The former Madrid man has made a seamless transition to life in Serie A, and he netted again versus SPAL on Saturday With his goal on Saturday, Cristiano Ronaldo has reached a scoring feat that no Juventus player has achieved in 50 years.  The Portugal star netted the opening goal in Saturday’s 2-0 win over SPAL, beating goalkeeper Alfred Gomis from six yards in the 28th minute at the Allianz Stadium. Following an off-season move from Real Madrid, Ronaldo has now scored nine league goals in his first Juventus season through 13 matches.  Article continues below Editors' Picks Sarri vindicated for dropping Kepa as Chelsea & Pedro impress in Spurs win Magnificent…

The Special One’s last foray into management ultimately ended in disappointment, but he believes he can still succeed among football’s elite Jose Mourinho has signalled his intention to return to the “top level” of football management after being relieved of his duties at Manchester United at the end of 2018. The Portuguese boss’ two and a half year spell at Old Trafford ultimately ended in failure , with his side adrift of both Premier League pace-setters Liverpool and Manchester City and the race for Champions League qualification. He had previously led the club to a second-placed finish in 2017-18 and wins in the Europa League and FA Cup, but United’s…

The Serie A champions fear being priced out of a deal for the Ajax centre-back and have begun eyeing alternatives to bolster their backline Juventus have begun drawing up a shortlist of defensive targets as their hopes of signing Ajax defender Matthijs de Ligt begin to fade. As revealed by Goal in October, the Bianconeri have entered the race to sign Manchester City and Barcelona target De Ligt, with talks between the Serie A champions and agent Mino Raiola ongoing. It is now understood, however, that Juve fear being priced out of a deal for the Netherlands international, with the 19-year-old likely to cost in excess of €50 million (£43m/$57m). Article continues below…

The Nerazzurri were well beaten by Atalanta on Sunday, a performance their manager blamed on an inability to retain focus for the full 90 minutes Luciano Spalletti bemoaned a lack of concentration from Inter after they slumped to a 4-1 Serie A defeat at Atalanta on Sunday and missed the chance to move within three points of leaders Juventus. Inter were battered in a first half in which Atalanta could have put themselves out of sight. Hans Hateboer put the hosts ahead, but Gian Piero Gasperini’s side failed to add to the lead in the opening 45 minutes despite having 16 shots on goal. A controversial penalty, awarded for handball against…

The Costa Rica international believes he could have thrived under the Spaniard at Emirates Stadium, but is happy to have linked up with Frosinone Joel Campbell has revealed he had been hoping to remain at Arsenal once Unai Emery succeeded Arsene Wenger, but is enjoying a spell in Serie A which could soon see him joined by Aaron Ramsey. The Costa Rica international spent seven years on the books at Emirates Stadium before eventually heading for pastures new in the summer of 2018. His time in north London proved to be eventful, with work permit issues delaying his competitive bow for the Gunners as he was forced to become something of…

The defender has been linked with a Napoli exit and says he wants to demonstrate that he is one of the greatest defenders in the game Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly is pleased to be attracting reported interest from the likes of Manchester United and says he is aiming to prove he is one of the top defenders in the game. Koulibaly, 27, has consistently been linked with a move away from Napoli, where he arrived from Genk in 2014.  United are among a host of clubs to have been credited with an interest in the defender, as the centre-back continues to impress in Serie A.   Article continues below Editors' Picks Sarri…

The Serie A side have made the decision to halt the midfielder’s move to Asia over an issue related to the structure of the transfer agreement Napoli have announced that they have postponed Marek Hamsik’s transfer to the Chinese Super League due to concerns about the payment of the transfer fee. The 31-year-old had been expected to complete a move to Dalian Yifang for a fee in the region of €15 million (£13m/$17m) this week. However, Napoli have called a halt to the deal, blaming a problem with the agreed “payment methods”, although they do not specify with which club in China they have been negotiating. Article continues below Editors' Picks Sarri vindicated for…

The former Blues forward says the club shouldn’t expect an instant return if they sign the striker in January Chelsea should be cautious when considering a bid for Inter Milan striker Mauro Icardi, according to Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink. Icardi has developed into one of Serie A’s most consistent strikers in recent years, having scored at least 20 league goals in three of the previous four seasons. The 25-year-old has maintained that form this campaign, scoring 10 goals in 14 appearances so far. Article continues below Editors' Picks Sarri vindicated for dropping Kepa as Chelsea & Pedro impress in Spurs win Magnificent Mane takes centre stage as league leaders Liverpool put…

The former Real Madrid and Chelsea boss does not feel his current squad are at the level where they can properly compete with the Serie A leaders Napoli may have been one of Juventus’ main rivals for the Serie A title in recent seasons but Carlo Ancelotti says overtaking the Bianconeri is still a step too far for the Partenopei. Napoli finished in the top-three under Maurizio Sarri in each of the past three campaigns, ending as runners-up to Juve on two occasions. Ancelotti replaced Chelsea-bound Sarri ahead of the 2018-19 season and has maintained their position as Juve’s nearest competitors, however they still trail the league leaders by eight…

The Juventus manager feels racism in Italian football will not be defeated until the country fronts up to its problem with “decisions” Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri believes a fear of making decisions is to blame for Italy’s failure to stamp out racism in football, saying there is more of a willingness to make “big speeches” rather than take action. An incident at San Siro on December 26 saw Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly subjected to racist abuse from the stands during a clash with Inter. Serie A responded by ordering Inter to play their following two home league games behind closed doors, but Italy is not the only country to be dealing with…