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ITALIAN TEAMS MISS OUT ON QUARTERFINALS

Italian football won’t have any representative in the Champions League quarterfinals after the two teams left in the competition were eliminated earlier this week. Atalanta and Lazio were both knocked out of the Champions League by Real Madrid and holders Bayern Munich. Four Italian football clubs started the Champions League journey at the group stage but none is left in the competition at the final eight round. Inter Milan, Juventus, Atalanta and Lazio started the Champions League journey on behalf of Italian football. Italian Serie A leaders Inter Milan were the only Italian football team that failed to make it beyond the round of 32 stage. The Nerazzuri didn’t do well after they finished last in their group and were rightly eliminated. Inter Milan finished bottom of their group behind the likes of Shakthar Donetsk, Borussia Moenchengladbach and group winners Real Madrid. Borussia Moenchengladbach and Real Madrid qualified for the round of 16 stage as the top two teams in the group, while Ukrainian club Shakthar Donetsk finished third and had to drop down to the Europa League level. Inter Milan and Real Madrid were expected to qualify for the Champions League knockout stage but the Nerazzuri didn’t live up to that expectation.

In the round of 16, Lazio were drawn with holders Bayern Munich and Italian champions Juventus were pitted against FC Porto of Portugal. Atalanta were drawn with 13-time European champions Real Madrid. Juventus were knocked out of the Champions League at the round of 16 stage thanks to the away goal rule after a 3-2 win at home in the second leg. The Old lady had lost 2-1 away in the first leg. They were knocked out of the competition last week Tuesday. For Atalanta, they were beaten 1-0 at home in the first leg by Real Madrid before the second leg ended in a 3-1 win for the Spaniards at home on Wednesday night. Real Madrid were able to seal a last eight with a 4-1 aggregate win.
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CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: ITALIANS DECISIVE AGAINST BARCA

Italian football exports were decisive as French giants Paris Saint Germain (PSG) crush Barcelona in their Champions League last 16 first leg tie at the Nou Camp on Tuesday night. There were three Italian football exports on show during the game, which ended in a comprehensive away win for PSG. The French champions were able to take a big step towards securing a spot in the quarterfinals of the competition.

The Italian football exports on show for PSG last night were Marco Verrati, Moise Kean and Alessandro Florenzi. The three players either scored or provided an assist to aid PSG in their comeback win over the Catalans. Continue reading

MILAN MAKE PROGRESS IN NEGOTIATIONS WITH CHELSEA OVER TOMORI TRANSFER

Italian Serie A giant AC Milan have made significant progress in the talks that will see Chelsea defender Fikayo Tomori swap England for Italy. This is according to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, who has revealed that the Italian giants have entered the next level in their contract talks with both Chelsea and their player having been locked in negotiations in the past few days.

Milan are currently in the market to sign a befitting center-back so they can add more squad depth as they look to continue their stay at the top of the league table and eventually clinch their first league title in so many years. Continue reading

ITALIAN FOOTBALL: A LOOK AT THE SERIE A TEAM OF THE WEEK

Club football returned once again over the weekend and Europe’s top leagues welcomed back their stars who went to represent their various countries during the international break.

Leagues including the German Bundesliga, the French Ligue 1, the English Premier League, the Dutch Eredivisie, and the Italian Serie A all produced some entertaining club football over the weekend, as the race for both the League’s top scorer and title gongs remain up for grabs.
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ATALANTA’S HIGH SCORING SIDE LIGHT UP SERIE A

Serie A is reverred for its defensive football but this season Atalanta have been explosive in attack. They have been scoring and scoring and cannot seem to stop. And when they score, they exceed the usual three to four goal margin, going as much as six, seven, multiple times. They have scored 90 goals and counting this season.

They started the season well, but they were struggling to compete with Inter Milan and Lazio as Juventus broke away. However, after the suspension Atalanta has been on fire, scoring the most number of goals and moving to the second spot in the Italian topflight.
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ITALIAN FOOTBALL CLUBS RESUME TRAINING

Following measures taken by other top leagues in Europe, Italian football clubs have resumed training after receiving the green light from the government. German top two divisions restarted play over the weekend, empowering other European league authorities to work out a clear map on when to resume.

The Italian government allowed the clubs resume training, while maintaining some measure of social distancing. A scientific-technical committee put in place medical protocol the league clubs would follow. For now, they can train but on May 28, the government, Italian football federation and the clubs would decide when the league would be restarted. For now, analysts say the likely dates for the restart of the Serie A would be mid to late June.
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Italian Football Spoiled by Coronavirus

The Italian government has given confirmation that all kinds of sporting events must be staged and performed behind closed doors at least until April 3^rd. This decision is affecting England’s Six Nations matches that were going to be held against Italy in Rome and all Series A games especially after the country’s number of corona virus affected death toll passing 100.

Although there was no immediate confirmation about if either of England’s men and women’s matches from the rugby union authorities on March 14^th and 15^th will go on but this announcement means that 20,000 supporters of England will not be able to make the trip unless the games are postponed for better. This is a possibility till Wednesday night, with the Six Nations organizers still not have decided whether the matches should be played behind closed doors or not.
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CONTE UNFAZED BY BARCA OUTCOME

Inter Milan coach has sent out a warning informing every journalist working hard to impose pressure on his team and the mere thought of what an unfavorable Tuesday night result will do to his team.

According to the former Juventus coach, whatever happens in the clash against Barcelona will in no way put a dent to what he and his squad has achieved this season.
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INTER MILAN FAIL TO TAKE ADVANTAGE

The true value of every slip up lies in how much the next guy in line takes advantage of it. Yesterday, Juventus failed to take all three points against newly promoted Serie A side Leece, drawing one-all, thus giving second-placed Inter Milan the chance to climb over them. Inter Milan picked up their own draw instead; giving the hint that no matter how well Antonio Conte has improved the club, challenging for the title remains a step away.

Juventus left out Cristiano Ronaldo from the clash after it was indicated that due to the deluge of fixtures, he was not going to be up for it. Plus, it’s Leece. Any half-decent Serie A side could take 3 points off them.
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ITALIAN FOOTBALL PUNDIT SACKED FOR LUKAKU RACIST REMARKS

Luciano Passirani has been relieved of his appointment following a racist remark on Romelu Lukaku. The Inter Milan star, who moved to the club this summer from Manchester United, has been subject to several racist attacks.

The Italian football journalist was on a Voi Studio show when he made his remarks. The public reacted and the director of the show declared that Passirani would never appear on the show ever again.
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Galatasaray Renew Title Challenge in the Turkish League After Weekend Results

Galatasaray and other Turkish teams have now gone into a 21 day break due to the internationals. It is a remarkable absence from the domestic football action for the league, which has had only 45 days since the second half of the season kicked off. However, it is turning out to be excellent for Galatasaray, who have been able to close the gap at the top of the table down to just six points after the weekend results.Başakşehir have been in dominant force through the campaign, but they have now dropped two important points in the draw with Kayseri. Meanwhile, Galatasaray were unable to come back from 2-0 and get a 3-2 victory against Bursaspor.

The last few weeks have been decisive in the title race with Galatasaray significantly closing the gap to the top of the table. If this trend continues, the predictions are for a Galatasaray domestic league victory with a healthy 10 point advantage. However, the pressure is starting to tell on Başakşehir, who were able to create a lot of opportunities against Kayseri but could only manage a solitary goal.Başakşehir had a remarkable 34 shots at goal, while there were at least 10 shots that can be classified as clear goal scoring chances.
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