Napoli Passes Big Test of Serie A Leadership with 2-0 Win at AC Milan

Soccer Football - Serie A - AC Milan v Napoli - San Siro, Milan, Italy - October 29, 2024 Napoli's Khvicha Kvaratskhelia celebrates scoring their second goal REUTERS/Alessandro Garofalo
Soccer Football - Serie A - AC Milan v Napoli - San Siro, Milan, Italy - October 29, 2024 Napoli's Khvicha Kvaratskhelia celebrates scoring their second goal REUTERS/Alessandro Garofalo
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Napoli Passes Big Test of Serie A Leadership with 2-0 Win at AC Milan

Soccer Football - Serie A - AC Milan v Napoli - San Siro, Milan, Italy - October 29, 2024 Napoli's Khvicha Kvaratskhelia celebrates scoring their second goal REUTERS/Alessandro Garofalo
Soccer Football - Serie A - AC Milan v Napoli - San Siro, Milan, Italy - October 29, 2024 Napoli's Khvicha Kvaratskhelia celebrates scoring their second goal REUTERS/Alessandro Garofalo

Antonio Conte’s Napoli passed a big test of its Serie A leadership with a 2-0 win at AC Milan on Tuesday.
Romelu Lukaku and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia scored first-half goals at the San Siro and Napoli opened up a seven-point lead over defending champion Inter Milan, which visits Empoli on Wednesday, The Associated Press reported.
Lukaku muscled a defender to the ground before scoring from the center of the area early on. Then Kvaratskhelia dribbled past two defenders before launching an angled shot into the far corner before the break.
Milan center forward Alvaro Morata had a potential goal waved off for offside early in the second half.
Milan is eighth, 11 points back.
Napoli returns to the San Siro in less than two weeks to face Inter. The Partenopei have rebounded strongly after a 10th-place finish last season and are in position to earn their second title in three years.
Conte was hired in June after Napoli went through three different coaches last season.
Napoli hasn't lost since falling 3-0 at Hellas Verona in its season debut on Aug. 18.
Also, Bologna won 2-0 at Cagliari with goals from Riccardo Orsolini and Jens Odgaard; and Lecce beat nine-man Hellas Verona 1-0 with a goal from Patrick Dorgu.



Brazil's Botafogo Advances to its 1st Copa Libertadores Final

John (C) from Botafogo saves a ball in the Copa Libertadores semifinals soccer match between Penarol and Botafogo in Montevideo, Uruguay, 30 October 2024.  EPA/RAUL MARTINEZ
John (C) from Botafogo saves a ball in the Copa Libertadores semifinals soccer match between Penarol and Botafogo in Montevideo, Uruguay, 30 October 2024. EPA/RAUL MARTINEZ
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Brazil's Botafogo Advances to its 1st Copa Libertadores Final

John (C) from Botafogo saves a ball in the Copa Libertadores semifinals soccer match between Penarol and Botafogo in Montevideo, Uruguay, 30 October 2024.  EPA/RAUL MARTINEZ
John (C) from Botafogo saves a ball in the Copa Libertadores semifinals soccer match between Penarol and Botafogo in Montevideo, Uruguay, 30 October 2024. EPA/RAUL MARTINEZ

Brazil’s Botafogo advanced to its first Copa Libertadores final on Wednesday despite a 3-1 loss at Uruguay's Penarol. The Rio de Janeiro side had won the first leg of its semifinal 5-0.
Botafogo's rival in the Nov. 30 decider in Buenos Aires will be fellow Brazilian side Atletico Mineiro, which reached the final after a 0-0 draw at Argentina’s River Plate on Tuesday and after a 3-0 win in the first leg.
Botafogo rested many of its starters because of the big advantage, including national team strikers Luiz Henrique and Igor Jesus, The Associated Press reported.
Jaime Báez scored Penarol's first two goals. The first came from long distance in the 31st minute and the second in the 66th from the edge of the box. By then, the hosts were one man down due to an unusual red card.
Goalkeeper Washington Aguerre was sent off during the break after intentionally stepping on the foot of Botafogo goalie John. Botafogo lost a player in the 69th minute when Mateo Ponte received his second yellow only seconds after he got his first.
World Cup champion Thiago Almada was brought in by Botafogo in the second half and scored for the visiting team from close range in the 88th minute. One minute later, also from close range, Penarol's Facundo Batista netted the third goal for the Uruguayan team.
Brazilian teams have won the tournament for the past five years. The final will be played at the Monumental de Nunez Stadium in Buenos Aires.
Atletico’s win on Tuesday also affected the race to be the last South American qualifier for the 2025 Club World Cup, as it eliminated Olimpia of Paraguay from contention.
Olimpia would have advanced to the 32-team tournament in the United States had River Plate won this Copa Libertadores edition. River Plate already qualified based on its consistent results in the continental competition across four seasons.
FIFA will make the draw for the June 15-July 13 tournament on a date in early December it has not yet confirmed.
Also on Wednesday, Brazil's Cruzeiro advanced to the Copa Sudamericana final with a 1-0 win at Argentina's Lanus. Their first leg ended 1-1 last week.
Cruzeiro could face another Brazilian team in the decider of South America's second most prestigious club tournament.
Corinthians, the club of Dutch striker Memphis Depay, will take on Argentina's Racing in Buenos Aires on Thursday. Their first leg in Sao Paulo finished 2-2.