Franck Ribery is on target for Fiorentina as AC Milan are beaten 3-1 at the San Siro
Sunday 29 September 2019 22:17, UK
Mario Balotelli scored his first goal for Brescia, but it was not enough to prevent his new side from going down to a 2-1 defeat at Napoli in Serie A on Sunday.
Three years on from his last goal in the Italian top flight, Balotelli carried Pia, his six-year-old daughter, onto the field with him.
The hosts took a 2-0 lead through Dries Mertens and Kostas Manolas before the break but Balotelli took advantage of his imposing physique to head in from a corner midway through the second half to make it interesting, but Brescia were unable to complete the comeback.
"Mario is a player that you all know," the club's head coach Eugenio Corini said. "He arrived with a lot of motivation and he really seems to be bonding with the squad. He's a great player and I'll always expect something extra from him."
Bouncing back from a highly disappointing midweek loss to Cagliari, fourth-placed Napoli moved within one point of third-placed Atalanta.
AC Milan coach Marco Giampaolo is at risk of losing his job after the Rossoneri lost 3-1 at home to Fiorentina for their third straight league defeat.
It's the first time since the 1938/39 season that Milan have lost four of their opening six matches, and they now sit 16th in the table - a point above the relegation zone.
Erick Pulgar put Fiorentina ahead early on with a penalty and Milan were reduced to 10 men after the break when VAR determined that a studs-up tackle by Mateo Musacchio into Franck Ribery's ankle deserved a red card.
Gaetano Castrovilli doubled Fiorentina's advantage by getting to a rebound, and Ribery fooled a pair of defenders to make it 3-0 after a poor penalty attempt from Federico Chiesa was saved by Milan goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Rafael Leo slalomed past several defenders to pull one back in style for Milan's only real highlight.
Elsewhere, Roma are fifth, one point behind Napoli, after Edin Dzeko's header earned them a 1-0 victory at Lecce.
Lazio are one point further back in sixth after thrashing Genoa 4-0 with goals from Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Stefan Radu, Felipe Caicedo and Ciro Immobile, while Udinese beat Bologna with a first-half strike from Stefano Okaka.
Espanyol coach David Gallego is under immense pressure after his side lost for the fourth time in as many home games this season.
They fell to a 2-0 defeat to Valladolid at RCDE Stadium on Sunday, finishing the match with 10 men and with their disgruntled fans calling for Gallego to be dismissed.
Valladolid's Michel Herrero converted a first-half penalty and Oscar Plano added another goal in stoppage time. Espanyol defender Fernando Calero was given a straight red card for a professional foul.
Also on Sunday, Eibar earned a second consecutive win by beating Celta Vigo 2-0 thanks to goals from Edu Expsito and Fabian Orellana.
Sevilla are up to sixth in the table after beating Real Sociedad 3-2 at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan.
Mikel Oyarzabal's opener was cancelled out by Nolito before further strikes from Lucas Ocampos and Franco Vazquez put the hosts in control. Portu set up a nervy finale but Sevilla held on.
Substitute Vedad Ibisevic scored two goals with his first two touches of the ball in Hertha Berlin's 4-0 rout of 10-man Cologne in the Bundesliga on Sunday.
Hertha were given a helping hand by VAR when Cologne defender Jorge Mer was sent off moments before the break. Referee Sren Storks had shown Mer a yellow card for a late challenge on Vladimir Darida, but changed it to red after consulting video replays.
Cologne had made a good start but Javairo Dilrosun scored against the run of play in the 23rd minute.
Ibisevic made an instant impact after coming on, scoring twice either side of the hour-mark. Belgian defender Dedryck Boyata completed the rout with his first Bundesliga goal in the 83rd minute as Hertha climbed to 10th and left Cologne in 17th place after six rounds.
Both teams posed together for a photo before the game to mark "Diversity Day," while Cologne players also wore jerseys that had the sponsor's name in rainbow colors.
Earlier on Sunday, Luca Waldschmidt scored a late goal for Freiburg to win 2-1 at Fortuna Dsseldorf and move third on goal difference, a point off leaders Bayern Munich.
