Maurizio Sarri accepts Lazio's opening goal in Saturday's 2-1 win over Juventus could have been ruled out, but says the visitors were fortunate not to be reduced to nine men.
Lazio maintained their fine Serie A form with victory at Stadio Olimpico thanks to goals from Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Mattia Zaccagni, either side of Adrien Rabiot's equaliser.
Juve's players were furious Milinkovic-Savic's 38th-minute opener was allowed to stand as the midfielder nudged Alex Sandro in the back before controlling the ball and firing in.
But Sarri does not believe Juventus can complain too strongly as he feels Manuel Locatelli and Juan Cuadrado could easily have been sent off.
"From where I was, my impression is that the referee could have called for a foul," Sarri told DAZN. "But I also got the impression Juve could have ended with nine men.
"There was a Locatelli foul that was worthy of a red card and Cuadrado should have had a second yellow card. That was clear when he was substituted off straight after."
Referee Marco Di Bello allowed the goal to stand following a check of the pitchside monitor, seemingly adjudging that Alex Sandro went to ground too easily under contact.
Juve assistant coach Marco Landucci, who was standing in for the ill Massimiliano Allegri, did not want to dwell on the key call.
"The referee decides. Juve fans would say it was a foul, Lazio fans would say it wasn't, but the only opinion that matters is that of the referee," he said.
"All I can say is that our first half was below par, whereas we did much better after the break, deserved to score again and the draw would've been the fair result.
"As usual, we accept the result on the field. We don't stir up controversy over these things."
Rabiot bundled the ball over the line four minutes after Milinkovic-Savic's strike, but Zaccagni restored Lazio's lead early in the second half with what proved to be the winner.
The 27-year-old has reached double-figures for goals in a single Serie A season for the first time and is the only Italian to have scored 10 goals in the division this campaign.
Lazio's second home win against Juve in 18 attempts tightens their grip on second place in Serie A, which Zaccagni says gives him more joy than any individual milestones.
"They're both beautiful to hear, but second place is worth much more [than scoring 10 goals]," he said. "I always want to improve and hope to continue as I am.
"It's going to be very difficult staying second. There are many teams around us, so we have to stay focused and score as many points as possible between now and the end."
Juve conceded more than once away from home for the first time since mid-January, with this defeat leaving them eight points off the top four.
However, with an appeal against their 15-point deduction set to be held on April 19, the top-four battle may yet take another twist.
"It's hard to say much about this," Landucci said at his post-match press conference. "On the field, we've scored 59 points. Now we'll wait to hear the appeal on the 19th.
"Lazio now only have to focus on the league, so they have a clear advantage."
Djokovic makes dominant start to Olympic gold medal bid
Novak Djokovic began his latest Olympic gold medal bid with a statement victory over Australia's Matthew Ebden at Roland-Garros.
The 24-time major winner took just 53 minutes to wrap up a comprehensive 6-0 6-1 rout on Court Philippe-Chatrier, to set up a potential second-round clash with Rafael Nadal.
Djokovic won bronze on his Olympic debut in 2008, but missed out on a medal after finishing fourth in 2012 and 2020, while he was beaten in round one in Rio by eventual silver medallist Juan Martin del Potro eight years ago.
However, there was no danger of a repeat of the latter this time around. The Serb took just 24 minutes to wrap up a dominant first set, in which he bageled his helpless opponent.
Ebden remained in positive spirits despite his ordeal. At one stage, he offered his racquet to the crowd, who gave him a wonderful reception when he won his first game of the contest at the 11th attempt.
Nevertheless, it only briefly delayed the inevitable, with Djokovic cruising to the finish line.
Data Debrief: Dominant Djokovic soars into second round
There was no messing around from the 24-time major winner on Saturday, as he was done and dusted in just under an hour at Roland-Garros.
He converted six of his nine break-point opportunities, while winning 14 of 19 net points (74%).
The identity of his second-round opponent is still to be decided, but we could well see a blockbuster clash with Nadal.
Postecoglou hails 'fantastic' youngster Moore after late Vissel Kobe winner
Ange Postecoglou saluted "fantastic" Mikey Moore, after the teenager struck a late winner in Tottenham's J-League World Challenge clash with Vissel Kobe.
The 16-year-old was the hero with his 88th-minute strike sealing a 3-2 victory at the Japan National Stadium in what was Spurs' first match in their preseason tour of the Far East.
Academy graduate Moore became Tottenham's youngest Premier League player when, aged 16 years and 277 days, he made his senior debut against Manchester City in the penultimate game of last season.
And Postecoglou insists the England youth international, who has scored 10 goals in 12 appearances at under-17 level, is deserving of his first-team opportunities.
"Mikey has been fantastic since we brought him in," he told reporters during his post-match press conference. "He's earned his spot on the roster at the moment; he did at the end of last year.
"He got a run with the first team because we could see in training that he was handling himself really well, and that's followed through into pre-season training.
"He's been good in all the games; he probably should have had three tonight, but he did take his goal well by being in the right areas.
"All we can do is keep allowing him to develop. We have to remember that, last year, he had some injuries, and he is only 16.
"I think the future with a lot of our young guys looks pretty promising, but it's our responsibility to make sure they realise their potential and continue to work hard at their game."
Spurs made it three wins from three during preseason, following their 5-1 and 2-0 victories over Hearts and Queens Park Rangers respectively.
"I thought it was a good game," Postecoglou added. "The conditions did make it difficult for both teams, and we've had a hard week of training.
"Credit to the boys. I thought we played some decent football, and they put in as much effort as they humanly could out there.
"You want to provide some sort of entertainment for the supporters who made a great turnout tonight, not just Spurs supporters, but football supporters in general. It's always nice to give back in that way and, overall, I was pleased."
Atletico and Sociedad reach agreement over Le Normand transfer
Atletico Madrid have "reached an agreement" with Real Sociedad over the signing of Robin Le Normand.
The Spain defender, who was part of the side that won Euro 2024, will finalise his move to Atleti "in the coming days" for a fee believed to be in the region of €34.5million.
French-born Le Normand started his career with Brest before spending eight years with Txuri-Urdin, for whom he made 221 senior appearances across all competitions, while winning the 2019-20 Copa del Rey.
The 27-year-old is fresh from international success in Germany, where he played in six of Spain's seven matches, while he also helped La Roja win the Nations League last year.
A statement on Atletico's official website read: "Atletico and Sociedad have reached an agreement for the transfer of Le Normand. The deal will be finalised in the coming days when the player returns from his holiday.
Meanwhile, Sociedad wrote on X: "We'll always remember his dedication and gratitude to the colours that have shaped him into the player he is today. Good luck."
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