Somber scene in Italy for Genoa home match
For the first 43 minutes of their soccer club’s Serie A opener, Genoa fans remained silent Sunday.
That was one minute for each of the 43 victims of the Morandi Bridge collapse in the Italian port city this month.
In the 43rd minute, spectators began applauding respectfully as the names of those who died in the tragedy 12 days earlier were listed on a video screen in Stadio Luigi Ferraris. Then the fans started chanting “Genova, Genova” — the Italian name of the city.
By then, Genoa had taken a 2-0 lead courtesy of goals by Krzysztof Piatek and Christian Kouame, both of which were set up by captain Domenico Criscito.
Genoa won 2-1 after Samuel Mraz scored for Empoli in stoppage time.
Criscito had entered the field before kickoff with Cesare Cerulli, the 11-year-old son of bridge-collapse victim Andrea Cerulli.
“The first thought always goes to the tragedy,” Genoa coach Davide Ballardini said. “Then you train, but every day you take a road or something else that reminds you of it. Our legs and heads were heavy.”
Eden Hazard’s 77th-minute penalty kick helped Chelsea beat Newcastle 2-1, the visitors’ third straight win to open the English Premier League season.
In other EPL matches, Aleksandar Mitrovic scored two goals to lead host Fulham past Burnley 4-2 and Roberto Pereyra scored his third goal of the season as host Watford beat Crystal Palace 2-1 to improve to 3-0 in EPL play for the first time in its 137-year history.
In Spanish league play, Karim Benzema scored twice as host Real Madrid rallied for 4-1 win at Girona, and Esteban Granero scored on a free kick in the 62nd minute to break a scoreless tie in host Espanyol’s 2-0 win over Valencia.
Pietro Pellegri, 17, a striker who joined Monaco from Genoa in January for a fee of $29 million, scored in the second half but visiting Monaco fell to host Bordeaux 2-1 in Ligue 1 play in France.
Marco Reus scored his 100th Bundesliga goal to seal a 4-1 win for host Borussia Dortmund against Leipzig.
In Major League Soccer play, Alejandro Romero Gamarra scored in the 56th minute and the New York Red Bulls held off Wayne Rooney and D.C. United 1-0 to win the Atlantic Cup competition in Harrison, N.J . ... An own goal in the 76th minute gave visiting Seattle a 1-0 victory over Cascadia Cup rival Portland, extending the Sounders’ club-record winning streak to seven games.