AC Milan Stalemate Piles on Misery for Juventus

Early strike: Juventus forward Alvaro Morata celebrates his fourth-minute opener. Isabella BONOTTO AFP
Early strike: Juventus forward Alvaro Morata celebrates his fourth-minute opener. Isabella BONOTTO AFP
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AC Milan Stalemate Piles on Misery for Juventus

Early strike: Juventus forward Alvaro Morata celebrates his fourth-minute opener. Isabella BONOTTO AFP
Early strike: Juventus forward Alvaro Morata celebrates his fourth-minute opener. Isabella BONOTTO AFP

Juventus were left struggling in the unlikely surroundings of Serie A's bottom three on Sunday after a 1-1 draw with AC Milan kept them searching for a first league win this season.

Alvaro Morata's fourth-minute goal gave Juve the lead but Ante Rebic headed in a 76th-minute equalizer as Milan ended the weekend in second place on goal difference behind city rivals Inter who crushed Bologna 6-1 on Saturday, Agence France-Presse reported.

Milan could have won the match in the dying moments but Juve keeper Wojciech Szczesny pulled off a brilliant point-blank save to deny Pierre Kalulu.

Juventus, still reeling from the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo to Manchester United, are 18th with just two points from four games with only Cagliari and Salernitana propping them up.

Coach Massimiliano Allegri had harsh words for some of his stars.

"You have to be determined, to bring home the tackle, keep focused. This is part of the general growth process of some players," he said.

"I will admit that I made mistakes on the substitutions, I got it wrong. I should've put more defensive players on and put the 1-0 lead under lock and key, so I take responsibility for that."

Milan, missing both Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Olivier Giroud, dropped their first league points of the season.

However, they will be relieved not to have lost back-to-back games having gone down to Liverpool in the Champions League in midweek.

Spanish international Morata temporarily allowed Juventus fans to forget about Ronaldo when he sped away from Theo Hernandez before coolly slotting the ball past Mike Maignan in goal.

Milan only threatened through three long distance attempts from Sandro Tonali in the fitst half.

But Croatian winger Rebic preserved Milan's unbeaten league start by heading in a Tonali corner with 14 minutes left.

"We came here to win the game," said Milan coach Stefano Pioli told DAZN.

"Juventus did better in the first 20 minutes, were more determined and focused, but we continued playing and did much better towards the end with chances to win, so it was overall a positive performance."

Roma dropped their first points in Serie A under Jose Mourinho as Verona came from behind to earn new coach Igor Tudor a 3-2 victory on his debut.

Lorenzo Pellegrini's clever backheel flick gave visitors Roma a half-time lead in the pouring rain as they sought a fourth successive win to start the season.

- Mourinho beaten -Antonin Barak equalized for Verona shortly after the interval and Gianluca Caprari put the hosts ahead with a precise finish five minutes later.

Ivan Ilic turned a Pellegrini cross into his own goal to bring Roma level before the hour, but Davide Faraoni's brilliant volley secured the win for Verona to halt a run of three straight losses.

"I knew their qualities, even before the change in coach," Mourinho told DAZN.

"They'd already posed big problems to their opponents. And when there's a coaching change there's often a reaction mentally, it can happen."

Roma's city rivals Lazio needed a late goal from Danilo Cataldi to salvage a 2-2 draw at home to Cagliari.

Ciro Immobile struck for the fifth time in four games as Lazio went ahead just before the break.

Joao Pedro's looping header pegged Lazio back right at the start of the second half, with Keita Balde then firing home against his former club to put Cagliari on top.

But the Sardinian club couldn't hold on for victory in Walter Mazzarri's first game in charge as Cataldi fired into the top corner seven minutes from time to rescue Lazio.

Venezia's first Serie A home match since the 2001-02 season ended in a crushing 2-1 loss to Spezia.

Simone Bastoni curled in a sensational effort as Spezia grabbed an early lead at the Stadio Pier Luigi Penzo, an intriguing ground set on the south-eastern tip of Venice's main archipelago.

Pietro Ceccaroni headed Venezia level on the hour but Mehdi Bourabia's brilliant injury-time strike from distance claimed Thiago Motta's Spezia a first win.



Liverpool New Signing Jacquet Suffers 'Serious' Injury

Soccer Football - Ligue 1 - RC Lens v Stade Rennes - Stade Bollaert-Delelis, Lens, France - February 7, 2026  Stade Rennes' Jeremy Jacquet in action REUTERS/Benoit Tessier
Soccer Football - Ligue 1 - RC Lens v Stade Rennes - Stade Bollaert-Delelis, Lens, France - February 7, 2026 Stade Rennes' Jeremy Jacquet in action REUTERS/Benoit Tessier
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Liverpool New Signing Jacquet Suffers 'Serious' Injury

Soccer Football - Ligue 1 - RC Lens v Stade Rennes - Stade Bollaert-Delelis, Lens, France - February 7, 2026  Stade Rennes' Jeremy Jacquet in action REUTERS/Benoit Tessier
Soccer Football - Ligue 1 - RC Lens v Stade Rennes - Stade Bollaert-Delelis, Lens, France - February 7, 2026 Stade Rennes' Jeremy Jacquet in action REUTERS/Benoit Tessier

Liverpool's new signing Jeremy Jacquet suffered a "serious" shoulder injury while playing for Rennes in their 3-1 Ligue 1 defeat at RC Lens on Saturday, casting doubt over the defender’s availability ahead of his summer move to Anfield.

Jacquet fell awkwardly in the second half of the ⁠French league match and appeared in agony as he left the pitch.

"For Jeremy, it's his shoulder, and for Abdelhamid (Ait Boudlal, another Rennes player injured in the ⁠same match) it's muscular," Rennes head coach Habib Beye told reporters after the match.

"We'll have time to see, but it's definitely quite serious for both of them."
Liverpool agreed a 60-million-pound ($80-million) deal for Jacquet on Monday, but the 20-year-old defender will stay with ⁠the French club until the end of the season.

Liverpool, provisionally sixth in the Premier League table, will face Manchester City on Sunday with four defenders - Giovanni Leoni, Joe Gomez, Jeremie Frimpong and Conor Bradley - sidelined due to injuries.


Højlund Rescues Napoli with Dramatic 3-2 win Over Genoa in Serie A

Napoli's Rasmus Winther Hojlund celebrates with his teammates after scoring a goal  during the Italian Serie A soccer match between Genoa Cfc and Ssc Napoli at the Luigi Ferraris stadium in Genoa, Italy, 07 February 2026.  EPA/LUCA ZENNARO
Napoli's Rasmus Winther Hojlund celebrates with his teammates after scoring a goal during the Italian Serie A soccer match between Genoa Cfc and Ssc Napoli at the Luigi Ferraris stadium in Genoa, Italy, 07 February 2026. EPA/LUCA ZENNARO
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Højlund Rescues Napoli with Dramatic 3-2 win Over Genoa in Serie A

Napoli's Rasmus Winther Hojlund celebrates with his teammates after scoring a goal  during the Italian Serie A soccer match between Genoa Cfc and Ssc Napoli at the Luigi Ferraris stadium in Genoa, Italy, 07 February 2026.  EPA/LUCA ZENNARO
Napoli's Rasmus Winther Hojlund celebrates with his teammates after scoring a goal during the Italian Serie A soccer match between Genoa Cfc and Ssc Napoli at the Luigi Ferraris stadium in Genoa, Italy, 07 February 2026. EPA/LUCA ZENNARO

Rasmus Højlund scored a last-gasp penalty as 10-man Napoli won 3-2 at Genoa in Serie A on Saturday, keeping pressure on the top two clubs from Milan.

Højlund was fortunate Genoa goalkeeper Justin Bijlow was unable to keep out his low shot, despite getting his arm to the ball in the fifth minute of stoppage time.

The spot kick was awarded after Maxwel Cornet – who had just gone on as a substitute – was adjudged after a VAR check to have kicked Antonio Vergara’s foot after the Napoli midfielder dropped dramatically to the floor.

Højlund’s second goal of the game moved Napoli one point behind AC Milan and six behind Inter Milan. They both have a game in hand.

“We showed that we’re a team that never gives up, even in difficult situations, in emergencies, and despite being outnumbered, we had the determination to win. I’m proud of my players’ attitude, and I thank them and congratulate them because the victory was deserved,” Napoli coach Antonio Conte said, according to The Associated Press.

His team got off to a bad start with goalkeeper Alex Meret bringing down Vitinha after a botched back pass from Alessandro Buongiorno just seconds into the game. A VAR check confirmed the penalty and Ruslan Malinovskyi duly scored from the spot in the second minute.

Scott McTominay was involved in both goals as Napoli replied with a quickfire double. Bijlow saved his first effort in the 20th but Højlund tucked away the rebound, and McTominay let fly from around 20 meters to make it 2-1 a minute later.

However, McTominay had to go off at the break with what looked like a muscular injury, and another mistake from Buongiorno allowed Lorenzo Colombo to score in the 57th for Genoa.

“Scott has a gluteal problem that he’s had since the season started. It gets inflamed sometimes," Conte said of McTominay. "He would have liked to continue, but I preferred not for him to take any risks because he’s a key player for us.”

Napoli center back Juan Jesus was sent off in the 76th after receiving a second yellow card for pulling back Genoa substitute Caleb Ekuban.

Genoa pushed for a winner but it was the visitors who celebrated after a dramatic finale.

"The penalty wasn’t perfect. I was also lucky, but what matters is that we won,” Højlund said.

Fiorentina rues missed opportunity Fiorentina was on course to escape the relegation zone until Torino defender Guillermo Maripán scored deep in stoppage time for a 2-2 draw in the late game.

Fiorentina had come from behind after Cesare Casadei’s early goal for the visitors, with Manor Solomon and Moise Kean both scoring early in the second half.

A 2-1 win would have lifted Fiorentina out of the relegation zone, but Maripán equalized in the 94th minute with a header inside the far post after a free kick for what seemed like a defeat for the home team.

Fiorentina had lost its previous three games, including to Como in the Italian Cup.

Earlier, Juventus announced star player Kenan Yildiz's contract extension through June 2030.


Juventus Ties Down Star Player Kenan Yildiz Until 2030

Turkish player Kenan Yildiz (Reuters)
Turkish player Kenan Yildiz (Reuters)
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Juventus Ties Down Star Player Kenan Yildiz Until 2030

Turkish player Kenan Yildiz (Reuters)
Turkish player Kenan Yildiz (Reuters)

Türkiye midfielder Kenan Yildiz has extended his contract with Juventus through June 2030, the Italian club announced Saturday.

The 20-year-old Yildiz scored on his debut against Frosinone in December 2023. He has since inherited the club’s No. 10 jersey and last year became the youngest player to captain the team.

Altogether Yildiz has scored 25 goals and also set up 19 in 115 appearances over two and half seasons with Juventus. This season he has eight goals and five assists in Serie A.

“Kenan embodies leadership, sacrifice and the constant pursuit of improvement. He is the personification of Juventus’ values, and he carries them onto the pitch in every game he plays,” The Associated Press quoted the club as saying.

Media reports suggested the new deal made Yildiz the best-paid player in the squad.

The German-born Yildiz switched to Juventus Under-19s from Bayern Munich’s youth setup in 2022.