Leonardo Rocha, Napieraj, Arsenic, Ilenic, Mircetic, Diaby-Fadiga

Fiorentina: Christensen; Dodo, Comuzzo, Ranieri, Parisi; Ndour, Fagioli, Fabbian; Harrison, Kean, Fazzini

Fiorentina bench: De Gea, Leonardelli, Pongracic, Mandragora, Gudmundsson, Gosens, Kospo, Kouadio, Braschi, Balbo, Bonanno, Piccoli

Ref: Munuera (ESP)

19-03-2026 17:45

1/8 Final

Raków Municipal Stadium

RAK

FIO

1 - 2

Player statistic

2nd half

Stratos Svarnas (Assist: Ivi López)		46'
		68'		Roberto Piccoli (Assist: Cher Ndour)
		71'		Dodô
Leonardo Rocha		85'
		85'		Cher Ndour
Jonatan Braut Brunes		86'
		90+5'		Marin Pongracic
		90+7'		Marin Pongracic (Assist: Albert Gudmundsson)

Match statistic

50

Possession %

50

13

Total shots

21

1

Shots on target

7

3

Shots off target

7

9

Blocked shots

7

2

Corners

5

3

Offsides

1

10

Fouls

11

RAK

FIO

Starting lineups

48

Oliwier Zych

Goalkeeper

25

Bogdan Racovițan

Defender

7

Fran Tudor

Defender

19'

4

Stratos Svarnas

Defender

23

Karol Struski

Midfielder

80'

6

Oskar Repka

Midfielder

10

Ivi López

Attacker

69'

20

Jean Carlos Silva

Attacker

80'

18

Jonatan Braut Brunes

Attacker

19

Michael Ameyaw

Attacker

9

Patryk Makuch

Attacker

79'

Oliver Christensen

Goalkeeper

2

Dodô

Defender

88'

65

Fabiano Parisi

Defender

6

Luca Ranieri

Defender

15

Pietro Comuzzo

Defender

27

Cher Ndour

Midfielder

80

Giovanni Fabbian

Midfielder

22

Jacopo Fazzini

Midfielder

61'

44

Nicolò Fagioli

Midfielder

90'

17

Jack Harrison

Attacker

90'

20

Moise Kean

Attacker

61'

Substitutes

24

Zoran Arsenic

Defender

1

Kacper Trelowski

Goalkeeper

44

Bogdan Mirčetić

Midfielder

35

Mitja Ilenic

31

Dominik Czeremski

21

Jerzy Napieraj

2

Ariel Mosor

Defender

19'

80

Lamine Diaby-Fadiga

Attacker

69'

17

Leonardo Rocha

79'

5

Marko Bulat

Midfielder

80'

11

Adriano

Attacker

80'

43

David de Gea

Goalkeeper

60

Eddy Kouadio

Defender

50

Pietro Leonardelli

Goalkeeper

23

Eman Kospo

Defender

61

Riccardo Braschi

Attacker

62

Luis Balbo

Defender

63

Piergiorgio Bonanno

Midfielder

91

Roberto Piccoli

Attacker

61'

21

Robin Gosens

Midfielder

61'

5

Marin Pongracic

Defender

88'

10

Albert Gudmundsson

Attacker

90'

8

Rolando Mandragora

Midfielder

90'

Napoli-owned striker Noa Lang was stretchered off and needed oxygen after suffering a freak injury during Galatasaray’s Champions League game against Liverpool.

• Read Football Italia Ad-Free and get access to Exclusive News – Free Trial – Click Here

The Turkish team lost 4-0 on the night at Anfield, overturning the 1-0 first leg victory from Istanbul in the Round of 16 tie.

How Lang got badly hurt

Lang came off the bench to replace Sacha Boey, but with 10 minutes left to play, he went into the advertising board on the side of the pitch and got his hand caught in the mechanism.

The Dutch international immediately fell clutching his hand and medics rushed over to treat him, with players from both Liverpool and Galatasaray visibly shaken from what they could see.

Lang was given oxygen to help him deal with the pain and then stretchered off to a nearby ambulance, so he could be taken to hospital.

Napoli paid €25m to buy Lang from PSV Eindhoven in July 2025, but he did not get along with coach Antonio Conte, so was loaned out to Galatasaray in January.

There is an option for the Turkish club to buy him outright for €30m at the end of the season.

Noa Lang maç sonrası hastaneye götürülüyor. pic.twitter.com/dSU9s1AiPq

— Fanatik (@fanatikcomtr) March 18, 2026

Raffaele Palladino admits Atalanta changed their gameplan and were still swept aside by Bayern Munich in the Champions League. ‘We faced probably the best side in Europe right now.’

• Read Football Italia Ad-Free and get access to Exclusive News – Free Trial – Click Here

La Dea knew that their chances of qualification were slim to non-existent after the 6-1 first leg defeat, but wanted to give a better account of themselves at the Allianz Arena.

They were only 1-0 down at half-time here to a Harry Kane penalty, but the England international scored again after the restart, followed by Lennart Karl’s angled drive moments later.

A Luis Diaz chip and late Lazar Samardzic header rounded out the scoreline of 4-1 on the night, 10-2 on aggregate.

Palladino recognises Bayern Munich strength

“We wanted to play with pride, we changed our gameplan and tried to sit a bit deeper, giving our all against a very strong team,” Palladino told Sky Sport Italia.

“I have to compliment Bayern Munich, Vincent Kompany, the whole club, because we probably faced the best side in Europe right now. You’ve got to just be honest and accept the result on the pitch.”

Nearly 4,000 Atalanta fans made the journey from Italy for this match, and had the added difficulty of a local transport strike affecting their trip to the stadium.

“We tried to give our all, the objective was to salute our many fans with a better result than the first leg, and they were again fantastic tonight,” added Palladino.

The coach had attempted some experiments for the first leg, including a four-man defence, so did he have regrets over that approach or did Atalanta learn valuable lessons for the future?

“Hindsight is easy, we probably could’ve done some things differently, but then today we had a different plan and sat deeper, but it didn’t change a lot. Bayern Munich are a complete squad in every sense, they will always find a way to play through you and break you down,” insisted Palladino.

“We learned a great deal in these two matches, because playing at this level forces you to step up and accept your limitations with great humility. We have to congratulate our opponents.”

Atalanta were the only remaining Italian representatives in the Champions League and now they are out, so what is the difficulty compared to these other European contenders?

“The biggest difference is how quickly the ball moves around,” explained Palladino.

“You might not notice it as much on television, but up close you see how quickly it is passed, they always pass it onto the correct foot, they control at pace, shake off defenders and also have peaks of sprinting speed that is higher.

“I think we have to change from the youth academies, because when we play teams like Bayern Munich, it seems like a different sport. We’ve all got to focus more on individuals and these basics from the early years, because there is a clear difference.”

La Dea are the only side who managed to get through the play-offs, eliminating Borussia Dortmund 4-1 in the second leg after losing the first 2-0.

Atalanta were also the only Serie A side still in three competitions, as the first leg of the Coppa Italia semi-final with Lazio ended 2-2.

“We have the Coppa Italia, which is an objective we care about, because we want to bring silverware to Bergamo and Atalanta got so close to winning several times in recent years without managing it, so that would be a dream,” commented Palladino.

“At the same time, it is also worth direct access to the Europa League. We also have Serie A, and the next two rounds against Verona and Lecce, then there are head-to-heads with Roma, Juventus and Bologna.

“We know that we started from way back, I arrived and we were in 13^th place, now we are in seventh, so we’ve made that climb up, I will continue to ask a lot from my players, because it’s still wide open to the end.”

Marten de Roon celebrates a new Atalanta record and calls Bayern Munich the ‘favourites to win the Champions League, we have much to learn from them.’

• Read Football Italia Ad-Free and get access to Exclusive News – Free Trial – Click Here

A miracle was required after losing the first leg 6-1 at home, and La Dea only conceded in Munich from a retaken Harry Kane penalty.

However, Kane struck again after the restart, with Lennart Karl’s angled drive and a Luis Diaz lob on the counter-attack, with Lazar Samardzic late on grabbing a consolation goal by nodding in the corner.

De Roon makes Atalanta history tonight

“Thank you to the fans who came here to support us, and fortunately we managed to score a goal here too,” De Roon told Amazon Prime Video Italia.

He came off the bench for his 435^th appearance in the Atalanta jersey, equalling the club record set by Gianpaolo Bellini.

“It is a great achievement, 435 is a lot of games, but I don’t want to stop here, I want to keep going. It is an honour to have played so many times for Atalanta.”

This means Bayern Munich will face Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-finals, with PSG vs. Liverpool, Barcelona-Atletico Madrid and Arsenal against Sporting CP.

“We have a lot to learn from this team,” noted De Roon. “We tried to press them at home and that didn’t work, so today we sat deeper, and they still scored four goals.

“We played against a truly extraordinary opponent, we’ve learned from this and have to lift our heads again straight away in Serie A.”

La Dea were the only remaining Italian team in the Champions League, so it is disappointing to see them swept aside 10-2 on aggregate.

“Italian teams have much to learn from these sides, in their movements and their pace. We are too static, too tactical, and even the referees in Europe let play flow much better without stopping and starting all the time,” explained De Roon.

“Today, Kane was playing as a striker, a right-back and a left-back at different times. You have to run so much to keep up.

“I think Bayern Munich are the favourites to win the Champions League, they impressed me so much tonight, and that was without Jamil Musiala, Michael Olise and Joshua Kimmich. We’ve got to be as humble as they are.”

Atalanta have plenty to focus on, as the first leg of the Coppa Italia semi-final with Lazio ended 2-2, while they are still in the fight for European places in Serie A.

Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe confirms Italy international Sandro Tonali ‘has a groin, sort of hip problem’ after going off injured against Barcelona.

• Read Football Italia Ad-Free and get access to Exclusive News – Free Trial – Click Here

The midfielder was in the starting XI at Camp Nou for tonight’s Champions League clash, but was forced off clutching the side of his left thigh following a crunching tackle.

Newcastle United went on to lose 7-2 on the night and were eliminated from the Round of 16.

Tonali concern grows for Italy

With the World Cup play-offs coming up against Northern Ireland, Italy coach Gennaro Gattuso will be anxious to know if the problem for Tonali is serious.

Speaking to the media after the match, Newcastle manager Howe was asked if Tonali was a doubt for this weekend’s game against Sunderland.

“Yeah, I’d say he’s a doubt,” replied Howe.

“It looks like he’s got a groin, sort of hip problem. I thought he performed really well in the first half and we really missed him in that second period.”

Italy have already lost Mattia Zaccagni today for the World Cup play-offs, as the Lazio wide attacker was ruled out for several weeks by a muscular injury.

Marco Verratti, who had been tipped for a potential call-up, has also sustained an injury and will not be available for the Azzurri.

Atalanta are out of the Champions League after another rough night with Bayern Munich, as Harry Kane scored twice in a 4-1 result on the night, 10-2 on aggregate.

The 6-1 first leg defeat in Bergamo meant a miracle was needed to reach the quarter-finals, but La Dea made the trip without suspended Yunus Musah, giving Charles De Ketelaere his first start since meniscus damage on February 5, with Giacomo Raspadori back on the bench. Bayern had Joshua Kimmich and Michael Olise banned, plus Manuel Neuer, Sven Ulreich, Leon Klanac, Alphonso Davies and Jamal Musiala injured. Goalkeeper Jonas Urbig recovered from concussion to take the gloves.

• Read Football Italia Ad-Free and get access to Exclusive News – Free Trial – Click Here

See how it all unfolded on the Liveblog.

Luis Diaz pounced on a poor Isak Hien header back, but couldn’t find the net from a tight angle, while Raphael Guerreiro scuffed a finish straight at Marco Sportiello.

Pavlovic stung Sportiello’s gloves from the edge of the area, but VAR intervened when Giorgio Scalvini charged down a Kane volley with his elbow when trying to turn and tuck the arm into his body.

VAR was involved again because when Sportiello parried the Kane penalty, it was confirmed he was off his line, so it had to be retaken and this time Kane sent him the wrong way to convert.

Scalvini volleyed off target from the edge of the area, then nodded down a cross for Mario Pasalic to force a desperate one-handed save from point-blank range at the near post.

An acrobatic Gianluca Scamacca volley and Raoul Bellanova low drive were straight at Jonas Urbig after the restart, but Guerreiro steered wide of the near post with the inside of the left foot.

Kane added a second when he somehow managed to squirm between Hien and Odilon Kossounou to then in one sweeping motion fire into the far top corner.

Harry Kane gets his 50th Champions League goal in some style @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/Ons2nM9PTs

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) March 18, 2026

Moments later there was a third, as debutant Deniz Ofli robbed Bellanova and Bayern moved it quickly from left to right, Luis Diaz finding the Lennart Karl angled drive relatively undisturbed.

Atalanta thought they had a penalty on the hour mark when ex-Napoli defender Kim Min-jae blocked a Kamaldeen Sulemana cross and it flicked up onto his arm. However, VAR evaluated and suggested the arm was in a natural position.

Pasalic had a free header on Bernasconi’s cross, but nodded it into the ground and made it easy for Urbig from a very promising position.

Moments later, Scamacca stumbled to spark a deadly counter-attack, as Luis Diaz out-sprinted Kossounou and chipped the on-rushing Sportiello into an empty net.

Luis Diaz with a perfect chip to score Bayern Munich's TENTH goal of their Champions League round of 16 tie against Atalanta @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/n6YzhDT7B7

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) March 18, 2026

Atalanta still had some chances, as Bellanova got away down the right and forced a save at the near post, and from the resulting corner Scalvini nodded over.

Just like in the first leg, Atalanta fans had something to cheer when Raspadori’s corner was flicked on by Pasalic for the Lazar Samardzic header at the back post.

Bayern Munich march on and will face Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-finals.

Bayern Munich 4-1 Atalanta (10-2 agg)

Kane pen 25, 54 (B), Karl 56 (B), Luis Diaz 70 (B), Samardzic 85 (A)

18-03-2026 20:00

1/8 Final

Allianz Arena

Bayern

Atalanta

4 - 1

Player statistic

1st half

Harry Kane

25'

2nd half

Harry Kane (Assist: Josip Stanisic)		54'
Lennart Karl (Assist: Luis Díaz)		56'
Luis Díaz (Assist: Lennart Karl)		70'
		85'		Lazar Samardžić (Assist: Mario Pasalic)

Match statistic

70

Possession %

30

25

Total shots

14

8

Shots on target

8

9

Shots off target

5

8

Blocked shots

1

6

Corners

3

1

Offsides

3

8

Fouls

4