Juventus keep pressure on leaders Napoli
MILAN: Fernando Bernardeschi scored the only goal as champions Juventus kept Serie A leaders Napoli in their sights with a 10 win over Cagliari in Sardinia on Saturday.
Napoli cemented their position in top spot before Italy’s twoweek winter break with 51 points from 20 games after seeing off Verona 2-0.
They are one point clear of Juventus with Inter Milan a distant third, nine points behind the leaders, after being held 1-1 at Fiorentina on Friday.
Italian winger Bernardeschi nudged home on 74 minutes following a solo break by Douglas Costa down the right flank, but there were worries for Massimiliano Allegri’s side with Argentina star Paulo Dybala limping off in tears with a suspected hamstring strain, and Sami Khedira receiving a head knock.
“We’re doing well so far this season, just just behind Napoli, through to the Champions League round of 16 and into the Italian Cup semi-finals,” said Allegri. “Fortunately we’re go into a two-week break now and he’ll (Dybala) obviously need to rest more than the others during that time.”
Napoli coach Maurizio Sarri remains cautious despite heading into the second half of the season ahead of the reigning six-time champions.
“We know that Juventus have years of certainties — that they can safely close above 90 points, while we cannot say the same thing about ourselves,” said Sarri.
Roma missed the chance to join Inter on 42 points, slipping to fifth after a shock 2-1 defeat to 10man Atalanta in Rome.
Lazio — like Roma with a game in hand — moved just two points behind Inter into fourth after Ciro Immobile hit four goals in a 5-2 goal blitz in against SPAL.
z Atletico Madrid’s Diego Costa scored on his home debut in a 2-0 win over Getafe and was immediately sent off for an over-zealous celebration as the former Chelsea striker marked a typically eventful return to La Liga on Saturday.
Real Betis beat fierce city rivals Sevilla for the first time in the league since 2012 by winning a thrilling derby 5-3 away from home as Vincenzo Montella lost his first game as a coach in La Liga.
Atletico coach Diego Simeone had no complaints about Costa’s sending-off.
“I’d like to focus on all the good things Costa did, his presence made us more direct, he strikes fear into opponents, everyone can see that and that makes us all so happy,” Simeone told reporters. “The referee is here to follow the rules and not make emotional decisions.” Agencies