Napoli captain Lorenzo Insigne insisted he is focused on playing amid growing speculation over his future as the Partenopei challenge for the Scudetto.
Insigne led the way with two successful penalties in Napoli's 3-0 win over Bologna on Thursday – a result that sent Luciano Spalletti's back to the Serie A summit ahead of Milan on goal difference.
Napoli star Insigne has converted all four of his Serie A penalties this season – no other player has scored more among the players who found the net exclusively via spot-kicks in the top five European leagues.
Insigne also became the first Napoli player in Serie A to score a brace from the penalty spot since Dries Mertens in September 2017.
Afterwards, Insigne was asked about his contract situation, with the Italy international and Euro 2020 winner due to become a free agent at the end of the season.
"You always think about the same thing," Insigne – who emerged from the youth team of boyhood club Napoli in 2010 – told Sky Sport Italia amid links with Inter and Milan. "I only think about playing.
"The president [Aurelio De Laurentiis] and my agent take care of the other things."
Fabian Ruiz opened the scoring with a stunning long-range goal in the 18th minute – the Spain international has scored the most goals from outside the box in the top five European leagues in the last three seasons (nine since 2019-20) among the players who have not scored a goal from inside the box over this period.
Insigne then scored a penalty four minutes prior to half-time before converting another spot-kick just past the hour at home to Bologna.
Napoli have now collected 28 points after their first 10 Serie A games, equalling their best record at this stage of a top-flight season after 2017-18.
Eyeing their first Serie A title since 1990, Napoli have won all their first five seasonal home games for the seventh in the club's top-flight history.
"It's a great response, the championship is still long," Insigne said. "We know we are strong. Those who go on the pitch, those who enter off the bench…
"As the coach said, the five changes are even more important, they are five other starters. We must continue like this; the path is long and we must be calm."
Diego Simeone criticised the refereeing as LaLiga champions Atletico Madrid were held to a 2-2 draw away to Levante after an explosive final 15 minutes.
Matheus Cunha put Atletico ahead in the 76th minute with his first goal for the club but Simeone was shown a second yellow card soon after for remonstrating with the fourth official on Thursday.
Referee Pablo Gonzalez Fuertes then deemed Renan Lodi handled the ball in his own box after reviewing footage at the pitchside monitor.
Enis Bardhi, who cancelled out Antoine Griezmann's opener with a penalty that was awarded for a foul by Luis Suarez on Ruben Vezo, blasted in the 90th-minute spot-kick to earn Levante a share of the spoils.
Asked about the decision to award the second penalty, Simeone said: "We have to improve as a team and not use as an excuse the referee's performance, their goal from the penalty, the penalty in the first half, the 200 kicks to Joao [Felix] that had no consequence.
"We have to work to try to get out of this moment. One negative thing brings another and we quickly have to become strong and build.
"The team has to grow and not apologise for the penalties, for the kicks to Joao or for the many yellow cards we received.
"The reality is we have to improve ourselves and that is urgent.
"Everything the referee does on the pitch is understood by him to be a penalty. You [journalists] are here to comment and look at the rules.
"Nothing is going to change no matter much I think it should, so don't make me talk."
Atleti are winless in three games in all competitions and sit five points adrift of LaLiga leaders Real Sociedad, though they have a game in hand.
Matheus Cunha went from ecstasy to despair as he followed his first Atletico Madrid goal by conceding a late penalty that Levante scored to salvage a dramatic 2-2 draw.
In his seventh outing since signing from Hertha Berlin in a reported €30million deal in August, Cunha appeared to have netted the winner with 14 minutes remaining at Estadio Ciutat de Valencia.
However, as Diego Simeone watched from the stands after being shown a second yellow card for dissent, Cunha was deemed to have handled the ball in the box when referee Pablo Gonzalez Fuertes reviewed footage on the pitchside monitor.
Enis Bardhi, who cancelled out Antoine Griezmann's opener in the first half, drilled in a second penalty of the game in the 90th minute to deny the reigning LaLiga champions the full three points.
Enis Bardhi scored a controversial late penalty for Levante to salvage a dramatic 2-2 draw against Atletico Madrid in a frenetic finish that saw Diego Simeone sent off.
In his seventh outing since signing from Hertha Berlin in a reported €30million deal in August, Matheus Cunha appeared to have netted the winner with 14 minutes remaining at Estadio Ciutat de Valencia.
However, as Simeone watched from the stands after being shown a second yellow card for dissent, Renan Lodi was deemed to have handled the ball in the box when referee Pablo Gonzalez Fuertes reviewed footage on the pitchside monitor.
Bardhi, who cancelled out Antoine Griezmann's opener in the first half, drilled in a second penalty of the game in the 90th minute to deny the reigning LaLiga champions the full three points.
Griezmann had put Atleti ahead inside 12 minutes with his first LaLiga goal since returning to the club from Barcelona, following up his cross and nodding home Felipe's header back into the middle.
Levante responded well to going behind and drew level in the 37th minute when Bardhi slammed home a penalty after Luis Suarez miscontrolled the ball in the box and fouled Ruben Vezo.
Atleti finally regained their lead when substitute Rodrigo de Paul drove forward and released Cunha – who only replaced Griezmann four minutes prior – to slot beneath Aitor Fernandez.
Simeone remained heated and was shown a second yellow card for remonstrating at the fourth official, with Atleti unable to hold on for the victory.
A harsh handball decision against Lodi resulted in a penalty that Bardhi confidently dispatched low into the left corner to send the home fans into raptures, though Rober Pier received a second yellow card after the final whistle for complaining to the referee.
What does it mean?
Atletico have struggled at Estadio Ciutat de Valencia under Simeone – prior to kick-off, the only LaLiga grounds where they had a higher losing percentage were Camp Nou and the Reale Arena.
Although they now haven't lost on any of their past five top-flight trips to Levante, they will have been hoping for more than a draw against the leakiest defence in the competition this season.
Failing to see out the victory means they are five points adrift of LaLiga leaders Real Sociedad, who were 2-0 winners at Celta Vigo earlier in the day – Atleti do have a game in hand, though.
Brilliant Bardhi
Bardhi is a set-piece specialist, but his two penalties were his first goals from the spot for Levante. He also created three chances for team-mates in a thoroughly impressive outing.
Atleti's toothless trident
Griezmann may have got on the scoresheet, but his link-up with Suarez and Joao Felix was nowhere near as exciting as it promised to be. Griezmann and Suarez did not share a single pass, while Joao Felix and the France star only exchanged the ball four times.
Key Opta facts
- Levante have conceded five goals in the first 15 minutes of their games in LaLiga this season, the same number as Valencia have shipped in the opening quarter of an hour. No other side have conceded more in this period.
- Eight of 22 goals scored by Bardhi with Levante in LaLiga have come from set-pieces, but here he scored his first two goals from the penalty spot in the competition. The other six came from direct free-kicks.
- Levante have had the most penalties awarded in their favour in LaLiga this season (5). Before their double success against Atletico, they had failed to convert four of their previous six spot-kicks in the competition.
- Joao Felix is on a streak of 940 minutes (spanning 19 games) without scoring for Atletico in all competitions, his worst streak with Rojiblancos. His last goal was against Villarreal in LaLiga on February 28, 2021.
- Cunha scored his first goal in LaLiga with his first shot on goal in the competition after seven games and 115 minutes played with the Rojiblancos in the competition.
- Levante have played three games without losing against Atletico in LaLiga (W1 D2), their best streak without defeat in their history against the capital club.
- Levante are undefeated in six of their last seven games against Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico de Madrid (W2 D4).
What's next?
Atleti have an important meeting with fourth-placed Real Betis to look forward to on Sunday, while Levante are at home to Granada on Monday.
Alexander Zverev and Jannik Sinner moved into the quarter-finals of the Vienna Open on Thursday.
Italian Sinner beat home hopeful Dennis Novak 6-4 6-2 to set up a tantalising showdown with Casper Ruud.
Should he win that match, Sinner will move ahead of Hubert Hurkacz in the race to qualify for this year's ATP Finals, while victory for Ruud will strengthen the Norwegian's standing.
"It's going to be tricky," said Sinner. "He's in a better position than I am for the race. I think right now it's tough to say and tough to do because in the end you try always not to think about that, but in the end you think about that because you believe."
Zverev was given a sterner test, eventually overcoming Alex de Minaur 6-2 3-6 6-2 in one hour and 42 minutes. The Olympic gold medallist will now face Felix Auger-Aliassime, who fought back from a set down to defeat Cameron Norrie.
Frances Tiafoe came from a set down to upset top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas 3-6 6-3 6-4 and earn a quarter-final meeting with Diego Schwartzman after the Argentine overcame Gael Monfils 7-6 (7-5) 4-6 6-2.
In St Petersburg, home favourite and sixth seed Karen Khachanov lost a gruelling three-set encounter to Marin Cilic.
The Croatian, who won the title in Russia in his last appearance in 2011, was 4-1 down in the deciding set but took all five of the final games to triumph after two and a half hours on court.
"Everybody is playing good. The tournament is great. It's the end of the season, so everybody wants to finish on a great level," said Cilic, who next faces Roberto Bautista Agut. "For me, it was great to play this kind of a match today."
Another Russian, Aslan Karatsev, fell to John Millman 6-3 6-2. Taylor Fritz and Botic van de Zandschulp also progressed in straight sets.
Emma Raducanu is on course to face her idol Simona Halep for the first time in the Transylvania Open after they both advanced to the quarter-finals on Thursday.
Raducanu celebrated her first WTA Tour win at the expense of Polona Hercog in Cluj on Tuesday and followed that up with a 6-3 6-4 defeat of Ana Bogdan.
The 18-year-old US Open champion had a first-serve percentage of 69 and won 87 per cent of those points, breaking three times to move into the last eight.
Third seed Raducanu said: "It's definitely taking me some time to find my feet still. I'm just taking some learnings from every match that I play. I don't think I'm the finished product yet."
Next up for the Brit is a meeting with fellow teenager Marta Kostyuk after the sixth seed sent Mona Barthel packing with a 6-4 6-4 victory.
Halep was troubled by a back injury in a 6-4 6-2 success over Varvara Gracheva in her homeland.
The two-time grand slam champion played through the pain barrier, breaking twice in each set to progress, and could face Raducanu if she beats fellow Romanian Jaqueline Cristian.
"The back got blocked and the pain is really big," Halep said in the on-court interview. "You cannot really bend much and you cannot move.
"But sometimes you are used to the pain, I had this before many times, and I just wanted to continue and finish this match. It's good that I won this match, I don't know how."
Anett Kontaveit, striving to secure a WTA Finals berth, extended her indoor winning run to 12 matches by seeing off Alison Van Uytvanck 6-3 6-4, while Rebecca Peterson knocked Irina Bara out in straight sets.
In the Courmayeur Open, Jasmine Paolini came out on top 6-4 7-5 in an all-Italian battle with Lucrezia Stefanini and Zhang Shuai got past Wang Xinyu 7-6 (7-5) 6-4.
The unseeded Donna Vekic also secured a place in the quarter-finals.
David Warner returned to form with a blistering half-century after Adam Zampa put Sri Lanka in a spin as Australia cruised to a seven-wicket T20 World Cup win.
Warner's place in the side had been called into question due to a lack of runs, but the opener silenced his critics a day after his 35th birthday as Australia made it two wins out two in the Super 12 stage.
Sri Lanka posted 154-6 after Aaron Finch won the toss and opted to field at Dubai International Stadium on Thursday, Kusal Perera and Charith Asalanka making 35 apiece before Bhanuka Rajapaksa added an unbeaten 33.
Spinner Zampa flummoxed the Sri Lanka batters, taking 2-12 from his four overs, while Mitchell Starc (2-27) and Pat Cummins (2-34) also did damage.
Josh Hazlewood played a big part with the ball once again without reward and Australia made light work of chasing down their target.
Warner was dropped on 18 but made 65 from 42 balls, and he and captain Finch (37 from 23) laid the platform with an explosive opening stand of 70 from only 6.5 overs.
Wanindu Hasaranga took 2-22, but Australia eased to their target with three overs to spare to join leaders England on four points in Group 1, Steve Smith making 28 not out and Marcus Stoinis unbeaten on 16.
Zampa bamboozles Sri Lanka after promising start
Sri Lanka were going along nicely at 53-1 at the end of the powerplay, but they lost their way after the excellent Zampa had Asalanka caught on the sweep by Smith.
The guile of Zampa also saw the back of Avishka Fernando after Starc cleaned up Kusal with a searing yorker, as Sri Lanka lost four wickets for 16 runs.
Rajapaksa added some much-needed late runs, with Stoinis expensive, but Australia were left with a smaller chase than they might have been expecting.
Warner grateful for late Kusal gift
Warner had been dropped by Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League and came into this game having scored only 17 runs in his previous five innings.
His frustrating spell would have continued if Kusal had not put down a simple catch behind the stumps and the powerful left-hander made him pay, hitting 10 fours to set his side well on their way to victory.
Finch was also due some runs and looked in ominous touch – bad news for Australia's rivals – as he cleared the rope twice before playing on to Hasaranga.
Antonio Conte drew the best out of Romelu Lukaku at Inter after showing him support that felt lacking at Manchester United, the striker's agent has claimed.
As Conte emerges as a possible candidate to become the next United manager, should Ole Gunnar Solskjaer continue to struggle, his credentials as a coach who helps players to achieve their potential have been underlined by remarks from Lukaku's representative Federico Pastorello.
When Lukaku joined Inter from United in August 2019, it was on the back of a disappointing second year at Old Trafford in which he scored 15 goals in 45 games – 32 were starts – at a rate of one every 201 minutes.
That was the fewest goals he had managed in a full season since establishing himself in the Premier League during a loan spell at West Brom in 2012-13. Lukaku was owned by Chelsea during his time with the Baggies. He saw little action for the Blues first time around, but his Premier League career has come full circle this year after he returned to Stamford Bridge following two prolific years with Inter in Italy.
Four strong seasons at Everton were followed by a 27-goal first campaign with United, before the team's fortunes nosedived in the final months of Jose Mourinho's tenure, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer taking over midway through the 2018-19 campaign.
His goals under Mourinho in that season came at one every 273 minutes, improving to one every 151 minutes once Solskjaer took the reins for the Red Devils.
But Pastorello said Lukaku still needed the assurance he was central to a manager's plans, and he found that at San Siro under Conte, a former Chelsea boss who wanted to sign the striker during his stint in west London.
"Two years of work with Mr Conte helped him. He can score left, right, head. He has completed himself as a striker working with Mr Conte. He also had the opportunity to improve himself personally," Pastorello told Sky Sports News.
"He felt wanted. This is what he was not able to feel at Man United. That happens."
Across two years in Italy, Lukaku hit 64 goals in 95 games, at one every 121 minutes. He bettered his expected goals tally of 57.73 and created 133 chances, having carved out just 82 in 96 games for United.
According to Pastorello, Thomas Tuchel showed a compelling desire to make Lukaku a prize asset at Chelsea, making "a fantastic speech" that convinced the Belgian striker a second spell at Stamford Bridge was the right switch.
"He gave him the feeling that he really wanted him, that he was the perfect last piece in the puzzle," Pastorello said, recalling Tuchel's words to Lukaku before the reported £97.5million transfer. "It's very crucial for a player to decide to go in a team with a coach that really wants him."
After making a fast start at Chelsea, with four goals in his first four games across all competitions, Lukaku finds himself on a seven-goal barren run, with Tuchel saying the striker is mentally fatigued. He is also currently injured, with no clear indication yet of when he might return.
Despite the brouhaha surrounding his early impressive performances, Lukaku's goals in this spell for Chelsea have now come at an average of one every 208 minutes, albeit these are just the early stages of the campaign. The fact Chelsea sit top of the Premier League has eased the pressure on Lukaku to hit another scoring streak.
"Rom's brain and his mind is very focused with Chelsea," Pastorello said. "He will rest a little bit, but he'll be back with more will to win trophies."
Lukaku has missed Chelsea's last two games due to a minor injury sustained in last week's Champions League win over Malmo.
Inter striker Lautaro Martinez has signed a new four-and-a-half-year contract, the Serie A club have announced.
The Argentina international's new deal expires at the end of the 2025-26 season and does not contain a release clause, according to reports.
Martinez had previously been heavily linked with Barcelona, while rumours of interest from Premier League clubs including Arsenal and Tottenham circulated in the previous transfer window.
However, the 24-year-old has committed his future to the Serie A champions, who had remained determined to keep the former Racing star after seeing Romelu Lukaku depart for Chelsea.
Inter striker Lautaro Martinez has signed a new four-and-a-half-year contract, the Serie A club have announced.
The Argentina international's new deal expires at the end of the 2025-26 season and does not contain a release clause, according to reports.
Martinez had previously been heavily linked with Barcelona, while rumours of interest from Premier League clubs including Arsenal and Tottenham circulated in the previous transfer window.
However, the 24-year-old has committed his future to the Serie A champions, who had remained determined to keep the former Racing star after seeing Romelu Lukaku depart for Chelsea.
Martinez said on Inter's website: "I am very happy to be here and to stay for so long. I send a big hug to all the Nerazzurri fans. Come on Inter!"
The news of Martinez's new deal came on the day Inter announced losses of €245.6million for the 2020-21 financial year.
Inter said the impact of the coronavirus pandemic amounted to approximately €110m due to the loss of matchday revenue from spectators and reduced income from sponsors.
The Nerazzurri also paid €30m towards "the termination of sports contracts". Head coach Antonio Conte left at the end of last season after reported disagreements with the board over transfer plans.
Financial concerns were largely behind Inter's decision to sell Lukaku and Achraf Hakimi, who joined Paris Saint-Germain for a reported initial fee of €60m, while they had also cast doubt on a possible extension for Martinez.
However, speaking at a meeting of shareholders, president Steven Zhang made it clear Inter did not want to compromise their sporting objectives despite the COVID-19 toll.
"Within an economic and social context distorted by the pandemic, the stability and financial sustainability of the company, combined with sporting competitiveness at the highest levels, are the focal points of our strategy," he said.
"The results we have achieved are testament to our work and our commitment. The club has returned to winning ways with a clear and defined vision."
Signed from Racing in July 2018, Martinez has scored 54 goals and provided 15 assists in 144 appearances for Inter in all competitions.
He featured in every Serie A game under Conte last season as they ended their 10-year wait for the Scudetto, combining to devastating effect with Lukaku as Inter finished 12 points clear at the top.
Martinez has five goals in 12 games in 2021-22 under new coach Simone Inzaghi, with Inter third in the table after 10 matches, seven points behind city rivals Milan at the summit.
Pedri has thanked Ronald Koeman for giving him his breakthrough at Camp Nou and says he "will always be grateful" to the former Barcelona head coach.
Barca confirmed the departure of Koeman on Wednesday shortly after a 1-0 loss to Rayo Vallecano that leaves them ninth in LaLiga with 10 games played.
The Dutchman lasted just 14 months in the job after replacing Quique Setien in August 2020, during which time he won just 58.21 per cent of his 67 games in charge.
Koeman had more success when it came to nurturing young players into the first-team fold, though, with Ronald Araujo, Oscar Mingueza and Pedri breaking through last season.
And with Barca's financial issues well-documented, Koeman made further use of the academy this term by giving Alejandro Balde, Gavi, Nico Gonzalez and Yusuf Demir chances.
None of those players have had as big an impact as Pedri, who made the fourth-most appearances under Koeman (56 games), despite this season's injury issues.
Pedri's form last season saw him rewarded with a call-up to the Spain squad ahead of Euro 2020, where he started all six of his country's matches in their run to the semi-finals.
After a memorable 12 months for club and country, the 18-year-old has personally thanked Koeman for giving him a chance to shine.
"I'm sorry things didn't turn out the way we wanted, mister," he posted on his personal Instagram account on Thursday.
"I will always be grateful to him for everything he has done for me: for giving me his trust from the first moment and for the opportunity to fulfil my dream at Barcelona.
"I wish you the best both personally and professionally."
Sergio Busquets was the most used played during Koeman's tenure, featuring 63 times in total – one more than Frenkie de Jong – with 56 of those being starts.
The experienced midfielder also paid tribute to his departing boss on social media on Thursday, posting: "Thanks for everything, mister. Good luck in the future."
Koeman's win percentage is the lowest of all coaches to have taken charge of Barca since Pep Guardiola left in 2012, the next lowest being Setien (64 per cent).
The 58-year-old is also the only Barca boss to average fewer than two points per game in LaLiga (1.96 PPG), again comfortably behind the next worst in Setien (2.21 PPG).
Barca announced on Thursday that Sergi Barjuan will take interim charge while a permanent successor for Koeman – expected to be club great Xavi – is found.
West Indies batting great Brian Lara does not believe it would be a good idea to drop an out of form Chris Gayle at this point, despite the player’s struggles at the T20 World Cup thus far.
The 42-year-old batsman has faced heavy scrutiny in recent weeks and has managed just a total of 25 runs in two heavy losses for the Windies at the tournament so far. The storm of criticism surrounding the batsman, however, extends beyond that.
Heading into the tournament, Gayle had struggled to look like anything close to the player who has scored over 14,000 runs in T20 cricket. In the last 16 matches, the batsman has averaged 15.93 and scored 239 runs with a strike rate of 13.80, well below his career average of 138.46.
Despite that, however, Lara, considered one of the game’s greatest ever batsmen, believes the player could still have a role to play in the team and should remain a part of the line-up at this point in time.
"Chris Gayle is already in the World Cup and his experience and the fact that he can pass on something to the younger players is key,” Lara said recently on Star Sports.
"I personally believe that Chris Gayle has to be given a proper send-off. This, I think, is his last tournament. Dismissing Chris Gayle at this stage of the tournament, I am not sure it's the right thing. I would like to see some sort of nice approach for the rest of the tournament. I think he can still make an impression on the younger players even if he doesn't score," he added.
Alun Wyn Jones will surpass Richie McCaw's record tally of 148 caps for his country when Wales face New Zealand in a mouthwatering Autumn Nations Series clash on Saturday.
Wales captain Jones matched legendary former All Blacks captain McCaw's astonishing number of Test appearances when he faced Scotland last year.
The British and Irish Lions skipper will set a new record for games played for a country at Principality Stadium this weekend.
Jones, who has played in 12 Lions Tests, will lead out a Wales side that has a blend of experience and youth.
Taine Basham made his first start at international level in the back row and Gareth Anscombe makes his return at fly-half against his country of birth over two years after his last Test appearance.
Anscombe has impressed after spending such a long spell on the sidelines with a knee injury.
Ken Owens was initially selected at hooker, but has since been replaced by Ryan Elias due to a back injury, with Kirby Myhill named on the bench.
Hooker Elliot Dee has been released from the Six Nations champions' squad due to a neck injury.
Wales head coach Wayne Pivac said: "To win a World Cup you have to play against teams like New Zealand at some stage in the tournament and you have to win those games.
"It’s going to be a great experience for those guys who haven't played a lot of test rugby and they'll certainly know they’ve been in a match afterwards."
Wales have won only three of 35 Tests against the All Blacks ahead of the showdown in Cardiff.
Wales: Johnny McNicholl, Owen Lane, Jonathan Davies, Johnny Williams, Josh Adams, Gareth Anscombe, Tomos Williams; Wyn Jones, Ryan Elias, Tomas Francis, Adam Beard, Alun Wyn Jones (captain), Ross Moriarty, Taine Basham, Aaron Wainwright.
Replacements: Kirby Myhill, Rhys Carre, Dillon Lewis, Will Rowlands, Seb Davies, Gareth Davies, Rhys Priestland, Ben Thomas.
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