Related items

• Lazio off to winning start but Roma and Bologna stutter in Serie A openers

  Lazio got their Serie A campaign off to a winning start with a 3-1 victory over newly promoted Venezia.

  Visitors Venezia took a shock lead through Magnus Kofod Andersen just three minutes into the match, but Lazio roared back through Valentin Castellanos eight minutes later.

  A penalty from captain Mattia Zaccagni put Lazio ahead on the stroke of half-time. The Italy international has now directly contributed to 35 goals in Serie A since the start of the 2021-22 campaign, second only to Antonio Candreva (40) among midfielders.

  Venezia mustered seven shots in the second half, but their comeback hopes were extinguished when Giorgio Altare turned into his own goal late on.

  Lazio's city rivals Roma did not fare as well, only managing a goalless draw away to Cagliari, with both sides hitting the woodwork in that contest.

  Elsewhere, Udinese began their league season with a credible draw away at Bologna.

  Vincenzo Italiano's first competitive game in charge of Bologna saw them dominate the match with 22 shots to Udinese's four, and they took the lead through a Riccardo Orsolini penalty.

  Orsolini is the second Bologna player to score in seven different Serie A seasons in the past 50 years, after Carlo Nervo (seven between 1996-97 and 2003-04).

  But Udinese managed to draw level through Lautaro Giannetti in the 68th minute, and held on for the remainder of the encounter to deny Italiano an ideal start.

• Guardiola says 'unbelievable' Haaland is hitting Messi, Ronaldo levels

  Erling Haaland is reaching the levels of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, so says Pep Guardiola.

  Haaland marked his 100th appearance for Manchester City with his 91st goal for the club in a 2-0 win over Chelsea on Sunday.

  The Norway forward has been directly involved in 106 goals for City.

  And Guardiola believes the 24-year-old's record can be compared to the exploits of Messi and Ronaldo.

  Guardiola said: "He has the numbers for Messi and Ronaldo, who controlled the last decade, 15 years, absolutely everything. In terms of the numbers, it is that level."

  Despite his manager's praise, the data does not suggest Haaland is quite yet at the level of Messi or Ronaldo during their most fruitful campaigns.

  Haaland has managed a goal on average every 88 minutes since joining City two years ago.

  However, during Messi's best goalscoring season (2012-13), he managed a goal every 67 minutes in all competitions for Barcelona.

  Meanwhile, in the 2014-15 season while at Real Madrid, Ronaldo scored every 76 minutes.

  Norway did not qualify for Euro 2024, and Guardiola thinks Haaland has benefited from his extended rest this summer, as City began their hunt for a record fifth successive Premier League title in style.

  He said: "I had a feeling that he feels better than last season at this stage. After last season, he felt a bit [so-so] or felt he was tired.

  "This season, I think for the Euros unfortunately Norway were not there, there was more rest and he feels good."

• Leverkusen director Rolfes confident of Tah stay amid Bayern interest

  Bayer Leverkusen managing director Simon Rolfes is confident defender Jonathan Tah will remain at the club amid speculation linking him with Bayern Munich.

  Tah played a key role as Bayer won an unbeaten Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal double in 2023-24, making 48 appearances in all competitions and contributing to 18 clean sheets.

  The centre-back also scored six goals and recorded the highest pass completion rate (96.47%) of any Bundesliga player in his 31 league outings.

  However, Tah has now entered the final 12 months of his contract at the BayArena, and with no agreement reached on fresh terms, he has been linked with Bayern.

  There have also been suggestions Bayern could wait until the second half of 2024-25 before attempting to agree a free transfer for Tah, but Rolfes is not worried about losing him.

  "There is nothing new and nothing that makes me doubt whether Jonathan will stay with us," said Rolfes after Saturday's DFL-Supercup win over Stuttgart. 

  "He's an important part of the team and emotionally, he's totally connected to every team-mate, the coach and the fans."

  Former Leverkusen striker Rudi Voller, who now serves as director of the German national team, also commented on Tah's future on Sunday, telling Sport1 that Bayern's interest had angered the Bundesliga champions.

  "There haven't been any intensive talks on this topic for a long time, and that's what's a bit frustrating," Voller said. 

  "There was an enquiry a while ago, along with an offer, which Bayer Leverkusen logically rejected." 

  "Leverkusen is a club that doesn't like to let players leave for free. In principle, they would have liked to reach an agreement, but as of now, no agreement has been made."