AC Milan head coach Paulo Fonseca praised his team's resilience in overcoming the challenge of playing a man down during Saturday's narrow home win against Udinese.
Milan won 1-0 in the Serie A clash at home after an early goal from Samuel Chukwueze, despite being reduced to 10 men following Tijjani Reijnders' red card at the half-hour mark.
"I must say that the game had two parts. The first one until minute 30 when we received a red card," Fonseca told DAZN.
"We played 30 minutes with great personality and quality. It was close to my idea. After the red card, it was a game made of team spirit.
"We suffered, but we suffered together. If there was any doubt on whether this team was united, today we proved we are."
Fonseca believed his side deserved the win, despite Udinese having two goals disallowed, one from Kingsley Ehizibue and another from Christian Kabasele following a tight offside call.
"It would have been unfair for the team. We had the best chances and it would have been unfair not to win this game. The team deserved these three points," he said.
The former Roma boss also praised midfielder Christian Pulisic for his effort, including an assist and his defensive work, after Reijnders got sent off.
"Christian's game was fantastic. This is the spirit that we must always have," he said.
For Udinese manager Kosta Runjaic, the defeat was a bitterly disappointing affair as his side failed to take the opportunity of their numerical advantage.
"I'm not a referee. I am the coach. It’s senseless to say anything," Runjaic said about the two disallowed goals.
"Even with a man up, it was not easy against a team that defended deep. We needed patience, good passing rhythm and circulation and a bit of luck.
"Surely I don’t like the result because it was possible to go home with a draw."
Calabar, Camperdown play out 1-1 stalemate to end preliminary round
Calabar High School and Camperdown High signed off the preliminary round of the Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA)/Digicel Manning Cup on a positive note as they played out a 1-1 stalemate in their final Zone D encounter at Red Hills Road on Saturday.
Jahreem McKenzie fired Camperdown in front in the 25th minute, but that effort was cancelled out by Jayden Perry (30th), who ensured Calabar remain upbeat heading into the second round for the first time in seven years.
With the point, Calabar ended second on 23 points, two points behind STATHS, who blanked Haile Selassie 5-0 in the other group contest. Vauxhall (13 points) ended third ahead of Camperdown (12 points), Haile Selassie (12 points) and Kingston Technical (zero).
Calabar’s Head coach Andrew Price was pleased with the effort of his fringe players.
“It was basically an audition for some of the players that didn’t get any playing time throughout the round. So we took a look at them as we go into the second round, and I must say well done to the team for this round, but the work just begins now; we have to be steadfast and resolute in our preparation for the second round because we know we are going to come up against tougher opposition,” Price said in a post-game interview.
Despite already being through to the next round of the competition, Calabar were in no mood to relent, as they were spirited at the start and looked more threatening in open play of the early exchanges. They created a few half chances but couldn’t get on target.
That allowed Camperdown to break the deadlock against the run of play when McKenzie got on the end of a through pass and confidently finished his third of the season.
However, the lead was short-lived as Calabar pulled level when Camperdown’s goalkeeper Roshawn Gilroy failed to advance to a loose ball and Perry capitalised with a close range finish to also register his third of the season.
The second half offered very little to write home about, though Calabar asserted their authority on the contest and bossed possession. Still, chances were at a premium, as the Red Hills Road boys only had a couple half looks on goal, which amounted to nothing.
The stalemate left Camperdown’s coach, Karume Huie, beaming with pride at the strides made by his young team, though they missed out on the second round.
“Yes, disappointed that we didn’t make the next round, but in live you see a light at the end of the tunnel and so I am proud of my boys. I gave some 13- and 14-year-olds a chance to play in this game, so it’s a work in progress, and we will bounce back stronger next year,” Huie declared.
Saturday’s results
Calabar 1, Camperdown 1
STATHS 5, Haile Selassie 0
Mona 1, Charlie Smith 0
Vauxhall 6, Kingston Technical 2
Jamaica College 7, Bridgeport 1
Troubled Roma still prove a great challenge for Inter, says Inzaghi
Simone Inzaghi still expects Inter to put their best foot forward as he anticipates a tough test against struggling Roma on Sunday.
Roma have won just two of their nine games across all competitions this season, though Ivan Juric's side are unbeaten in their last three home outings.
Inter, meanwhile, slipped down to third following Juventus' win on Saturday, and are looking for a fourth win on the bounce following their 2-1 derby defeat to Milan.
And even though they face a side still in search of their best form, Inzaghi has warned Inter that they cannot let their guard down.
"We know what kind of opponent we are going to face," Inzaghi told Inter TV on Saturday.
"We've faced [coach Ivan] Juric many times in recent years, he is clearly bringing his philosophy to Roma, and we must be ready to put in a good performance, both with and without the ball. [Achieving] it will take a great Inter."
Inter will be without injured midfielders Piotr Zielinski and Kristjan Asllani, though the pair have featured minimally for Inter so far, with the former only playing 68 minutes in Serie so far this season.
"The international break shouldn't influence us. Before the break we had three wins, we need to continue on our path," Inzaghi said.
"We've got many players who have played many minutes, others like Lautaro [Martinez] and [Mehdi] Taremi who have flown far but come back in quite well, all except Zielinski who returned with a slight injury and will not play.
"Asllani picked up a slight knock to his knee and also won't be available, but [Thomas] Berenbruch will be in the squad, a promising talent from [our under-19 team], so we won't have any issues."
Inter have a busy week ahead of them, returning to Champions League action on Wednesday to face Young Boys before hosting Juventus in Serie A next weekend.
Despite the packed schedule between the two international breaks, Inzaghi is determined to take it one game at a time.
"We know that we're about to play seven games in 20 days, so we need to do well but at the moment, the only concern for myself and the squad is to prepare well for the game against Roma [on Sunday]," he added.
"We will try to draw on the entire squad knowing that many of the lads try to cause me and my staff trouble on a daily basis when making our selections."
Juve 'complete' without suspended Pogba, says club director Giuntoli
Paul Pogba's hopes of playing for Juventus again took a hit on Saturday when Bianconeri director Cristiano Giuntoli said that the Serie A side are complete without him.
The 31-year-old midfielder will end his doping ban in March after testing positive for DHEA in September 2023, a banned substance that boosts testosterone levels.
The former France international had his punishment cut earlier this month from an initial four years to 18 months by the Court of Arbitration for Sport and will be eligible to play for Juve as soon as the ban ends.
Yet Giuntoli suggested Thiago Motta's side are content in coping without the World Cup winner, at least for the time being.
"Our position is clear. Pogba has been a great player, he has been out for a long time and last year we were forced to invest in other players," Giuntoli told DAZN ahead of Saturday's 1-0 win over Lazio.
"So now the squad is complete as it is."
Juventus have not missed Pogba so far this season, remaining unbeaten through their first eight league games after Mario Gila's own goal handed them the narrow win over Lazio.
The club are yet to release any further update on Pogba, whose contract in Turin expires in June 2026.
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