Ronaldo rescues a point as Juve slip at home to Sassuolo

Milan (AFP) – Cristiano Ronaldo rescued a 2-2 draw for Juventus at home against Sassuolo on Sunday but the result left the way open for Inter Milan to take top spot in Serie A.

“We didn’t use our heads,” lamented Juventus boss Maurizio Sarri.

Leonardo Bonucci had scored early for the eight-time reigning Serie A champions but Jeremie Boga and Francesco Caputo hit back for Sassuolo before Ronaldo’s point-saving intervention from the spot in Turin.

Juventus have a two-point lead on top of Serie A but can be overtaken by Inter Milan, who host struggling SPAL later on Sunday.

Sassuolo, in 12th, claimed their first ever point at Juventus, and held Sarri’s unbeaten champions to their third draw of the season.

“We got into trouble on our own, we didn’t use our heads in the first half, as the goals conceded show,” said Sarri.

“Every time we lost the ball we left ourselves open. We had a first half without application and little energy from the character point of view. 

“But we were coming off two games in which we used up a lot of energy against Atalanta and Atletico Madrid.

“The reaction came at the end and we could even have won it.”

Ronaldo started up front, having missed last weekend’s league game with a slight knee problem, as Paulo Dybala, who scored in their Champions League win over Atletico Madrid, started on the bench.

Eighteen-year-old Stefano Turati made an impressive debut in the Sassuolo goal, and pulled off a string of fine saves, denying Ronaldo, Gonzalo Higuain and Dybala late.

But Juventus counterpart Gianluigi Buffon had a nightmare. The 41-year-old, making just his fifth start this season, was at fault in Caputo’s goal just after the break.

Bonucci got Juventus off the mark with a long-range effort on 20 minutes.

Three minutes later Boga pounced on a Caputo cross and sent it past an out-rushing Buffon from an angle.

– ‘Recover brilliance’ –

Caputo added a second following a mix-up between Juan Cuadrado and Matthijs De Ligt in the Juventus defence, with Buffon then fumbling the effort into the back of the net.

Turati got down low to deny Higuain after getting his hand to send a Ronaldo free kick over the bar.

Ronaldo’s penalty pulled the hosts level on 68 minutes after Filippo Romagna fouled substitute Dybala.

It was the Portuguese star’s fifth Serie A goal this season.

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PSG’s game at Monaco falls victim to storm alert

Monaco (AFP) – Paris Saint-Germain’s Ligue 1 match at Monaco on Sunday evening has been called off due to forecast heavy storms.

The fixture “will be postponed to a later date” Monaco announced.

That could be problematic. PSG, who are in the Champions League, are scheduled to play twice a week until the French mid-season break between December 21 and January 11. 

A spokesman for PSG said the squad, which was already in the south of France, would fly back from Nice at around 16.00 local time.

A thousand Parisian supporters had been expected in the Principality and PSG tweeted that it would send them “an email with the terms of exchange or refund.”

Both clubs are scheduled to play on Wednesday, with PSG at home to Nantes and Monaco at Toulouse.

On Sunday morning, two French regions, including Alpes-Maritimes which surrounds the principality, were placed on red alert for floods by Meteo France, the French weather service.

It said the area faces what it called a “marked Mediterranean episode” of intense storms.

Rainfall could total as much as 200mm (almost eight inches) over the weekend, Meteo France said. It said that it expected coastal areas to be the most affected, with “very significant risks of runoff and overflow from coastal rivers.”

PSG are five points clear of Marseille with Monaco in 14th, just three points clear of the relegation zone.

As for Sunday’s lost fixture, the “Professional Football League Competitions Committee will later set the date of the match” the league said in a statement.

In Alpes-Maritimes and the neighbouring Var region 148 municipalities were declared disaster areas on Saturday after the damage caused by a previous Mediterranean episode last weekend, which resulted in the death of six people in the Var. 

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Ronaldo rescues a point for Juve against Sassuolo

Milan (AFP) – Cristiano Ronaldo scored from the spot to rescue a 2-2 draw for Juventus at home against Sassuolo to leave the way open for Inter Milan to claim top spot in Serie A later on Sunday.

Leonardo Bonucci had scored early for the eight-time reigning Serie A champions but Jeremie Boga and Francesco Caputo hit back for Sassuolo before Ronaldo’s point-saving intervention.

Juventus have a two-point lead on top of Serie A but now can be overtaken by Inter Milan, who host struggling SPAL.

Sassuolo claimed their first ever point at Juventus and handed Maurizio Sarri’s unbeaten champions their third draw of the season.

The side from Emilia-Romagna, are 12th in the table.

Ronaldo started up front for Juventus, having missed last weekend’s league game with a slight knee problem, with Champions League hero Paulo Dybala starting on the bench.

Eighteen-year-old Stefano Turati made an impressive debut in the Sassuolo goal, and pulled off a string of fine saves, denying Ronaldo, Higuain and Dybala late.

But Juventus counterpart Gianluigi Buffon had a difficult game in Turin as the 41-year-old, making just his fifth start this season, had a role in Caputo’s goal just after the break.

Bonucci had gotten Juventus off the mark with a long-range effort on 20 minutes.

But three minutes later Boga pounced on a Caputo cross sending in past an out-rushing Buffon from an angle.

Back after the break Caputo added a second for the visitors following a mix-up between Juan Cuadrado and Matthijs De Ligt in the Juventus defence, with Buffon then fumbling the effort as it slipped into the back of the net.

Turati got down low to deny Higuain after getting his hand to send a Ronaldo free kick over the bar.

Ronaldo’s penalty pulled the hosts level on 68 minutes after Filippo Romagna fouled substitute Dybala.

It was the Portuguese star’s fifth Serie A goal this season.

Later, Inter host SPAL with third-placed Lazio at home against Udinese and city rivals Roma at Verona.

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Celtic fire four more to stretch winning run to 10

London (AFP) – Celtic edged ahead of Rangers at the top of the Scottish Premiership with a 4-1 victory at Ross County on Sunday to record a 10th straight win in all competitions.

Ryan Christie was on target as Neil Lennon’s men secured top spot in their Europa League group against Rennes on Thursday and the Scottish international midfielder took his tally for the season to 15 with a first half brace.

Christie was fortunate to smash home the rebound after Nathan Baxter had initially saved his penalty to open the scoring on 11 minutes.

However, the Staggies quickly hit back as Celtic conceded in the league for the first time in six games when Ross Stewart headed home a free-kick.

Christie put the visitors back in front before the break when he latched onto Kristoffer Ajer’s defence-splitting pass.

Tom Rogic then made the game safe as his deflected effort found the bottom corner 23 minutes from time.

And Mikey Johnston rounded off the scoring just seconds after coming off the bench with a brilliant individual run and finish.

Victory sees the Hoops open up a three-point lead over second-placed Rangers, but the Glasgow giants could be tied at the top again come the end of the day as Steven Gerrard’s men host Hearts at Ibrox later on Sunday.

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Ribery suffers ankle ligament damage

Milan (AFP) – French midfielder Franck Ribery suffered serious ligament damage to his right ankle in Saturday’s Serie A game against Lecce, his club Fiorentina confirmed on Sunday.

Ribery, 36, had to be helped off the pitch just before half-time after Greek midfielder Panagiotis Tachtsidis’ sliding tackle left the French veteran in agony.

Tests revealed damage to the medial collateral ligament of the right ankle, the club said, adding his condition would be reassessed in the coming days.

The club did not reveal how long the former Bayern Munich player would be out for, but according to Italian media reports he could be sidelined until after Christmas.

Ribery has scored two goals for Fiorentina who are 11th in the Serie A table after Saturday’s 1-0 defeat and next play Torino, Inter Milan and Roma before the end of the year.

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Watford sack Sanchez Flores after just three months in charge

London (AFP) – Watford sacked their second manager of the season on Sunday with Quique Sanchez Flores leaving the club bottom of the Premier League table.

The Spaniard managed just one win in 10 league games in charge during his second spell at Vicarage Road after replacing Javi Gracia in September.

“Quique is a man of great integrity and it was clear how much he wanted to have a positive impact, but ultimately results have dictated our decision,” said Watford chairman and CEO Scott Duxbury. 

“The appointment of a new head coach is imminent, and with nearly two-thirds of the season remaining, we will provide all the support necessary to make the coming months successful.”

Defeat to fellow strugglers Southampton on Saturday left Watford six points from safety with just eight points from their opening 14 games of the season.

Sanchez Flores returned to Watford just three months ago having also taken charge for the 2015/16 season when the Hornets finished 13th in the Premier League and reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup.

However, he was unable to recreate that success with his only league victory coming at Norwich last month.

A run of six defeats in 12 games in all competitions also included an 8-0 thrashing at the hands of Manchester City.

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‘Weak’ Cannavaro guides Guangzhou to Chinese league title

Shanghai (AFP) – Fabio Cannavaro took Guangzhou Evergrande to their eighth Chinese Super League (CSL) title on Sunday, a month after the Italian coach was publicly lambasted by the club for his “weak ability to rectify mistakes”.

With the championship going down to the final day of the season, Beijing Guoan needed to defeat Shandong Luneng at home and hope that Cannavaro’s side lost to visiting Shanghai Shenhua.

Guoan triumphed 3-2 thanks to a 91st-minute goal but Evergrande were comfortable 3-0 winners over struggling Shenhua.

It is the first major honour of his coaching career and a personal triumph for Cannavaro, 46, who appeared to be on the brink of the sack just a few weeks ago.

Evergrande were then top of the CSL but in the middle of a slump and club bosses put veteran captain Zheng Zhi in temporary charge, telling Cannavaro to attend “corporate culture training”.

The former Juventus defender and 2006 World Cup winner was retained as coach in early November but with a warning that he must “raise the players’ overall fighting ability to win the Chinese Super League”.

Evergrande duly won their next two matches, notably against outgoing champions Shanghai SIPG, to put them on the brink of the title.

The Brazilians Paulinho and Anderson Talisca have been central to Evergrande’s resurgence and the latter had the first effort of the game at nine minutes, when his venomous strike was palmed away by Shenhua goalkeeper Chen Zhao.

Winger Wei Shihao made it 1-0 moments before the break when he stabbed in from close range.

South Korean international Park Ji-Soo made it 2-0 on 55 minutes and celebrated by running over to Cannavaro, embracing and pointing at the Italian.

Brazil-born Chinese international Elkeson clipped in the third.

Evergrande topped the final CSL table with 72 points, ahead of Guoan with 70. SIPG were third on 66.

Former West Ham United striker Marko Arnautovic scored four for SIPG in a 6-0 thrashing of Roberto Donadoni’s already relegated Shenzhen FC.

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