Serie A title race hots up as Napoli close gap on Juve
MILAN: Napoli cut Juventus’ lead at the top of Serie A to two points when Raul Albiol’s header gave them a 1-0 win over a defiant Genoa on Sunday.
Juventus, chasing a seventh successive title, slipped up on Saturday when they drew 0-0 at lowly SPAL, ending a run of 12 successive wins. The Turin side have 75 points from 29 games while Napoli are on 73 with the two sides still to meet at Juventus on April 22. AS Roma, who won 2-0 at Crotone with goals in each half from Stephan El Shaarawy and Radja Nainggolan, are a further 14 points back in third.
LAZIO FANS PROTEST OVER VAR
ROME: Hundreds of Lazio supporters demonstrated in front of the headquarters of the Italian football federation (FIGC) in Rome on Sunday, saying their team have been victims of numerous mistakes by referees and the video assistant referee (VAR).
Photographs showed the fans displaying banners which read, “Respect” and ‘Vargogna’ — a play on the Italian word ‘vergogna’, meaning disgrace. Flyers were handed out which listed games in which fans thought the Serie A side had been wronged. “Fiorentina, Torino, Milan, Juve, Cagliari... not to mention those games we won in spite of incredible mistakes,” the flyers read. BERLIN: Former Germany football captain Bastian Schweinsteiger and former tennis No 1 Ana Ivanovic were celebrating the birth of their first child at the weekend.
“Welcome to the world our little boy! We are so happy,” the footballer wrote on his Instagram account beneath a snap of the baby’s feet, which look tiny beside the couple’s hands. “Words cannot describe the joy and the happiness we feel in our hearts,” Ivanovic wrote beneath the photo.
HENDERSON HAILS SALAH’S IMPACT
LIVERPOOL: Mohamed Salah’s goalscoring exploits are having a similarly positive impact at Liverpool to that of Luis Suarez had when he was at Anfield, according Jordan Henderson.
“They are both fantastic players in their own right and you can’t compare them,” Henderson said. “I know they score a lot of goals and both work hard off the ball but it is very difficult to make that comparison. But Mo this season has been unbelievable.”