Football

Juventus emerged victorious in the Turin derby, defeating city rivals Torino 2-0 to climb within a point of Serie A's summit. Timothy Weah and Kenan Yildiz scored in each half to secure the win for the Old Lady, who now sit third in the standings with 24 points.Juventus coach Thiago Motta praised his team's performance, saying, "It was another good performance where we brought the three points home. I am happy both with the result and the performance, in a derby on home turf, and thank our fans for their support."Torino's form has plummeted in recent weeks, with only one win in their last seven league outings. They now languish in 11th place, 10 points behind their city rivals.The deadlock was broken in the 18th minute when Weah tapped into an open net after Vanja Milinkovic-Savic failed to hold onto Andrea Cambiaso's effort. Both sides struggled to create chances in a match that lacked excitement.Yildiz sealed the victory for Juventus six minutes from time with a stooping back-post header.Meanwhile, AC Milan dropped points in a thrilling 3-3 draw with Cagliari, falling further behind in the title race. Rafael Leao scored twice in the first half to give Milan the lead, but Cagliari fought back through Gabriele Zappa and Tammy Abraham. Zappa scored a sensational equalizer in the final stages to deny Milan the win.Milan coach Paulo Fonseca expressed disappointment, saying, "This draw is clearly a step backwards. Our problem today was our defense, we lacked aggression, we let them cross too much, we lost too many aerial duels, it's not possible to win a match in those conditions."For Cagliari, the draw lifted them to 16th place, one point clear of the drop zone.In other Serie A action, Parma came from behind to beat bottom-of-the-table Venezia 2-1 away from home. Hans Nicolussi Caviglia opened the scoring for Venezia, but goals from Emanuele Valeri and Ange-Yoan Bonny secured the win for Parma, who moved up to 14th place.The highlight of Sunday's action will be the clash between 2023 Scudetto winners Napoli and reigning champions Inter Milan.

Marcus Thuram's hat-trick propelled Inter Milan to a 3-2 victory over 10-man Torino on Saturday, propelling the reigning Serie A champions to within two points of league leaders Napoli.Thuram's first-half headers from Alessandro Bastoni and Francesco Acerbi gave Inter a commanding lead. However, Duvan Zapata pulled one back for Torino after poor defending by Yann Bisseck. Thuram restored Inter's two-goal advantage with a bundled finish on the hour mark.Hakan Calhanoglu's late penalty gave Torino hope, but Inter held on for a crucial win. The victory keeps Inter in the title race and extends their winning streak to three matches in all competitions.Meanwhile, Mateo Retegui's hat-trick condemned his former club Genoa to a 5-1 thrashing at the hands of Atalanta. Ederson and Marten de Roon also scored spectacular goals for Atalanta, who moved up to ninth in the standings.Retegui opened the scoring in the 24th minute and doubled Atalanta's lead five minutes after half-time. He completed his hat-trick from the penalty spot in the 74th minute.Atalanta's convincing win comes after another strong display in the Champions League, where they beat Shakhtar Donetsk 3-0.

Juventus and Bologna's Champions League aspirations suffered setbacks on Saturday as they were held to goalless draws by Torino and Monza, respectively. The Turin derby stalemate and Bologna's second consecutive draw leave Juve four points ahead of their rivals in the race for a top-four finish.Despite Italy's strong performances in European competitions this season, securing an additional Champions League spot for Serie A next year, Juve's recent form has been concerning. Massimiliano Allegri's side has won only twice in their last 11 matches and now trail Inter Milan by 19 points in the title race."We haven't obtained our goals yet... it's a football goal for those of us involved with the team but an economic one for the club," said Allegri, whose team missed out on European football last year due to a points deduction.Juve failed to capitalize on their chances against Torino, with Dusan Vlahovic hitting the post in the opening minutes and being denied by Vanja Milinkovic-Savic later in the game. Torino also had a goal ruled out for a foul, leaving them in ninth place.Bologna's hopes of a historic Champions League debut were also dented by Monza. The Rossoblu have not played in Europe's top club competition since 1964, but their recent form has been disappointing.Meanwhile, Roma can move within a point of Bologna with a win at Udinese on Sunday. The Giallorossi are in fifth place and boosted by their first-leg victory over AC Milan in the Europa League quarter-finals.In other Serie A action, Nicola Sansone's late strike gave Lecce a crucial 1-0 win over Empoli. The victory lifts Lecce six points clear of the relegation zone.

Napoli's Serie A title hopes suffered a setback on Friday as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Torino at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona. The result leaves Napoli seventh in the standings, two points behind Atalanta in the Europa Conference League spot and seven points adrift of the Champions League positions.Antonio Sanabria's acrobatic overhead kick in the 64th minute canceled out Khvicha Kvaratskhelia's opener for Napoli three minutes earlier. The draw dents Napoli's hopes of securing European football next season and comes at a crucial time ahead of their Champions League showdown at Barcelona on Tuesday.Napoli are level at 1-1 with Barca following the first leg in Naples last month, and a place in the quarter-finals of Europe's top club competition is up for grabs. However, Napoli's domestic form has been inconsistent of late, and they have now won just one of their last four Serie A matches.Inter Milan, who lead Juventus by 15 points at the top of the table, are red-hot favorites to win the Scudetto from Napoli. Inter host champions-elect Inter Milan on Saturday, while Napoli face Bologna on Sunday.Napoli's draw with Torino highlights the challenges they face in maintaining their title challenge and securing European football next season. They will need to improve their domestic form and find consistency if they are to achieve their goals.