MILAN: Juventus trail Serie A leaders Inter Milan by nine points after being held 2-2 at relegation-threatened Verona, as a 1-1 draw with Genoa left champions Napoli deep in crisis.
Massimiliano Allegri’s side had their league title hopes further damaged following an entertaining encounter at the Stadio Bentegodi in which Adrien Rabiot stopped Juve from losing a third consecutive match.
France midfielder Rabiot rifled home second-placed Juve’s leveller nine minutes after the break, moments after Tijjani Noslin had put hosts Verona ahead for the second time in the match.
Michael Folorunsho, whose touch led to Noslin’s goal, had smashed Marco Baroni’s team into the lead early on with a stunning volley only for Dusan Vlahovic to equalize from the penalty spot in the 28th minute.
“We should have done more, we’ve dropped points along the way recently. But we started playing too late and it’s those details which make the difference,” said Rabiot.
“But we need to get back on track, regain trust in ourselves and starting winning again.”
The draw didn’t do a huge amount for Verona as they stay just inside the relegation zone, level on points with 17th-placed Sassuolo who are at Atalanta later on Saturday and have two games in hand.
However it was a strong performance for a club that let a raft of players go in January, and it also extended Juve’s winless run to four matches.
That poor form means that Juve are not only watching Inter charge off into the distance, they are now also looking over their shoulders at AC Milan.
A win at Monza on Sunday night would allow Milan, two points behind Juve in third, to snatch second spot from their rivals.
“We need to be realistic,” added Rabiot. “Inter are going their own way and we need to fight to keep hold of second place.”
Napoli’s draw was another heavy blow for the ailing Serie A champions ahead of the visit of Barcelona in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Cyril Ngonge saved a home point for Napoli in the final minute after Morten Frendrup had given Genoa the lead with a powerful first-time finish just after half-time.
Napoli ran away with the league title last season but are now 27 points behind Inter in ninth spot meaning their chances of a place in next season’s revamped Champions League are increasingly slim.
Six points separate Napoli from fourth-placed Atalanta and that gap could easily be extended to nine.
“The players do what they can but things just don’t go our way,” said Napoli coach Walter Mazzarri, whose position is under serious threat after collecting just 15 points from 12 matches since taking over in November.
“The few errors we make we always have to correct because we end up conceding. We try everything but we struggle to score goals. It’s hard to explain.”
Ngonge’s low finish meant Napoli avoided a ninth defeat in all competitions since Mazzarri replaced Rudi Garcia, but being booed off the pitch was awful preparation for their last 16 tie with Barca.
Neither Napoli nor Barca are having stellar seasons but it would have been impossible to imagine how far Napoli would fall so soon after last season’s historic third league title.
Mazzarri said that he “hopes” to have star striker Victor Osimhen back for Wednesday’s first leg in Naples after sitting out Saturday’s defeat.
But Napoli’s goal problems run deeper than Osimhen being at the Africa Cup of Nations with Nigeria and they created very little against 12th-placed Genoa, making a result against Barca look like a huge task.
Juve hand Inter nine-point lead as Napoli crisis deepens
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Juve hand Inter nine-point lead as Napoli crisis deepens
- France midfielder Rabiot rifled home second-placed Juve’s leveller nine minutes after the break
- “We should have done more, we’ve dropped points along the way recently,” said Rabiot
Real Madrid crash out of Copa del Rey at Albacete on Arbeloa debut
- Albacete frustrated Madrid after the break and then burst into life in attack to take the lead once more
MADRID: Real Madrid fell to a shock 3-2 defeat in the Copa del Rey last 16 on Wednesday as Alvaro Arbeloa’s debut as coach ended in humiliation by second-tier opposition.
Appointed on Monday to replace Xabi Alonso, Arbeloa and his side were ousted by Jefte Betancor’s stoppage-time winner at the Carlos Belmonte stadium.
Without French superstar Kylian Mbappe and various other key players, Arbeloa’s side struggled against a side currently 17th in Spain’s second division.
Albacete took the lead through Javi Villar but Franco Mastantuono equalized just before half-time.
Jefte put the hosts back ahead after 82 minutes and then scored the winner after Gonzalo Garcia’s 91st-minute goal looked to have forced extra time for the 15-time European champions.
“Here at this club a draw is already bad — it’s a tragedy. Imagine a defeat like this, it’s painful,” Arbeloa told reporters.
“I’m sure all our fans feel the same way. Even more so when it happens against a team from a lower division, although we already know here how tough any opponent can be.
“If anyone is responsible and to blame for this outcome, it’s clearly me, the one who made the decisions regarding the line-up, how we wanted to play, the substitutions.
“I can only thank the players for the way they welcomed me, for the effort they put in today.”
After Madrid lost the Spanish Super Cup final on Sunday against rivals Barcelona, president Florentino Perez replaced Alonso with reserve team coach Arbeloa.
The Spaniard selected two players currently playing in the reserves he led until Monday — holding midfielder Jorge Cestero and right-back David Jimenez.
As well as Mbappe he left out players including goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and Jude Bellingham, to rest ahead of the return to La Liga action on Saturday against Levante.
“I’d do the same again, I brought a team capable of winning,” said Arbeloa.
The first half was mostly played under heavy gloom, not just Madrid’s mood but an intense fog which set in a few minutes into the game.
Vinicius Junior smashed high and wide from long range as neither side produced any clear chances until shortly before half-time when the hosts took a shock lead.
Villar escaped Mastantuono’s attentions at a corner and nodded Albacete in front after 42 minutes.
Arbeloa’s side levelled before the break through, also capitalizing on a corner, with Mastantuono turning home from close range.
Jefte’s double
Albacete frustrated Madrid after the break and then burst into life in attack to take the lead once more.
Andriy Lunin pushed away an effort from Riki but shortly afterwards Jefte put Alberto Gonzalez’s side ahead.
Gonzalo Garcia’s clearance fell to the striker in the box and he fired down into the ground with ball bouncing up and flashing past Lunin.
Madrid’s young forward made amends by pulling his team level in stoppage time with a well-placed header.
However there was a sting in the tale as Jefte produced a sensational lofted finish past Lunin to snatch a famous late victory for Albacete, their first ever against Real Madrid.
“I’m not afraid of failure, I can understand that someone would want to call this defeat that,” added Arbeloa.
“Failure is on the path to success, for me they are not in opposite directions.”
Madrid captain Dani Carvajal, who came on as a substitute and could not stop Jefte’s winner, said the players would work hard to revert the club’s slump.
“We’re not at our best moment, we have to work hard, we all have to give a lot more, it’s a reality,” Carvajal told reporters.
“We ask for forgiveness for the fans. We were not up to the level of this club, me first of all, and we will give our lives in the next games and months (to turn it around).”
Elsewhere Real Betis beat Elche 2-1 and Alaves defeated Rayo Vallecano 2-0 to reach the quarter-finals.
Holders Barcelona visit second division leaders Racing Santander on Thursday.
