Fernando Llorente got his first so also Napoli needing to play catch-ups as Juventus closes on stuttering Roma as Bayo Salau rounds up the curious from wk 12 serie A games.

The last time Napoli conceded three goals on their travels was also in Turin, but a 5-3 victory at Torino on March 30. The Partenopei had been unbeaten in five competitive games. The Azzurri have won only one of their last 18 visits to Juventus, a 3-2 result in 2009, earning five draws and 12 defeats between Serie A and B. They also haven’t kept a clean sheet here since the goalless stalemate in May 1982.
Fernando Llorente scored his second Serie A goal, the fourth for the Bianconeri in all competition. He became the first ever Spanish player to score against a Spanish goalkeeper in the Italian top flight. Andrea Pirlo went up to 53 in the top flight and 24 of them were direct free kicks. Paul Pogba rose to nine in Serie A, his second in as many games.
Rafa Benitez had never previously lost to Juventus, managing a win and two 0-0 draws between Liverpool and Inter.

Roma conceded their first goal at the Stadio Olimpico since Napoli’s 2-1 win in May, ending a 550-minute clean sheet. Sassuolo are unbeaten in their last three away fixtures, amassing five points, thanks to Domenico Berardi’s fourth goal in two games.
Chievo still haven’t beaten Milan in their last 14 League meetings, home and away, but kept a clean sheet against them at the Bentegodi for the first time. The Flying Donkeys are without a goal in 302 minutes and have the mostanaemic attack in the Division with just seven in 12 games. Alberto Paloschi marked his 100th Serie A game against his parent club.
The Rossoneri have amassed just two points from their last six competitive games and for the first time since 2007 are without a victory in four Serie A rounds. With 13 points by Week 12, this is their worst start since 1981-82, when on nine points they were eventually relegated.
Inter hadn’t won two Serie A home ties on the bounce since December 2012.Yuto Nagatomo set a new personal best with his third goal of the campaign, seven in the League overall. Livorno have lost their last eight consecutive visits to San Siro and won here only twice in 1934 and 1942, losing 14 and drawing three. Bizarrely, the Amaranto haven’t won any of their last 22 Serie A fixtures played on a Saturday since a 3-1 over Palermo on April 22 2006. This was Livorno’s 600th top flight match (excluding play-offs) with 168 victories and 264 losses.

Javier Zanetti returned for his 604th Serie A appearance. Only Paolo Maldini has amassed more in the all-time charts with 647. The Nerazzurri have benefited from three own goals this season, a record in Europe’s top five Leagues shared with Manchester City and Nantes. Roma have received two, their best own goal haul since four in the 2000-01 Scudetto-winning campaign.
Fiorentina have conceded 11 goals in their last six home games. Giuseppe Rossi rose to 20 Serie A career goals with his fourth brace, netting 11 in 12 rounds. The last Viola player to better that tally at this stage was Luca Toni with 15 goals in 2005-06. Sampdoria suffered a third consecutive defeat, their worst run since December 2012. The Blucerchiati have scraped just three draws from eight visits to Florence after a 2-0 win in 2004. Manolo Gabbiadini scored his 10th top flight goal, while it was Angelo Palombo’s 300th appearance.

Lazio managed just three draws and a defeat since their last Stadio Tardini success, 2-0 in 2010. Parma have picked up one point from three rounds, but ended their 333-minute goal drought. Alessandro Lucarelli bagged his 16thSerie A goal, the first since September 2012. Keita Balde scored his debut Serie A strike at the fourth appearance, though it was his first start. The Aquile are still without an away victory in Serie A since their 3-1 at Inter on May 8, followed by three stalemates and four losses.
Genoa notched up three Serie A wins on the trot, something they hadn’t achieved since September 2009. Gian Piero Gasperini has amassed 13 points from an available 18 since replacing Fabio Liverani. Daniele Portanova got his 17th Serie A goal, the first since Napoli 2-3 Bologna on December 16 2012. Juraj Kucka took his career tally to seven, with two in as many games.
Verona fired blanks for only the second time this season after 25 goals in 13 competitive games. The only other side they failed to score past was Roma.
Catania registered their second win of the season, the first under Coach Gigi De Canio, after a 2-0 over Chievo on September 29. Maxi Lopez celebrated his 100th Serie A appearance with the 28th goal, but hadn’t found the net since Sampdoria’s 3-1 loss to Cagliari on March 10. This was his third strike past Udinese, making them his favourite victims with Palermo and Cesena. Udinese have lost four of their last five games and failed to score in each of those defeats. In the last three League meetings with Catania, home and away, the Friulani earned just one point.
Bologna have only ever conquered Bergamo once in 2009, losing 14 and drawing 12 between Serie A and B. Atalanta ended a run of one point from three rounds and Stefano Colantuono enjoyed his 400th match as a professional Coach, 174 of which were victories. Davide Brivio scored his third Serie A goal, the most recent being in Lecce 2-2 Genoa on March 4, and Marko Livaja his fourth. Rolando Bianchi went up to 46 Serie A goals, ending the Rossoblu’s 400-minute drought.
Daniele Conti marked his 300th Serie A appearance with only his second brace, the other achieved against Torino in February. Conti has scored 12 Serie A free kick goals since 2005-06 and only Pirlo has done better in that period with 17.

Torino haven’t won away to Cagliari in Serie A since a 1-0 result in 1991, managing four draws from nine attempts. The Granata extended their winless streak to eight rounds, while Giampiero Ventura has never beaten Cagliari, scraping one point from seven meetings.

CAN ENGLAND BE SECOND TIME LUCKY AT DOWN UNDER?

 By Seun Ajidagba
@seunajidagba

England Cricket National Team would not forget in a hurry year 2010-2011 when the Three lions had the famous sprinkler dance on Australian soil which was to celebrate their First Ashes series victory in Thirty-Two years.
Australia's build-up to the 2013 Ashes series was a time bomb waiting to explode after the Australian Cricket Federation appointed Darren Lehmann who was an assistant to Mickey Arthur to take over as coach some 14 days to the series following a string of poor results. This followed a batting line-up weakened by the previous year's retirements of former captain Ricky Ponting who was the second most successful batsman in test cricket behind Sachin Tendulkar (The Little Master) and Mike Hussey, while opener David Warner was suspended for the start of the series following an off-field incident.
All of the troubles put together gave England a comfortable 3-0 home victory over their familiar foes.

Though the Ashes series between England and Australia which is the most celebrated international cricket rivalry that dates back to 1882 has the smallest cup in the world and are traditionally of five Tests played biennially with the two countries taking turns as host. The Three lions are the current holders, having won the last three series, including the 2013 edition played in England and the Head-to-Head record stands at 31 series win for both countries while five series have been draw but the odds favour  England to get "back-to-back" series as well as retaining the urn.
The 2013–14 Ashes series starting on the 21st of November 2013 to 7th January 2014 will be contested at five venues namely The Gabba, Adelaide Oval, WACA Ground, Melbourne Cricket Ground and Sydney Cricket Ground but most importantly on the mind of Captain Micheal Clarke and the entire Australian Cricket National Team is to atone for the disappointment they caused their fans in 2010-2011 when they lost at home for the First time in 32years. As for Captain Alastair Cook of England he would want to write his name in Gold by becoming the First English Captain to win back-to-back Ashes matches on Australian soil for over a century ago.


On 23 September 2013, England and Wales Cricket Board announced a 17-man touring party for the Ashes series which included the usual suspects Captain Alastair Cook, Wicket Keeper and Vice-Captain Matt Prior, Jonny Bairstow Deputy Wicket-Keeper, James Anderson, Ian Bell, Kevin Pietersen, Joe Root, Graeme Swann, Chris Tremlett and Jonathan Trott.

Former Ireland international bowler Boyd Rankin, New Zealand-born all-rounder Ben Stokes and Zimbabwe-born batsman Gary Ballance all received call-ups despite being uncapped for England in Tests, while opening batsman Michael Carberry, spin bowler Monty Panesar and seamer Chris Tremlett all got call ups. Though Tim Bresnan is suffering from a back injury he still travelled with the squad to Australia.
Based on my years of following cricket I see another victory for England on Australian soil going by the consistency of the players they parade but no disrespect to the Aussies who I consider to be rebuilding after the exit of their great stars in the likes of Adam Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden, Shane Warne, Brett Lee, Ricky Ponting, Andrew Symmonds, Mike Hussey, Justin Langer, Glenn McGrath and Damien Martyn.

It’s time for Michael Clarke, Brad Haddin, Phillip Hughes, Peter Siddle, Ryan Harris and Usman Khawaja, the present cricketers in Australia to prove that they can take up the challenge in the absence of their big stars who have called time on an illustrious career. My verdict sees another wild goose chase for the Darren Lehmann (Coach of Australia) tutored side.

MILAN ARE AWOL

Bayo Salau
@xhalaubayo

The worst thing about the Rossoneri right now is not the results, but the performances and mentality, argues Bayo Salau.

There’s no point denying that Milan are in absolute crisis now and facing Barcelona today seemingly look it’s not likely to get any better. A weakened Fiorentina without Juan Guillermo Cuadrado, Mario Gomez and David Pizarro didn’t have to get out of second gear to win 2-0 at San Siro, mainly because the Rossoneri are reduced to either first gear or reverse. They trundle along for 90 minutes and fans wait for the moment they step up the pace to change things around. If it does happen, it is rapidly followed by a defensive disaster.

The calls are out for Massimiliano Allegri to be fired, though I’m not sure what good it would do with the options available. It is true that the team is playing absolutely terrible football and the squad don’t appear to know what they’re supposed to be doing. With Roma, Napoli, Fiorentina and Inter you get the sense these players have a specific plan they worked out in training and know where they are supposed to be at any given moment. Milan’s plan seems to be ‘give the ball to Kaka and Mario Balotelli, then hope for the best.’ It worked in the second half of last season, but SuperMario is now in a permanent sulk between pointless bookings and increasingly embarrassing attempts to win a penalty. Mollycoddling him is just encouraging this self-destructive petulance.

Not only are the Rossoneri not organised, but they have no spark either. Taking the initiative should mean more than running aimlessly at a wall of players or shooting from midfield. Someone also needs to appoint themselves Wall Monitor, because it’s ridiculous that a top flight team doesn’t know how to stand in a line properly. Milan were always bad at defending from set plays, but this isn’t marking we’re talking about – it’s the ability to stand in a spot and not move. Instead of releasing statements on how a free kick was not in the right position or telling Riccardo Montolivo he should argue with the referee more, how about focusing on some of the football school basics?

The real issue with Milan seems to be psychological, as they suffer from crippling arrogance. Have you noticed the only decent performances they have put in this season were when the Rossoneri were considered underdogs? Started strong against Juventus only to fall away, held Barcelona to a draw and attacked Udinese despite an injury crisis. When on paper the stronger team, they just assume they’ll score at some point and don’t push the issue until time is running out.

Coming to the game the world wants to see,Barcelona faces AC Milan in what is perhaps the most opportune time to do so in their previous eight encounters over the past three UEFA Champions League seasons. Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri is on the ropes with his job on the line, having struggled to keep his team above mid-table so far this season. The Rossoneri, undergoing their worst league start in over three decades, are pointless in their last three matches in Serie A, and have not won in Champions League Group H since hosting Celtic on Matchday 1. The situation for the Italians is so dire that they must keep tabs on what happens in Amsterdam between AFC Ajax and Celtic FC (who trail Milan by two points) if the Round of 16 is even to be considered.

With both Barça and Milan not looking anywhere near their best the last time they faced at the San Siro fortnight ago, the spoils will go to whomever can show they took away something useful from the match. Both teams had their fair share of bad luck in front of net and if either side’s regular goal scorers can prove even the slightest bit more focused, a spectacular clash awaits the Camp Nou faithful.

Allegri said this week Milan “can’t rest on our laurels,” but that’s precisely the problem. They have no laurels. What this team is resting on is a cold, hard floor with the shrivelled remains of laurels. The sooner they get that into their heads, the better, because time is running out.

HOMOGENEOUS PLAY DIVERSE SWEDEN

Bayo Salau
@xhalaubayo


Elias Andersson combined with Gustav Engvall for Sweden’s first goal of the U-17 World Cup. These are two blond-haired, blue-eyed boys with very Swedish names, but it soon became clear that the yellow-clad team competing in UAE is anything but homogeneous.There are 11 different nationalities in the 21-man squad, with players tracing their roots to ports as far as Africa, Asia and Europe.

But could that mean that the diverse roots that lies within be the reason for their run so far impressive in the tournament.

Taking a closer look at the diverse Sweden team, combining in total harmony on the world stage - serving up their meatballs with spices from all corners of the globe one would be fired up for an interesting show down with Nigeria U-17 side for the second time in the competition. But for the debutant how has the journey been with the diverse nationals of different root thus far.
The story begins with Valmir Berisha. Born in Albania before moving with his family to Sweden when he was two, he’s scored four goals in a menacing and entertaining display. The flamboyant No 9,  now has four goals ahead of a semi-final rematch with Nigeria in Dubai.
Gentrit Citaku also has Albanian roots and his delicate through ball picked out Erdal Rakip, of Turkish origins, who slotted home elegantly to send Sweden on their way to victory in the quarter-final against Honduras. Having already made his senior team debut for Swedish giants Malmo, it’s likely this won’t be the last Sweden jersey the impressive Rakip pulls on before his career is up.

The  tall, powerful and dark-skinned Carlos Strandberg,is another and  Noah Sonko, a tall and rangy centre-back who traces his roots back to the Gambia, a west African country not far from Nigeria made this team really fearful.  One thing to be highlighted is that Swedish players are known for being strong and fast, and have been resilient in all manners before the face of the world. Huge technical ability of the guys from the Balkans and the good stuff the African guys possess too-power and technique, then they should be more than just a threat to any team that comes forth.

Wherever their roots originate, this Swedish team have amazing chemistry, humility, good humour and, perhaps most of all, resilience. They lost their top midfielder, Isak Ssewankambo – who hails from Uganda – to injury after only 15 minutes of football at the finals. With arguably their best midfielder sent home to Chelsea, where he’s already agreed to professional terms, the Swedes soldiered on without him.

With the diversity a strong point of their stellar run so far,one will wonder if their defence, will have the same level of comfort when the goal-hungry Golden Eaglets come calling a second time.