The Malta Independent on Sunday
Serie A leader Inter beats Lecce, Juventus wins at Frosinone
There was an unlikely scoring replacement for Lautaro Martínez when defender Yann Bisseck bagged his first goal for Inter Milan and launched the Serie A leader to a 2-0 victory over Lecce on Saturday.
Bisseck, who hit the woodwork moments earlier, netted two minutes from the break to help Inter bounce back from a midweek Italian Cup defeat and consolidate top spot in the league. Bisseck also had a header fingertipped over the bar in the second half.
Nicolò Barella sealed the result and Inter moved four points ahead of Juventus, which won 21 at Frosinone. Defending champion Napoli was at Roma later looking to trim the gap to the top four.
Lautaro was unavailable for the first time in 89 matches after the Argentine World Cup winner was injured on Wednesday during an Italian Cup exit to Bologna.
Lautaro, the Serie A leading scorer with 15, is expected back early in the new year. Another key player, Federico Dimarco, was also out hurt.
Inter appealed for a penalty almost immediately when Henrikh Mkhitaryan went down in the area, and the incident was checked by the video assistant referee.
But replays showed Lecce goalkeeper Wladimiro Falcone had not touched the Nerazzurri midfielder or the ball.
Inter didn't break the deadlock until the end of the half. Hakan Çalhanoğlu whipped in a free kick and Bisseck flicked it in with the back of his head.
Lecce was awarded a penalty immediately after the break after Inter defender Carlos Augusto was adjudged to have blocked Valentin Gendrey's shot with his arm.
However,
Marcenaro revoked his decision after reviewing the incident on the pitchside monitor.
Inter doubled its tally in the 78th following a moment of magic from Marko Arnautović, who controlled a pass from Barella and waited for him to sprint into the box before sensationally backheeling it to him to slot into the bottom left corner.
Lecce winger Lameck Banda was shown a straight red card and sent off five minutes later for dissent.
YOUNGEST PLAYER
Kenan Yildiz became the youngest foreigner to score for Juventus in Serie A when he netted on his full debut.
The 18-year-old Yildiz made six substitute appearances this season but was made a starter for the first time by Massimiliano Allegri.
The teenage Turkey forward netted just 12 minutes in, gathering from Filip Kostić before forcing his way past three defenders and firing into the bottom left corner.
Substitute Jaime Baez levelled for Frosinone early in the second half but Juventus restored its lead nine minutes from time with a goal by a substitute of its own, when Dušan Vlahović headed in Weston McKennie's cross.
McKennie could have got on the
scoresheet minutes earlier but his acrobatic volley came off the crossbar.
IMPRESSIVE BOLOGNA
Bologna consolidated fourth place and closed the gap on third-placed AC Milan to two points with a 1-0 win over Atalanta.
Lewis Ferguson headed in a corner with four minutes remaining.
Bologna also knocked two-time defending champion Inter out of the Italian Cup midweek.
Torino rescued a 1-1 draw at home against relegation-threatened Udinese when what was probably meant to be a cross from Josip Iličić ended up going into the back of the net, with two minutes remaining.
Hellas Verona beat 10-man Cagliari 2-0 to leapfrog Claudio Ranieri's side and a point clear of the drop zone.
Star forward Osimhen signs Napoli contract extension to 2026 and more than doubles his salary
Napoli's star forward Victor Osimhen signed a contract extension Saturday tying him to the Serie A champion until 2026.
Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis posted pictures of him and Osimhen smiling and signing paperwork and shaking hands,
along with the word "done." The club put up the same pictures four minutes later with the caption "Victor & Napoli together until 2026."
It is more good news for the freshly crowned African player of the year.
His current deal was set to expire in 2025 and Italian media reported that his salary has been more than doubled to 10 million euros ($11 million) per season, with a release clause between 120 million and 130 million euros.
Napoli reportedly refused an offer of more than 200 million euros for Osimhen from a team in Saudi Arabia in the offseason.
Osimhen, who turns 25 next week, was signed from Lille in 2020 for a fee of around 75 million euros and the Nigeria international went on to establish himself as one of the most exciting strikers in the world.
He helped fire Napoli to the Serie A title last season, when his 26 goals saw him become the first African player to finish as the Italian league's top goalscorer.
Osimhen had a mixed start to this season after Rudi Garcia replaced title-winning coach Luciano Spalletti.
Indeed, a departure in the winter transfer window seemed a distinct possibility in September when an irate Osimhen deleted almost all pictures of himself in the team's shirt from his social media accounts after the soccer club posted a mocking video of him online.
Osimhen was also injured while on international duty and while he was out, the club replaced Garcia with Walter Mazzarri.
Osimhen has nevertheless scored seven league goals this season, putting him third in the scoring charts. Napoli was playing at Roma later Saturday and was looking to move level with fourth-placed Fiorentina.
10-man Atletico edges Sevilla to end minislump in Spanish league before winter break
Ten-man Atletico Madrid edged Sevilla 1-0 at home on Saturday to ensure it entered the Spanish league winter break still in touch with the front-runners.
The game in Spain's capital was originally scheduled for September but was postponed due to a forecast for bad weather.
Halftime substitute Marcos Llorente made an immediate impact by scoring just a minute after the restart. Atletico then defended with poise while playing a man down for the final 20 minutes after substitute Caglar Soyuncu received a direct red card in the 70th.
"When you come off the bench you always try to give your team something extra," Llorente said. "We only had winning on our minds. Now it is time to disconnect and then we are right back at it."
Real Madrid and surprise package Girona are at the top of the standings with a seven-point lead over Atletico and Barcelona one round before the competition reaches its halfway point.
Atletico had been in a bit of a slump after winning just one of its previous four league games.
Llorente used exquisite control of a long ball from Koke Resurrección before he finished off a rebound of his own pass to beat goalkeeper Marko Dmitrovic.
Soyuncu was sent off for a dangerous tackle on Lucas Ocampos after the Turkey international had been on the field for four minutes.
Atletico defender Reinildo Mandava went on as a late substitute in his first appearance since needing surgery to repair a torn right-knee ligament in February.
Sevilla was playing its second game under new coach Quique Sánchez Flores. It beat Getafe in his debut on Tuesday. Sevilla is three points above the relegation zone in 15th place.
Atletico's next game is at Girona on Jan. 3, a day before Sevilla hosts Athletic Bilbao.