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• Rudi Garcia says Napoli ‘need to be more effective’ ahead of Bologna clash

  Rudi Garcia has attempted to brush off any criticism of Napoli’s slow start to their Serie A title defence.

  The champions opened their campaign with two victories but were then poor in a home defeat by Lazio before struggling to force a draw at promoted Genoa, with the sequence of results leaving them sixth in the fledgling table.

  A 2-1 midweek Champions League triumph at Braga has done little to sway the detractors of Garcia’s system – which is traditionally attack-focused but has so far failed to excite fans at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona who watched a team led by Luciano Spalletti swashbuckle their way to success in 2022-23.

  Garcia told a press conference before Sunday’s trip to Bologna: “We are an attacking team – we have always scored goals and we could have scored more, for example against Braga. Sometimes you need things to go a few millimetres the other way.

  “We’ve conceded five goals in the league, which is too many, but we’ve only conceded eight shots, which means we are not out of position or conceding too many, but we certainly need to be more effective.”

  On the Lazio loss, the Frenchman added: “If we’d played better in the second half we would have taken some points so now we have to make up for the points lost when we’re away from home, in Bologna, where we are going to win.

  “They’re a good team. I admired Thiago Motta as a player and I’m happy he’s also doing well as a coach. We are 100 per cent focused on tomorrow’s match.”

  Khvicha Kvaratskhelia was the star turn of the Partenopei surge to Scudetto glory last term, with his 12 goals and 13 assists helping to fire Napoli to their first title since 1990.

  However he has failed to score at all since March 19 and Garcia has so far struggled to find a position in which the 22-year-old Georgia international can recapture that scintillating form.

  He lasted barely an hour at Braga and Bologna will hope his sense of frustration is not too strong when he arrives at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara.

  The Rossoblu have also put together an eclectic set of results so far this season, following up their first win – against Cagliari – with a low-key draw against Hellas Verona on Monday night.

  Boss Motta will not let his players become overwhelmed by the prospect of facing the reigning champions in their next match, telling La Gazzetto dello Sport: “We continue to work hard.

  “We think about the next training session and game with the aim of always improving.

  “We know we are facing the champions next. I watching them play well in the Champions League, they had many scoring opportunities, they won and gained confidence from that.

  “We have to focus on what we have to do and what we should avoid doing.

  “Their wingers are good and they have excellent players through the middle, too.”

• Lautaro Martinez says Inter need to ‘raise their level’ against Empoli

  Serie A leaders Inter Milan head to rock-bottom Empoli on Sunday after their flying start to the season came to an end in the Champions League on Wednesday.

  The Nerazzurri opened their campaign with four victories from as many league games, scoring 13 goals and conceding just one – in a 5-1 thrashing of champions AC Milan last weekend.

  Their first match in the Champions League – the competition in which they finished as runners-up last term – then saw them draw 1-1 at Real Sociedad thanks to a late equaliser from skipper Lautaro Martinez.

  The Argentina forward, for whom it was a sixth goal of the season, emphasised the need for improvement.

  “We didn’t play well,” Martinez said in quotes on Inter’s official website.

  “We started poorly and struggled; we could have done better. I don’t think it was down to fatigue.

  “This is how Real Sociedad play; they pushed high up the pitch, and we didn’t attack the space well. We were getting caught in possession close to our area, and we need to be better with our build-up play from the back.

  “It’s important that we didn’t lose, and we did well to stay in the game. We really pushed to score an equaliser, but we didn’t play like we can. We need to raise our level.”

  Simone Inzaghi’s men face an Empoli outfit who are yet to register a point or score a goal across their opening four league games, and sacked boss Paolo Zanetti after a 7-0 thrashing at Roma last Sunday.

  The experienced Aurelio Andreazzoli has been brought in as Zanetti’s replacement, the 69-year-old signing a one-year contract with an option for a further season.

  It is a fourth spell in charge at the club for Andreazzoli, who told a press conference: “I’m here with great enthusiasm. Empoli is an environment that I like and in which I feel good.

  “I know the players and the team well from the outside, now I will evaluate from the inside.

  “The general impression is that of a team that has the potential to express itself.

  “The numbers are not comforting now but the journey is long, we are at the first step and then we will see which direction to take.

  “The kids want to express themselves and we will try to put them in a position to do so without burdens. Everything that has happened has happened, we must look forward with enthusiasm.”

  Andreazzoli’s first stint with Empoli saw him guide them to promotion from Serie B in 2017-18, and he kept them up in the top flight in 2021-22.

• Scotland goal came from World Cup routine – Lucy Bronze

  England defender Lucy Bronze admitted her goal against Scotland was something she had practiced during the World Cup.

  Just over a month since their World Cup final defeat against Spain, the Lionesses earned an inaugural Nations League victory on Friday night with a 2-1 win against Scotland in Sunderland.

  Bronze put the hosts ahead in the 39th minute after a fantastic pass from Katie Zelem picked out the former Black Cat, who made a perfectly timed run to head home.

  She told the England website: “It was something we worked on in the World Cup. But it never came off then, so we saved it for tonight instead.”

  Lauren Hemp then doubled the lead for the hosts six minutes later before Kirsty Hanson pulled one back with the last kick of the half.

  Scotland had plenty of opportunities to level after the break, with arguably their best chance coming when Hanson smashed a rebound off the crossbar.

  England goalkeeper Mary Earps was also forced to make good saves from Martha Thomas and Christy Grimshaw and Bronze admits Hanson’s goal gave the visitors plenty of confidence in the second half.

  “Them getting that goal right before half-time changed the momentum of the game,” Bronze added.

  “Right until the end, they were creating chances but in the first half we did enough, we were by far the better side in that first half.

  “The second half was a little bit more even, we made a couple more mistakes and they got a lot of confidence from scoring that goal in the first half.

  “They looked a little shaky at the beginning and we looked a little more confident. A couple of sloppy passes on our behalf let them back in the game.”

  A hard-fought three points at a lively Stadium of Light sees England go second in Group A1 of the competition and boss Sarina Wiegman was pleased to see Bronze score on home turf.

  “I was of course very happy for her but also very happy for the team, she’s from this area so that makes it extra special,” she said.

  “I think it was really special anyway to be here in a sold-out Stadium of Light, we’ve been here two years ago and this was a little different because it was packed.

  “The noise even from the start of the game was really nice and the pitch was really good, an incredible pitch.

  “The timing of that moment, the pass from Katie Zelem and the timing of her run and the header was really good.”

  Up next for England in the competition is a trip to Utrecht to face the Netherlands on Tuesday.