Late Manuel Locatelli winner sees Juventus beat Torino 1-0 in derby

Manuel Locatelli scored a late winner as Juventus managed a narrow 1-0 win over Torino in their Serie A derby on Saturday.

Locatelli scored four minutes from time but it was a disappointing performance from Juventus, whose struggles continued in the Italian league.

Juventus has only won three of its opening seven matches and sits eighth in the league. It is already seven points behind Serie A leader Napoli, which has played a match less.

Defending champion Inter Milan can move to within one point of Napoli if it beats a talented Sassuolo side later.

Juventus was looking to build on an impressive 1-0 win over Chelsea in the Champions League but it didn't even have a shot on target in a mediocre first-half performance from Massimiliano Allegri's side.

Torino got off to a very aggressive start in the Derby della Mole and had several chances to take the lead before halftime.

Juventus improved after the break and Torino goalkeeper Vanja Milinković-Savić made two important saves at the start of the second half to first keep out a powerful header from Alex Sandro and then deny substitute Juan Cuadrado too.

The Bianconeri clearly lacked firepower as they were still without the injured Paulo Dybala and Alvaro Morata. Allegri is hoping to have the two forwards back after the international break, for Juve's next match against Roma on Oct. 17.

Just as it appeared the match was heading for a draw, Federico Chiesa rolled the ball across for Locatelli, who curled into the right side of the net.

It was a second Juventus goal for Locatelli, who also scored what was to prove the winner in Juve's 3-2 win over Sampdoria in the previous round.

Substitute Dejan Kulusevski almost added a second but he hit the right post in stoppage time.

It was Juve's first clean sheet in the league since early March.

Salernitana got their first win of the season thanks to a Milan Djuric header, holding out under a late Genoa siege.

Franck Ribery returned for the hosts, with Nwankwo Simy stepping in too, but Genoa lost Mattia Destro in the warm-up, so Flavio Bianchi took over. Also absent for the visitors were Zinho Vanheusden, Felipe Caicedo, Davide Biraschi and Francesco Cassata.

There was a curious moment when Domenico Criscito’s volley knocked referee Maurizio Mariani over, while Simy and Stefano Sabelli stung the gloves of the goalkeepers.

Riccardo Gagliolo saw his acrobatic volley skim the woodwork, which would’ve been one of the goals of the season had it been a few inches to the right.

Kastanos then forced a flying save with a ferocious strike from the edge of the box, but the last kick of the half was Bianchi’s curler bending inches wide of the near post.

Francesco Di Tacchio’s scorcher from distance dipped just over the crossbar, but Di Tacchio was crucial at the other end, deflecting Yaya Kallon’s attempt off target.

Milan Djuric came off the bench and immediately broke the deadlock for Salernitana, his glancing header taking a deflection at the near post on a corner.

Di Tacchio was unlucky not to make it 2-0 soon after, his rocket thumping the upright after getting down the left.

However, it remained open and Genoa staged a late fightback. Mohamed Fares wriggled away from a defender only to force a desperate save with Vid Belec’s shoulder, then a Paolo Ghiglione cross-shot only grazed Caleb Ekuban’s boot as it whizzed across the face of goal.

Belec also got his fingertips to a Goran Pandev cross-shot, as the Grifone laid siege to the Salernitana goal.

When the goalkeeper barely got there, the woodwork did, as Nicolò Rovella aimed a smart free kick towards the near post.

Ibrahimovic pulls out of Sweden squad ahead of WC qualifiers

Zlatan Ibrahimovic withdrew from Sweden's squad for its upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Kosovo and Greece, with the national team saying Saturday the veteran striker hasn't fully recovered from a knee injury.

Ibrahimovic, who turns 40 on Sunday, was called up by Sweden this week with coach Janne Andersson saying "I hope and believe he can be there."

However, Andersson said Saturday that the AC Milan striker "is not so far ahead in his rehabilitation that he can be part of" the squad.

"Sad for us but also sad for Zlatan as well," Andersson said.

Ibrahimovic missed the European Championship with a knee injury and has played just once this season for Milan, in a 2-0 win over Lazio in Serie A on Sept. 12. He scored in that game.

Sweden is in second place in Group B of European qualifying, four points behind Spain with two games in hand.

Not many professional footballers are still playing at the elite level as they enter their fifth decade (especially outfield players), but Ibra is showing no signs of slowing down or giving up quite yet.

Of the countless opponents he has faced during his long career, no team has suffered more at the hands (and feet, and head) of Zlatan Ibrahimovic than poor old Saint-Etienne. The Swede has notched 17 goals in 15 games against the Ligue 1 club - more than he's scored against any other side. Ibra has also notched an incredible 12 goals against both Palermo (in 15 games) and AS Roma (21) in Italy.

The longest career scoring streak Ibrahimovic has amassed is seven straight games, between November 2011 and January 2012, during his first stint with Milan.

Spanish league plays 1st match at full stadium capacity

Osasuna's fans enjoyed a 1-0 win over Rayo Vallecano on Saturday in the first Spanish league match to be played before a stadium at full capacity since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

The 19,000 spectators at El Sadar stadium in Pamplona saw a stoppage-time goal by Manu Sánchez snatch victory for the hosts.

Spain's health authorities decided this week to lift a nationwide cap at 60% attendance for first-division soccer games. The final decision was left in the hands of regional health authorities, with most authorizing the return to full capacity. Catalonia, home to Barcelona, and the Basque Country regions are keeping attendance for now at 60%.

Spain completely closed stadiums to fans last season during the worst of the pandemic that hit the country in March 2020. It allowed stadiums to have a maximum of 60% attendance at the start of this season.