Juve Avoid Penalty Controversy as Osimhen Scores 100th Club Goal

15 minutes into Napoli’s first home game following their third league championship in front of their supporters back in June, Osimhen scored his third goal of the year from the penalty spot.

With a 2-0 victory over 10-man Sassuolo on Sunday, Victor Osimhen scored his 100th club goal for Napoli, who are still undefeated in their Serie A championship defence. Meanwhile, Juventus managed to hold off irate Bologna in a 1-1 draw despite a penalty debate.

15 minutes into Napoli’s first home game following their third league championship in front of their supporters back in June, Osimhen scored his third goal of the year from the penalty spot.

Later, in the 64th minute, shortly after Maxime Lopez was dismissed from the game and Giacomo Raspadori had fired a penalty into the stands after hitting the post seconds before, captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo ensured Napoli would make it six points from six.

Di Lorenzo commented, “I thought we played well, kept the ball, and we’re glad to have won the match in front of our fans.

We performed admirably as a team. We have all the ingredients for a successful season since we are off to a fantastic start and have the correct attitude.

A half-hour into a lopsided match at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, Di Lorenzo scored his first goal of the year following some incredible play from the returning Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.

In his first game after taking over for Italy striker Matteo Politano, Kvaratskhelia scored 14 goals and assisted on the same amount of others. He made an impact just three minutes later.

Near the penalty area, the Georgian was surrounded by defenders but moved a short distance before slipping Di Lorenzo in for a straightforward low finish.

Though it’s early, Napoli’s new coach Rudi Garcia has a difficult act to follow in new Italy manager Luciano Spalletti, the mastermind behind the Scudetto victory. Napoli immediately appear to be a dangerous threat under Garcia.

The next week, Lazio will visit Napoli, which is now without a win after losing 1-0 to newly promoted Genoa. Lazio are level with leaders AC Milan and Verona at the top of the league.

Italian forward Mateo Retegui’s first Serie A goal since joining from Boca Juniors this summer helped Lazio, who finished second last season, defeat them at home.

It was encouraging for Spalletti, who will need goals when Italy plays North Macedonia and Ukraine in qualifying for Euro 2024 the following month.

anger over the Bologna penalty Bologna held Juventus in Turin, but the unimpressive hosts were left with unanswered questions as Dusan Vlahovic managed to save a point by denying them what appeared to be a straightforward penalty.

Midway through the first half, Lewis Ferguson gave Bologna a well-deserved lead at the Allianz Stadium. With 10 minutes left, Vlahovic scored Juve’s equalising goal.

However, Bologna were shocked when on-field and VAR officials chose not to penalise Samuel Iling-Junior for bringing down Dan Ndoye and preventing him from tapping in from close range. Iling-Junior went on to set up Vlahovic’s equaliser.

Coach Thiago Motta refused to speak to the media after the match because of the decision, which infuriated Bologna to the point that the club’s CEO, Claudio Fenucci, expressed his rage in a furious manner.

Fenucci stated, “I’ve been a referee for 25 years, and I don’t often go on TV to talk about referees.

By an amazing refereeing decision, the victory was robbed from us. That kind of challenge must result in a penalty and a red card; otherwise, it’s unfathomable.

Despite Paul Pogba’s return to the midfield after a year of fitness issues, Juve was unable to secure the victory. The France star contributed little after coming on as a substitute in the second half as Juve futilely huffed and puffed.

Juve’s performance was underwhelming, casting doubt on any notion that they are once again serious contenders for the league crown.

I’m glad to be back, of course… Pogba told DAZN, “I’m obviously a little dissatisfied with the outcome.

We avoided a defeat, which is a good thing.

Hamza Rafia and Nikola Krstovic scored for Lecce to help them overcome being down 2-0 at the half and tie Fiorentina at 2-2.

AFP