Serie A

The Serie A winners announced on Monday they had freed up Joao Mario, whom they signed from Sporting five years ago.

Joao Mario spent last season back on loan with Sporting, helping the team end an 19-year wait for the Primeira Liga title, and had a year remaining on his Inter contract when he was cut free from that deal.

However, rather than return to Sporting on a permanent basis, he has joined their Lisbon rivals Benfica, signing a five-year deal.

Crucially, Sporting say they were due a further €30million from the initial deal that took Joao Mario to San Siro, in the event of him moving on to a rival Portuguese club.

Benfica announced his arrival on Tuesday, with Joao Mario signing as a free agent rather than moving directly from Inter, meaning the compensation clause was not triggered.

Sporting also claimed to have made an offer of their own to Inter for Joao Mario.

"It is the conviction of the board of directors... that a contractual expedient was used, through which Inter and Joao Mario sought to bypass the terms of the agreement signed with Sporting... in 2016," the statement from Sporting added.

"This expedient only illustrates that all parties knew the obligations they assumed in 2016 and which, after five years, they have now intended to avoid."

Sporting said they would hold "the intervening parties responsible for the damages caused and for the non-fulfilment of the agreed obligations".

Inter denied the accusations, saying there were no grounds for Sporting to make such claims.

In a statement, Inter said: "FC Internazionale Milano has taken note of what Sporting Lisbon has said to the press. These are unacceptable, very serious and above all unfounded statements. The company will protect its image and reputation in the appropriate places."

Joao Mario struggled to make an impact at Inter and had a loan spell with West Ham in 2018, with a stint at Lokomotiv Moscow preluding his return to Sporting.

The Morocco international only arrived in Italy from Real Madrid a year ago and played in 37 of 38 games as his new team claimed the Serie A title under Antonio Conte.

However, with the Italian champions now keen to balance the books, and Conte no longer in charge, they have agreed to sell one of their prized assets in a deal rumoured to be worth around €70million.

Marotta admits losing a player who scored seven league goals from wing-back last term is regrettable, but he believes the transfer fee will go a long way to easing the club's financial concerns.

"Piero Ausilio (sporting director at Inter) was working on it, we are in the conclusive stages. There are some formalities to be completed, but I think within a day or so we can conclude it," he told Sky Sport Italia.

"Obviously, this is a painful moment for us, but I am an administrator who must guarantee the economic sustainability of the club during a difficult time for the world of football in general.

"Once the Hakimi deal is concluded, it will allow us to have a bit of breathing room and we really hope that we will no longer need to sell any other big players, as we want to maintain most of the squad that won the Scudetto."

As well as offering plenty of threat going forward, Hakimi made more tackles (38) than any other Inter defender last season - a fact that underlines how difficult he will be to replace.

Arsenal's Hector Bellerin and Davide Zappacosta of Chelsea have emerged as potential arrivals, but Marotta insisted patience will be key as Inter plan their next move.

"We are a team, working with the coach and various collaborators," he added.

"We must have patience to make the most of opportunities on the transfer market. I don’t expect the big clubs to make many large transfers."

The Nerazzurri are donating to the Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences at the Sacco Hospital in Milan to help combat the outbreak.

It comes as the coronavirus wreaks havoc after the announcement that Serie A and all other sporting events in Italy will take place behind closed doors until April 3 following a government decree.

Serie A matches have been called off over the past two weekends, along with the midweek Coppa Italia semi-finals.

"Inter has an indissoluble bond with the city of Milan and is proud of the dedication with which all the staff of the Sacco Hospital are dealing with the exceptional situation," said President Steven Zhang.

"Since the beginning of the Coronavirus emergency we have followed with particular attention and apprehension the evolution of the situation, both as a Club and as a shareholder, stressing in all locations as the only priority was public health and safety.

"It is for this reason that FC Internazionale Milano feels the duty to support the Sacco Hospital."

There are 2,502 confirmed cases of the virus in Italy, with 80 deaths.

There have been 3,199 fatalities worldwide.

The Serie A giants confirmed the news in a statement on Saturday.

"Mario Corso has passed away, a man who was Inter through and through and an eternal champion, gifted with infinite class," it read.

"He enchanted the world with his left foot in a team that marked an era.

"The thoughts and love of every one of us go to his family at this difficult time."

Corso was one of the standout performers in Helenio Herrera's celebrated Inter side that won back-to-back European Cups in 1963-64 and 1964-65.

He was long established before that period, making his debut as a 16-year-old. Corso's goal against Bologna in November 1958 made him the youngest goalscorer in Inter history at 17 years, three months and five days.

A winger gifted with an exquisite left foot, Corso won four Serie A titles and made 23 appearances for Italy.

Overall, his Inter career spanned 1957 to 1973, during which time he amassed 502 appearances and 94 goals.

Inter remained 13 points behind runaway leaders Napoli after going down 1-0 at home following a first-half Milan Skriniar red card.

Empoli were good value for their win against Inzaghi's out-of-sorts side, and the head coach appeared to recognise that as he sought to move on swiftly from this match.

"We have to archive it immediately," he said. "We will have another difficult game, and we have to forget immediately, looking ahead.

"Of course, we will analyse the mistakes, but we have to think about the next matches."

The season is now at the halfway stage, and Inzaghi acknowledged Inter must improve.

"This is a defeat that stings," he told DAZN. "We finish the first half of the season with 37 points and many regrets.

"Now, we know we'll have to do better over the second part."

However, midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu is remaining optimistic, saying in an interview with Sky Sport: "Thirteen points [to Napoli] is a huge gap, but we have to keep going and not stop.

"I know it feels hard to believe, but there's still a long way to go."

At a news conference, Italian prime minister Giuseppe Conte confirmed Sunday's fixtures in the Lombardy and Veneto regions, including the Hellas Verona-Cagliari and Atalanta-Sassuolo clashes, would not go ahead.

The move comes as part of preventative measures against the spread of the coronavirus, officially named Covid-19, after two people died and dozens more reportedly tested positive.

Saturday's scheduled Serie B match between Ascoli and Cremonese was earlier postponed and up to 88 amateur football matches were also called off, according to Italian news agency ANSA.

In a short statement, Inter announced only that their meeting with Sampdoria at San Siro was postponed "to a later date".

The third-placed Nerazzurri sit six points behind Serie A leaders Juventus, who won 2-1 against SPAL on Saturday.

Sunday's three other games are expected to go ahead as planned.

Genoa are due to host title-chasing Lazio, with Torino to face Parma and Roma entertaining Lecce.

The Netherlands striker is expected to leave Barca this month, with Inter among the clubs reported to be keen to sign him.

Following Barcelona's signing of Robert Lewandowski, Depay has found first-team opportunities difficult to come by – making just two starts in LaLiga this season.

Depay's lawyer Sebastian Ledure has denied that the 28-year-old, also linked with the likes of Atletico Madrid, could be on his way to San Siro.

"There are no negotiations ongoing for Memphis to join Inter," he told Fabrizio Romano.

"I can deny all these links, it's not a possibility that we are discussing."

The former Lyon and Manchester United forward joined Barca in 2021 and was an unused substitute in the 3-1 Supercopa de Espana victory over Real Madrid on Sunday.

Inter had the opportunity to return to the top of Serie A, at least until Juventus played later on Sunday, but toiled to a second successive league draw.

Substitute Alessandro Bastoni scored his first Nerazzurri goal to seemingly set the away side on course for a scrappy win 19 minutes from time, only for Marco Mancosu to hit back.

Conte was disappointed with the lack of vigour in his side's display, claiming they are merely "a normal team" when playing at that level.

"The draw stems from the fact that we must always go at 200 [km] an hour," he said.

"When someone is below that, we cannot afford it. Then the level of the team drops and it can happen that you draw a game that you should have taken three points from.

"We are not a team that manages to bring home the victory going at an average speed. We must always go to the maximum - we have done so in all the matches of the first half of the season.

"When we can't get to the maximum, we are a normal team."

Conte was called out by Jose Mourinho earlier in the week amid the perception he had openly discussed Inter's interest in Tottenham midfielder Christian Eriksen.

Inter chief Giuseppe Marotta spoke about Eriksen on Sunday, but Conte was not willing to follow suit.

"This month is difficult to manage. I think I have been very clear - even if sometimes the things I say are then exploited," he said. "I don't want to talk about the market.

"That is for the club - I am the coach and I have to try to bring out the best in my players."

Inter came from behind with two goals in the final five minutes of a wild game in their season opener against Fiorentina at San Siro on Saturday.

Franck Ribery was outstanding for Fiorentina and teed up two goals in the second half, with substitute Dusan Vlahovic squandering a chance to give the visitors a 4-2 lead after another exceptional piece of play from the veteran Frenchman.

Ribery was hauled off after 83 minutes, with Fiorentina taking the chance to give him a rest, but the Viola were then rocked by late goals from Romelu Lukaku and Danilo D'Ambrosio that earned 2019-20 Europa League runners-up Inter all three points.

Inter head coach Conte sent on Achraf Hakimi and Alexis Sanchez, and it was their crosses that led to the late goals. Like Hakimi, former Barcelona player Arturo Vidal was introduced off the bench for a Nerazzurri debut in the second half.

Conte said via Inter's website: "The changes brought benefits. I am happy and the guys know it. It will be a long and tiring season. There will be room for everyone and everyone will be needed.

"The three points are important, we have had many chances and we found the way to goal four times.

"This is the positive aspect but at the same time we cannot concede three goals like this."

The former Juventus and Italy boss said Inter lacked the right balance between defence and attack.

"In this respect we were not careful and we need to improve," Conte said. "If you want to play high-level championships, balance is the basis of everything."

Conte also saw signs from Christian Eriksen that the former Tottenham midfielder could have a big role to play this season, having struggled to adapt to Serie A last term.

"Compared to when he arrived he has increased the engine revs, he is playing in his ideal position," Conte said.

"I think he had a good game. We are working with him because we know he has important qualities.

"I have faith in him, he is a guy who trains very well and makes himself available to the team. I hope he will soon be able to strike the spark that will take him to the maximum."

Inter had forged ahead in the first half courtesy of Romelu Lukaku before Bologna's Roberto Soriano received a red card for dissent after 57 minutes. 

Lautaro Martinez could have all but wrapped up the win from the penalty spot five minutes later but Lukasz Skorupski kept out his tame effort.

That gave the impetus to the visitors, who roared back to steal a stunning winning thanks to goals in the final 16 minutes from Musa Juwara and Musa Barrow, either side of a red card for Inter's Alessandro Bastoni.

Conte, who spent close to an hour in the changing room with his side before talking to the media, could not hide his frustration and says his players should be angry at their display.

"The disappointment is enormous, at least as far as I'm concerned," he told reporters. "I hope this disappointment that I feel is also felt by the players for at least one per cent. 

"I am angry at myself because I'm the manager. I have my responsibilities; I am the one who directs the situation and it is right that I am very angry first of all with myself. Then I think that the players must also be with themselves."

The setback leaves Conte's side four points behind second-placed Lazio and just one ahead of Atalanta in the battle for Champions League qualification.

Conte is under no illusions that he is expected to win trophies at Inter and says he fully expects to be scrutinised when things do not go well.

"Situations are evaluated only by facing them," he added. 

"For me this is the first year of working with Inter and I have taken a situation with many situations to improve. At the same time, I also say that it is right to challenge everyone, me first. 

"I was brought here for a winning project and to bring Inter back to winning things. Clearly, the victory does not come overnight, but many situations leave a lot of bitterness. You think you are at a level and instead you are at a much lower level. 

"From here to the end we will all have to prove that we deserve Inter. Otherwise it is right to make other decisions too."

The derby d'Italia, scheduled to take place behind closed doors on Sunday, was one of five top-flight fixtures to be postponed in Italy due to the spread of the coronavirus.

Instead, the games will be played on May 13, meaning the Coppa Italia final – which the Nerazzurri could yet be involved in – has been pushed back to May 20.

Inter director Beppe Marotta criticised the timing of the decision taken by officials, saying the championship had been "distorted" while raising concerns over whether upcoming domestic fixtures will go ahead.

"Is the league at risk of not ending? Yes, if more matches were to be postponed, then yes. And then I ask myself - why was the Juve-Inter date decided before the Inter-Sampdoria date? On what basis?" Marotta said to La Gazzetta dello Sport.

"The league is distorted. It is altered in its balance. Just think of the injuries and disqualifications. And then there is the psychological aspect. Again, Inter are damaged, our schedule in May is incredible."

Speaking to the same outlet, Dal Pino revealed how the Lega Serie A had offered to push back the derby by 24 hours, allowing supporters to watch proceedings at the Allianz Stadium, but that plan was rejected by Inter.

"On Friday, CEO [Luigi] De Siervo and I proposed to Inter the idea of moving the game with Juventus to Monday evening so that it could be played with a crowd present," Dal Pino told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

"Inter categorically refused to take the field, so they should take responsibility for their decisions and not talk of unsporting situations or a distorted league.

"Marotta represents the needs of Inter, I have to look after the general interests of an entire Serie A division, which unfortunately means daily conflicts of interests tied to each and every club.

"My job is to promote Italian football and its image to the world, so transmitting games in empty stadiums would’ve been a terrible calling card for the country.

"The decision was down to me, but the clubs involved were contacted by telephone, so we know that they all had positions which were difficult to reconcile."

Inter are due to play Napoli on Thursday in the second leg of their Coppa Italia semi-final, having lost the first meeting 1-0 at San Siro.

Sensi moved to Serie A rivals Inter on loan with the option of a permanent deal at the start of the 2019-20 season.

Despite injuries marring Sensi's debut season at San Siro and the January arrival of Christian Eriksen, Inter are set to take up their option on the Italian midfielder.

"Sensi will be bought outright by Inter," Carnevali told Ceramicanda.

"There is no doubt, the Nerazzurri's decision is already made."

The season has been postponed since March due to the coronavirus pandemic, which has wreaked havoc globally.

Defending champions Juventus were a point clear of Lazio through 26 games at the time of postponement as officials try to restart the campaign.

Sassuolo were 11th and seven points above the relegation zone in Serie A.

"Prices for players will drop maybe, but ours won't. We're an expensive shop," Carnevali said. "The interruption of Serie A has cost more than €200million. For Sassuolo, it's between €10m and €12m.

"The damage of the season not resuming would rise to €800m and several companies would end up in court: Serie A also drives on B, youth teams, women's football...

"Sports minister Vincenzo Spadafora seems to be experiencing a moment of confusion, but I see new awareness emerging from the government and maximum willingness from clubs to comply with the required safety conditions."

Early goals from Giacomo Raspadori and Gianluca Scamacca made it a third straight league game without a win for the Nerazzurri, who also lost the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie to Liverpool in midweek.

Inter consequently failed to reach the summit of the table despite leaders Milan being held by Salernitana on Saturday, though only three points separate the top three in the table. Inter sit two points adrift of Milan, with Napoli in third.

Sassuolo have now clocked up away wins against both Milan sides and Juventus this term, with head coach Inzaghi left frustrated by his team's poor application.

"I am very angry with the approach, because we had three days since Wednesday's game. We talked about the fact Sassuolo beat Juve and Milan away, they play great football and we had to be wary," Inzaghi said.

"We tried to do everything in the second half, created so many chances and were unlucky, but the fact remains we should have had a different approach.

"Sassuolo had great technical quality, they were fresher physically and it showed.

"We will analyse the situation, we know there are 13 games to go, we are all up there and want to keep going forward.

"The fact is a team that wants to win the Scudetto cannot get the approach as wrong as we did today."

Lautaro Martinez drew a blank for a seventh straight game, while Opta data shows that since the resumption of the league after the mid-season break Inter have recorded 100 shots (36 on target) but managed only six goals.

They remain the top scorers in Serie A, though, and Inzaghi is sure his side will soon start finding the net with more regularity.

"I don't think there is anxiety, the great champions are accustomed to these games. I think there was a lack of sharpness, there was some fatigue, both physical and mental," Inzaghi added.

"My staff and I tried to focus the players this week, but we conceded two early goals that we usually don't allow.

"We remain the most prolific side in Serie A this season and will get back to scoring goals soon. When you are a striker and don't score, you just have to stay calm, the goal will come."

Matteo Darmian and Roberto Gagliardini were hauled off at half-time for Denzel Dumfries and Edin Dzeko, and Inzaghi would have liked to have made more alterations.

"I would have happily changed more than two at half-time," he said. "We lost some of our organisation, we tried to open it up again, but we have to analyse what went wrong today.

"There's another match in [five] days [against Genoa], we know that we play continually and need to be stronger than absences, bans, injuries, setbacks, everything.

"We're all in there and will see what happens at the end of the season."

Federico Dimarco's first Nerazzurri goal, an unstoppable free-kick, and a sublime Lautaro Martinez volley twice had champions Inter on course for victory at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris.

However, a luckless own goal from Edin Dzeko and an expert Tommaso Augello volley earned Sampdoria a point, with Inter's misery compounded when Stefano Sensi went off injured late on.

"There are regrets, because it's a game we should've and could've won. A team like ours took the lead twice, then made mistakes with the Ivan Perisic, Hakan Calhanoglu and other easy chances," Inzaghi told Sky Sport Italia.

"We conceded two goals, one was an own goal that hit Edin Dzeko, the other a worldie from Tommaso Augello, but we still should've won.

"We were up against a good team that was very well-organised, but the regrets also are that Sensi picked up that injury and we finished the game with 10 men.

"We need to analyse what happened, because a team like ours that goes in front twice ought to win. It's disappointing, but we go forward with confidence and can build on this, even if naturally we wanted three points.

"We had assumed this morning that the game would be more open in the final half-hour, and that's what was happening until we went down to 10 men. 

"These are matches you can even lose, so we must find our strength and get players back to full fitness, which isn't easy with such a compressed calendar."

Despite the setback, Inter have taken seven points from three games to start their title a defence – a return Inzaghi is content with given a transfer window of upheaval that saw Achraf Hakimi and Romelu Lukaku sold, while head coach Antonio Conte also departed.

"I am very satisfied, because the club, fans and above all the players are very open to what my staff and I are proposing," he added.

"We knew there could be some difficulties early on, but we have seven points from three games, two of them away from home.

"I knew when I arrived that the club had to sell some important players, but we brought in others who are well-suited to my idea of football and now we work going forward."

Napoli had won 11 straight Serie A games prior to the World Cup break as they headed into Wednesday's meeting with Inter at San Siro holding an 11-point lead over their hosts.

But a superb performance from Inzaghi's men was capped with a 56th-minute headed winner from Edin Dzeko as Inter picked up valuable points in their hunt for a 20th Serie A title.

Inzaghi was delighted with his team's display after the game, and cited their resolute mentality as a key reason for the 1-0 victory.

"Inter were organised and wanted to win at all costs," Inzaghi told reporters. "I have to congratulate the guys on the pitch, they helped each other with haste and determination.

"Tonight I bring the happiness of the victory to dedicate to the fans."

Inzaghi chose to start a front two of Dzeko and Romelu Lukaku, before the pair were replaced at a goal up by Joaquin Correa and returning World Cup hero Lautaro Martinez.

The Inter head coach is a big fan of the options he has in attack, saying: "There are four, my wish is to have them all available. I have some intelligent boys. Playing every three days, I will have the opportunity to change it."

Inzaghi hoped the victory over Napoli would spur his team on as they look to close the eight-point deficit to the summit, having now won three consecutive Serie A matches.

"We must continue like this," Inzaghi told DAZN. "Tonight is a great injection of confidence.

"I'm proud of my boys, it's a pleasure to see them like this. We had a great match but we have to continue like this.

"In the league we lost points initially, but it's still a long way [to go]. We have to think match-by-match."

Napoli have scored a league-leading 37 goals this Serie A season, but they were restricted to just two shots on target by Inter as the likes of Victor Osimhen and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia were kept quiet.

Partenopei head coach Luciano Spalletti lamented his side's poor attacking output at San Siro, saying at his post-match news conference: "We were below all our offensive qualities.

"We can do more both as an offensive department and how to prepare the offensive department for important plays. We passed the ball around well in some stretches, but we were not very incisive.

"We need more personality and strength, we have these qualities. I didn't like the fact that we were shy in some moments."

The Serie A leaders breezed past Salernitana on Friday, Ivan Perisic, Denzel Dumfries, Alexis Sanchez, Lautaro Martinez and Roberto Gagliardini scoring in a 5-0 victory.

The result put Inter four points clear at the top with one match left before the mid-season break, while they also became just the fourth side in Serie A history to score 100 or more goals in a calendar year.

The champions are on a run of six consecutive victories, the past five of which have all come without the Nerazzurri conceding a goal, but an ominous run of fixtures lies in wait in early 2022.

After Torino on Wednesday and Bologna on January 6, Inter host Lazio in the league before facing Juventus in the Supercoppa Italiana, after which they head to Atalanta.

A home game with Venezia on January 22 is followed by the Milan derby at San Siro and a clash with title-chasing Napoli on February 12 – a game that takes place only four days before the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie with Liverpool.

Inzaghi hopes for another strong showing against Torino before his players can take time to rest and prepare for the matches to come.

"These games look straightforward on paper, but that's not the case," he told Sky Sport Italia. "The boys had the right attitude from the start, I made changes and you couldn't even tell because everyone steps up the same way.

"We have our ninth game in 25 days coming up. It's the last push before the break for Christmas, and we need to grit our teeth.

"I thought we always played good football, but with our commitments in the Champions League, we dropped points along the way.

"We did well to keep our heads up, got back to the top of the table, and now we want to stay there. These boys never stopped, especially those who went on international duty and made long journeys. We need that break so everyone can recharge their batteries."

Lukaku has returned on loan to Inter, where he won the 2020-21 Serie A title, after a difficult year with Chelsea.

The forward swiftly appeared to have rediscovered his best form in Italy, scoring two minutes into his second Inter debut against Lecce and then teeing up a Lautaro Martinez goal at home to Spezia.

But Friday's third match of the season at Lazio brought a reality check, with Lukaku scarcely troubling the capital club.

The Belgian attempted three shots – all with his head – but only one hit the target, and he did not create a single chance; his 19 touches were the fewest of any starter on either team.

Lukaku was substituted for Edin Dzeko in the 69th minute with the game level, yet Lazio went on to win 3-1.

"[Lukaku] had played the first two games in the best way," Inzaghi told DAZN when quizzed on the change.

"More than looking at the changes, we have to analyse a lost game, a direct clash that hurts.

"We know that we have to do more in these games to win, beyond the condition of Lukaku or Lautaro."

Martinez had equalised for the Nerazzurri early in the second half, but Inzaghi felt the game turned with a close-range Denzel Dumfries header that was saved just 88 seconds after that goal.

"The defeat stings for the way it happened," the coach explained. "The match was balanced and hard fought against a quality opponent.

"Luis Alberto's goal [Lazio's second] broke the game; at 1-1, we had Dumfries' chance that would have changed things.

"We had to show more nastiness on our side because these games are played in moments."

It proved decisive in three different games over the weekend, with Brighton and Hove Albion, Tottenham and Crystal Palace all on the receiving end of controversial decisions – the latter's manager, Roy Hodgson, went on a tirade regarding the "nonsense" rule change.

But arguably the most vociferous of the hot takes regarding handball – see Jamie Carragher deriding the decision as "an absolute disgrace" – focused on the events at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, where in the seventh minute of added time, Eric Dier was penalised via VAR for handball despite having his back to the ball.

Although Mourinho refused to criticise the decision, in his own unique Jose way he left no uncertainty as to his feelings on the matter – "If I want to give money away, I'll give to charities, not the FA," he told Sky Sports.

Steve Bruce, whose Newcastle United profited from the decision to clinch a 1-1 draw, gave the impression of being almost embarrassed at having been a beneficiary, effectively suggesting some form of football managers' mutiny against the sport's rule-makers.

But are they exaggerating the changes? Is handball proving more prevalent? We looked at the Opta data and, as the old adage says, there's no smoke without fire…

Premier League on course for avalanche of penalties

Before delving into the data, we have to understand what specifically has changed with respect to handball in the Premier League. Technically, the idea that it is a "new rule" this season is a red herring – instead, the law has been altered in England to bring it into line with those adopted across Europe last season.

It's a stricter approach that basically means a player will be penalised for handball – in a defensive context – if the struck hand/arm is away from the body or raised, or if the player leans into the path of the ball.

On top of those points, the International Football Association Board (IFAB, the body in charge of the rules) tightened up the boundaries involved, meaning handball should be given – regardless of intent – if the ball strikes the arm below the bottom of the armpit unless it has come off another part of the player's body first or they have fallen on to the ball.

The numbers do IFAB and FIFA no favours.

After 28 matches in the new Premier League season, 20 penalties have been given and six of them awarded for handball.

That means there has been an average of 0.71 penalties per match this term, a huge increase on the averages from the previous four seasons.

Last term it was at 0.24 per game – prior to that it stood at 0.27 (2018-19), 0.21 (2017-18) and 0.28 (2016-17).

"But those figures could be down to an increase in bad tackling!" – don't worry, we thought of that.

While that stat of six handballs may not sound huge, it's actually the same figure for the entirety of the 2017-18 season, while it also equates to 30 per cent of all penalties this term – in 2019-20, 20.7 per cent of penalties were awarded for handball, 13.6 per cent the year before and 7.5 per cent before that.

Put into a 'per game' context, penalties for handball are being given every 0.21 matches – almost one in four. The most it reached in the preceding four seasons was 0.05 in both 2019-20 and 2016-17.

While it is unlikely that penalties will be given at such a frequency throughout the season, it's not impossible.

If it does carry on, we are on course for 271 in 2020-21, just four fewer than the totals for 2019-20 (92), 2018-19 (103) and 2017-18 (80) combined. Similarly, we would expect 81 of those to have been caused by handball.

That's 24 more than were given in total across the previous four years.

How do the figures compare to European leagues?

Clearly, the change that has been effected in the Premier League is significant, but compared to the other top five leagues, the differences are a little less stark… in most cases.

Even though the rules are now supposed to be consistent across the top five leagues, we are still seeing a lot more penalties in general.

Last season, Serie A recorded the highest frequency of penalties at 0.49 per game, with that figure dropping to 0.15 specifically for handball.

LaLiga was next with 0.39 penalties each match and 0.13 for handball. The Bundesliga's respective figures were 0.24 and 0.06, and for Ligue 1 they were 0.32 and 0.08.

But specifically relating to handball, the percentages are much closer. In fact, LaLiga (32.2 per cent) and the Bundesliga (30.5 per cent) saw a greater share of spot-kicks awarded for such offences than the Premier League is in 2020-21.

Ligue 1 (25.8 per cent) and the Bundesliga (24.7 per cent) aren't far behind, either.

So, while the data would seemingly prove the points of Bruce and Hodgson, IFAB might argue the consistency and black-and-white nature of the law make it better - football managers and players, on the other hand, disagree.

Roma snapped up Argentina international Dybala on a three-year contract on Wednesday after his deal with Juventus expired. 

Totti made 786 appearances and scored 307 goals in a 25-year career with the Giallorossi that came to an end at the conclusion of the 2016-17 season. The club has not had a number 10 since then. 

Dybala was grateful to be offered the chance to wear the shirt but felt it should remain Totti's. However, he did not rule out donning it in future. 

"I spoke to the general manager and he asked if I wanted to take number 10, which of course is so significant here because of everything Francesco Totti did," Dybala said in a club interview. 

"I think that shirt and that number should remain his because of what he means to the city and the fans. I thanked him because wearing a shirt like that requires a lot of respect and responsibility. 

"I still see it as his shirt. Maybe I'll wear it one day but for now I'm happy to have number 21, which is the number I wore when I first started to be successful. Hopefully I'll now start being successful here too." 

Jose Mourinho steered Roma to their first trophy since 2008 by winning the Europa Conference League last season and Dybala wants to help them push for more silverware. 

The five-time Scudetto winner is looking forward to working alongside Mourinho, who he considers to be one of the all-time great coaches. 

"First of all, I want to get into peak shape so that I'm on a par with the other players mentally and physically and help the team doing my job. I want to help this team to carry on winning, with the mentality they acquired last season thanks to the coach, and with my own experience. 

"Of course, the World Cup is around the corner so I'll be doing my absolute best to help this team and reach the tournament in the best shape possible, then hopefully be in the mix for some silverware at the end of the season." 

He added: "Everyone knows who Mourinho is, what he's achieved in the game and what he can do. It was an exciting conversation and we spoke for a long time. It was a very nice chat. 

"I've been fortunate to play with some of the greatest players of all time and now I'll get to work with one of the greatest coaches of all time." 

Suarez flew into Perugia to take the test ahead of a possible transfer from Barcelona to Juventus and passed the 'B1' assignment.

With Juventus having no remaining spots for non-EU players in their squad, the Uruguay striker would have needed to become an Italian citizen to make the move to the Allianz Stadium.

Italian financial police and the Perugia Prosecutor's Office are looking at claims Suarez may have been aware of the contents of the exam, allowing the result to have been predetermined.

There has been no direct accusation of wrongdoing towards any individual and there have been no charges.

A statement from the Perugia Prosecutor's Office read: "During the investigation started in February 2020 by Perugia's finance police on different matters within the university for foreigners in Perugia, some irregularities have emerged on the test on Italian language faced by the Uruguayan footballer Luis Alberto Suarez Diaz on September 17th to obtain the Italian nationality (passport).

"From the investigation it has emerged that the subjects of the test had been previously agreed with the candidate and that the mark had been decided in advance despite the fact that, during the online Italian lessons made by the university teachers, the player had shown just a basic knowledge of the Italian language.

"Today the military corps of the finance police are seizing documents in the offices of the university to ascertain the abovementioned misbehaviours and to deliver the warranty information for the crimes of violation of official secrecy and ideological falsity committed in public acts by the public official and others."

Suarez now appears unlikely to move to Juve, with the Italian champions reported to have struck a deal to secure the return of their former striker Alvaro Morata from Atletico Madrid.

Atleti are said to be close to bringing in Suarez from LaLiga rivals Barca, who have told the experienced forward he can leave Camp Nou, as a replacement.