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AC Milan Remains Winless under Fonseca; Lukaku Scores on Debut in Napoli Win

AC Milan's Rafael Leao goal 2-2 during the Serie A Enilive soccer match between SS Lazio and AC Milan at the Rome's Olympic stadium, Italy, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. (Fabrizio Corradetti/LaPresse via AP)
AC Milan's Rafael Leao goal 2-2 during the Serie A Enilive soccer match between SS Lazio and AC Milan at the Rome's Olympic stadium, Italy, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. (Fabrizio Corradetti/LaPresse via AP)
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AC Milan Remains Winless under Fonseca; Lukaku Scores on Debut in Napoli Win

AC Milan's Rafael Leao goal 2-2 during the Serie A Enilive soccer match between SS Lazio and AC Milan at the Rome's Olympic stadium, Italy, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. (Fabrizio Corradetti/LaPresse via AP)
AC Milan's Rafael Leao goal 2-2 during the Serie A Enilive soccer match between SS Lazio and AC Milan at the Rome's Olympic stadium, Italy, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. (Fabrizio Corradetti/LaPresse via AP)

New AC Milan coach Paulo Fonseca was hoping for a reaction when he dropped three key players for a visit to Lazio in Serie A.

The move led to a solid start by the Rossoneri. The final result was a third straight game without a win on Saturday.

Taty Castellanos and Boulaye Dia scored second-half goals for Lazio to overturn an early opener from Strahinja Pavlovic, and the benched Rafael Leao came on to equalize for Milan in a 2-2 draw.

Meanwhile, Romelu Lukaku scored on debut and Antonio Conte’s Napoli earned its second straight win by coming back to beat 10-man Parma 2-1.

Benching issues

Leao, Theo Hernandez and Davide Calabria were each benched at the start by Fonseca.

Leao and Hernandez were sent on after Lazio’s two goals, with former Roma striker Tammy Abraham also entering for his Milan debut, and Abraham provided the assist for Leao’s equalizer.

But Leao and Hernandez then remained on the far side of the field during a cooling break — isolated from the rest of Milan’s squad.

Fonseca said Leao and Hernandez didn’t need to join the team for drinks because they had just come on minutes earlier.

“Let’s not create a problem, because there is no problem. The reaction from the players was good,” Fonseca said. “When there’s a problem I take responsibility but right now there’s no problem.”

Milan has two points from two draws and a loss. Lazio has four points.

Improvised goalkeeper

Serie B champion Parma had to move defender Enrico Del Prato into goal after starter Zion Suzuki was sent off with two yellow cards and all five substitutions had been used.

It didn’t go well for Del Prato, who could only get a weak hand on a powerful shot from Lukaku then reacted late to a header from Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa during 15 minutes of stoppage time.

Ange-Yoan Bonny converted a penalty for Parma early on.

Lukau was signed from Chelsea on Thursday, reuniting him with Conte after the pair won Serie A at Inter Milan. He’s wearing No. 11 and not his customary No. 9, which still belongs to Victor Osimhen, who remains in limbo and dropped from the squad after failing to find a new club during the transfer window.

Napoli has six points after opening with a dispiriting 3-0 loss at Hellas Verona.

Eriksson tribute

Before kickoff of the Lazio-Milan match, there was a tribute to former Lazio coach Sven-Goran Eriksson, who died on Monday from pancreatic cancer.

A three-minute video of Eriksson’s years at Lazio was shown on the jumbo screens inside the Stadio Olimpico and a banner in the center circle read, “Sven Goran Eriksson forever.”

Eriksson coached Lazio to the Serie A title in 2000 and also won a Cup Winner’s Cup with the Roman club.

Lazio wore black armbands for the game.

A minute’s silence is being held before every Serie A game this weekend to remember Eriksson.

Winless Bologna

Champions League debutante Bologna remained winless following a 1-1 draw with Empoli, with Giovanni Fabbian and Emmanuel Gyasi trading early goals.

Bologna, fifth last season, hosts Shakhtar Donetsk in its Champions League opener on Sept. 18.

Lecce beat Cagliari 1-0 for its first victory, with a goal from Nikola Krstovic despite playing the entire second half with 10 men.

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Red Bull's Verstappen Fastest in Singapore to Claim 50th Career Pole

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands smiles as he speaks after finishing first during the qualifying session ahead of the Singapore Formula One Grand Prix in Singapore, Singapore, Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands smiles as he speaks after finishing first during the qualifying session ahead of the Singapore Formula One Grand Prix in Singapore, Singapore, Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
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Red Bull's Verstappen Fastest in Singapore to Claim 50th Career Pole

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands smiles as he speaks after finishing first during the qualifying session ahead of the Singapore Formula One Grand Prix in Singapore, Singapore, Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands smiles as he speaks after finishing first during the qualifying session ahead of the Singapore Formula One Grand Prix in Singapore, Singapore, Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

Red Bull's Max Verstappen claimed the 50th pole position of his career when he went fastest in qualifying under the lights at the Singapore Grand Prix on Saturday, repeating his heroics from the sprint qualifying session a day earlier.

Verstappen clocked one minute 31.373 seconds at the Marina Bay Street Circuit and will have Ferrari's Charles Leclerc alongside him on the front row, with the Monegasque driver just 0.054 seconds slower than the four-times champion.

Leclerc's team mate Lewis Hamilton was third fastest and championship leader Kimi Antonelli was fourth quickest for Mercedes.

"The margins are very close between us throughout all of qualifying, so of course, very happy to be on pole because this is the one that I wanted," Verstappen said ahead of his 250th race.

"The car has been ⁠pretty strong all ⁠weekend. Of course, I always think that you can be better, but it was enough for pole, so very happy with that."

Verstappen, who won a chaotic sprint in wet conditions earlier on Saturday, topped the timesheets despite gearbox issues in Q2 to claim his second straight pole of the season.

Leclerc had struggled in Q1 and Q2 but found his groove in Q3 to put Ferrari on the front row right at the end of the session.

"I had some weird things going on with the brakes, car pulling a ⁠bit under braking, which is not so nice on a track like here," Reuters quoted Leclerc as saying.

"But then in Q3, the lap was okay. I did some mistakes. I think there was a potential to be on pole today, but Max just did a better job."

With celebrity girlfriend Kim Kardashian watching on from the Ferrari garage, Hamilton topped Q1 and Q2 at a circuit where he has four victories, but the Briton could not reproduce his form in Q3.

"There's a real fine line with our car where it's over the edge or under the limit and finding that sweet spot is very, very difficult," said seven-times world champion Hamilton.

Mercedes driver George Russell, second in the championship, was sixth fastest in Q3 but the Briton is set to start from the back of the grid due to his engine penalty ⁠as he looks to ⁠bridge the 89-point gap to Antonelli.

Drivers struggled under braking in the first session, with Esteban Ocon and Lance Stroll both forced to abandon their laps, but the biggest casualty of Q1 was Verstappen's team mate Isack Hadjar.

The Frenchman complained about an issue with his gearbox before the 22-year-old returned to the garage without setting a lap time, losing his 100% record of qualifying for Q3 this year.

"Nothing Isack could have done. We had a gearbox issue on his car," Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies told Sky Sports.

Verstappen also complained about gearbox issues despite advancing from Q2.

"Insanely, insanely bad shifts," he said. "The downshifts are so bad."

Reigning champion Lando Norris and McLaren team mate Oscar Piastri will line up on the third row after the stewards took no further action following the collision between the two drivers in the sprint.

Alpine's Pierre Gasly will start seventh on the grid followed by the Racing Bulls of Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad, and Audi's Nico Hulkenberg completed the top 10.

Sports

Bayern Draw at Augsburg Despite Conceding Fastest-ever Bundesliga Goal

Bayern players react after the German Bundesliga soccer match between FC Augsburg and FC Bayern Munich in Augsburg, Germany, Oct. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
Bayern players react after the German Bundesliga soccer match between FC Augsburg and FC Bayern Munich in Augsburg, Germany, Oct. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
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Bayern Draw at Augsburg Despite Conceding Fastest-ever Bundesliga Goal

Bayern players react after the German Bundesliga soccer match between FC Augsburg and FC Bayern Munich in Augsburg, Germany, Oct. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
Bayern players react after the German Bundesliga soccer match between FC Augsburg and FC Bayern Munich in Augsburg, Germany, Oct. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Bayern Munich twice came from behind to draw 2-2 at Augsburg on Saturday after a mistake from Manuel Neuer led to the fastest goal in Bundesliga history.

Neuer handed Augsburg the lead with an early mistake, before two second-half assists from Harry Kane rescued a point in the second half, AFP reported.

Bayern missed the chance to knock Borussia Dortmund off top spot after the draw and remain two points behind the league leaders in second.

Augsburg could not believe their luck after Neuer's howler handed them the lead after just eight seconds.

Having received the ball straight from kick-off, Neuer chipped it directly into the path of Augsburg's Robin Fellhauer, who ran it into the empty net.

The Bundesliga later confirmed the exact timing of the goal at 8.4 seconds, beating the previous record of nine seconds held jointly by Kevin Volland and Karim Bellarabi.

Bayern remained shellshocked for much of the first half and were lucky not to go 2-0 down when Juma Bah missed a sitter on 36 minutes.

Bayern found the net shortly after the break when Augsburg keeper Finn Dahmen fumbled a brilliant volley from Luis Diaz, but the goal was ruled out for an offside in the build-up.

Ismael Saibari broke Augsburg's resistance a few minutes later, slotting the ball home after an elegant assist from Harry Kane.

Yet the hosts struck back quickly, thanks in part to another off-color moment from Neuer.

After Augsburg unlocked the defense with a long ball forward, Neuer parried Calvin Brackelmann's shot straight at Rodrigo Ribeiro, who smashed the ball under the bar to restore the lead.

Both Diaz and Serge Gnabry had goals ruled out for offside before Kane set up Nathaniel Brown for Bayern's second equalizer ten minutes from time.

There was also drama elsewhere, as Bayer Leverkusen grabbed a rollercoaster 4-3 win in Mainz while Hamburg snatched a late 3-2 win away at Hoffenheim.

Robert Andrich gave Leverkusen the lead with a superb volley after just five minutes, before Patrik Schick doubled the lead with a smart finish four minutes later.

Anthony Caci dragged Mainz back into the game, scoring twice to level the scores before half time.

Second-half goals from Jarell Quansah and Moussa Diaby put Leverkusen back in control, before Benedict Hollerbach grabbed a late third for Mainz.

Yussuf Poulsen bundled in an early opener for Hamburg, before Fisnik Asllani jabbed home an equally scrappy equalizer for Hoffenheim.

Bambase Conte put Hoffenheim in the lead with a brilliant shot from outside the area early in the second half, but a red card for his team mate Bernardo swung the game back into Hamburg's favor.

The visitors had one late equalizer ruled out by VAR before Terem Moffi equalized with an 83rd minute header and Miro Muheim grabbed a stoppage-time winner.

In Saturday's other games, goals from Jeff Chabot and Chris Fuehrich sealed a comfortable 2-0 win for Stuttgart at Paderborn, while Livan Burcu struck late to hand Union Berlin a nervy 1-0 win at home to Elversberg.

Sports

Russian Teen Andreeva Breezes Into China Open Final

Mirra Andreeva, of Russia, returns a ball to Nikola Bartunkova, of the Czech Republic during the semifinals of the women's singles match at the China Open tennis tournament in Beijing, Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)
Mirra Andreeva, of Russia, returns a ball to Nikola Bartunkova, of the Czech Republic during the semifinals of the women's singles match at the China Open tennis tournament in Beijing, Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)
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Russian Teen Andreeva Breezes Into China Open Final

Mirra Andreeva, of Russia, returns a ball to Nikola Bartunkova, of the Czech Republic during the semifinals of the women's singles match at the China Open tennis tournament in Beijing, Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)
Mirra Andreeva, of Russia, returns a ball to Nikola Bartunkova, of the Czech Republic during the semifinals of the women's singles match at the China Open tennis tournament in Beijing, Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

Mirra Andreeva breezed into the China Open final on Saturday, brushing aside Nikola Bartunkova 6-2, 6-2, and will play either home hope Zheng Qinwen or Belgium's Elise Mertens for the title.

"I wanted to play aggressive today," said the 19-year-old Russian, ranked five in the world.

Andreeva raced into a 4-0 lead in the first set in Beijing as 34th-ranked Bartunkova double-faulted twice before giving away the fourth game, AFP reported.

The 20-year-old Czech made 20 unforced errors across the 74-minute match and was outplayed by the French Open champion, who sent down 27 winners.

Bartunkova saved the first match point but Andreeva triumphed on the second without much more fuss.

"She's a very tricky opponent to play against... she sometimes manages to hit rockets out of nowhere," Andreeva said.

"I tried to be brave no matter what," she said, adding that she calmed some nerves by playing the card game Uno with her coach before the semi-final.

At four Andreeva is the highest-seeded player left in the tournament after a run of upsets saw the departures of Elena Rybakina, Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff.