Napoli were held to a 2-2 draw at Lazio on Saturday after Boulaye Dia scored late on as the Italian Serie A leaders thought they were set to move four points clear of Inter Milan. Senegal attacker Dia rolled home a smart low finish in the 87th minute in Rome to deny Napoli victory and give Inter a chance to move top of the pile with a win at Juventus on Sunday. Champions Inter are two points behind Napoli, who have drawn three matches in a row and have failed to beat Lazio in three matches this season, ahead of that clash between fierce rivals in Turin.

“Lazio are our bogey team… we should be proud of what we’re doing and make sure that we always come off the field with our jerseys soaked in sweat,” said Napoli coach Antonio Conte.

Conte had to deal with the absence of three left-sided players with David Neres, Leonardo Spinazzola and Mathias Olivera all injured, and switched Napoli to a three-man defence with Pasquale Mazzocchi coming in as a makeshift wing-back.

And his injury problems got worse when Alessandro Buongiorno, who played for the first time in 2025 after recovering from a back injury, had to be replaced by Matteo Politano near the hour mark and Mazzocchi asked to substituted with five minutes remaining.

“When Mazzocchi asked to be taken off it caused us a big problem because I had to put (central defender) Rafa Marin at full-back,” added Conte.

“But I can’t ask any more from these boys because what they are doing is extraordinary.”

Lazio battle

Napoli looked to be collecting a big three points when Adam Marusic scored a bizarre own goal in the 64th minute, the defender sticking out his left foot to block Giacomo Raspadori’s deflected drive only to somehow chip it past goalkeeper Ivan Provedel and into his own net.

It was Raspadori who drilled Napoli level in the 13th minute following a neat exchange of passes with Romelu Lukaku, cancelling out Gustav Isaksen’s thumping early opener for Lazio.

Hosts Lazio briefly thought they had levelled the scores moments later through a sensational Mattia Zaccani bicycle kick before the Italy international was ruled offside as he flashed in his exceptional finish.

But Dia made sure Lazio got something from a keenly-contested match at the Stadio Olimpico and moved three points ahead of Juve in fourth place.

Marco Baroni’s team are on 46 points but will be knocked out of Italy’s Champions League positions on goal difference if Juve beat Inter.

“It was a great match and we played really well… Honestly I think we were a bit unlucky and probably should have won today,” said Isaksen.

Atalanta slip

Atalanta stay five points behind Napoli after their bid for a first league title was dented by a goalless draw with Cagliari.

Already hit with injuries including that of key attacker Ademola Lookman, Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini dropped first teamers like Marten de Roon, Ederson and Charles De Ketelaere ahead of his team’s return leg of a Champions League play-off with Club Brugge.

Atalanta trail that tie 2-1 after a hugely controversial penalty given against them in stoppage of the first leg in Belgium on Wednesday.

“We’re up for that match, especially after how the first leg ended… We have to try and do everything to get through,” said Gasperini.

Santiago Gimenez marked his full Serie A debut with the decisive goal in AC Milan’s 1-0 win over struggling Verona, his second goal in as many league appearances since signing from Feyenoord earlier this month.

Mexico striker Gimenez was on hand to nod in for seventh-placed Milan 74 minutes into his first San Siro start, after Rafael Leao deftly volleyed a delicate cross into his path.

The 23-year-old will face his former Feyenoord teammates in Milan on Tuesday hoping to overturn a 1-0 deficit from the first leg of their Champions League play-off.

Gustaf Nilsson shot Club Brugge to a 2-1 win over Atalanta on Wednesday with a controversial penalty in stoppage time to boost the Belgians’ chances of reaching the last 16 of the Champions League. Atalanta looked to be escaping Bruges with a draw after Mario Pasalic’s fine header four minutes before half-time levelled Ferran Jutgla’s fabulous opener for the hosts. But Nilsson won and then netted the decisive penalty at the Jan Breydel Stadium, delighting home fans and enraging Atalanta who could barely believe that the spot-kick had even been awarded.

Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini stormed down the tunnel before the final whistle in anger while his players continued to protest at the end of the match, collecting only a series of bookings from unrepentant referee Umut Meler.

Nilsson had crumpled to the turf after being grazed on the face by Isak Hien’s left fingers as the Atalanta defender ran to collect the ball in his own area.

Hien couldn’t believe his eyes when Meler pointed to the spot and gave Nilsson the chance to fire Club Brugge to a win which they might have otherwise deserved for their enterprising performance in front of passionate home support.

“All I could see is that he (Meler) was arrogant, if you tried to speak to him he just handed out yellow, yellow, yellow,” said Charles De Ketelaere whose return to his home town and boyhood club was marred by the late penalty drama.

“I’ve only just seen the footage and I reckon that if you ask 100 people if that was a penalty all 100 would say no. It’s very strange.

“It hurts to lose right at the end like that. And it’s definitely not right.”

Club Brugge take a slender lead to next Tuesday’s second leg in Bergamo where Atalanta will be fired up to go through and face one of Aston Villa or Lille in the next round.

Penalty anger ‘pointless’

But the Serie A team will have some work to do get through, as they battle injuries, including key attacker Ademola Lookman, and were clearly rattled by their opponents at various points in the match.

“It’s pointless to talk about the penalty, I think anyone who watches football knows that was never a penalty,” said Marten de Roon.

“But what we need to do is look at our performance today which was not good… we need to be better if we want to get through.”

Club Brugge tore into the sluggish away side from the first whistle, doing to Atalanta what Atalanta usually do to other teams with intense pressure and high energy in chasing down the ball.

Atalanta were off the pace and it was an uncharacteristic mistake from Hien which led to Jutgla’s opener, with Chemsdine Talbi pouncing on a sloppy pass before setting up his Spanish teammate for a fine finish.

But moments before the break Pasalic struck the leveller in the only short period of the match in which Atalanta were on top.

Brugge again came out all guns blazing after the break but although Gasperini was left baffled by Atalanta’s performance it was his team that created the two best chances of the game around the hour mark.

First Simon Mignolet did brilliantly to keep out Davide Zappacosta’s close-range header and then substitute Lazar Samardzic blasted well wide a great chance to put Atalanta in the lead with the goal at his mercy.

That appeared to be it until Nilsson hit the deck and Meler gave Club Brugge a penalty which could be decisive in the tie.

Champions League Live Streaming Knockout Phase Play-Off Draw Live Telecast© X (Twitter)

Barcelona vs Atalanta LIVE Streaming, UEFA Champions League: Barcelona will be eyeing a slim chance at top spot in the UEFA Champions League group stage, as they play Europa League champions Atalanta in their final game. Having already secured a Top 8 spot, second-placed Barcelona currently sit three points behind Liverpool in the table, and have a chance at top spot should Liverpool lose and Barcelona win. Atalanta are themselves on the brink of Top 8 qualification, currently sitting 7th on 14 points. However, with several teams sitting just a point or two behind, Atalanta’s automatic Round of 16 qualification is not yet a certainty.

Barcelona vs Atalanta LIVE Streaming details UEFA Champions League LIVE Telecast: Check Where and How to Watch?

When will the Barcelona vs Atalanta, UEFA Champions League match take place?

The Barcelona vs Atalanta, UEFA Champions League match will take place on Thursday, January 30 (IST).

Where will the Barcelona vs Atalanta, UEFA Champions League match be held?

The Barcelona vs Atalanta, UEFA Champions League match will be held at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys, Barcelona.

What time will the Barcelona vs Atalanta, UEFA Champions League match start?

The Barcelona vs Atalanta, UEFA Champions League match will start at 1:30 AM IST.

Which TV channels will show the live telecast of the Barcelona vs Atalanta, UEFA Champions League match?

The Barcelona vs Atalanta, UEFA Champions League match will be televised live on the Sony Sports network.

Where to follow the live streaming of the Barcelona vs Atalanta, UEFA Champions League match?

The Barcelona vs Atalanta, UEFA Champions League match will be live streamed on the SonyLIV app and website.

(All details are as per information provided by the broadcaster)

Denzel Dumfries in action© AFP

Atalanta kept hold of top spot in Serie A on Saturday after escaping Lazio with a 1-1 draw which kept Inter Milan at bay but ended their club-record league winning streak at 11 matches. Marco Brescianini tapped home into an open goal with two minutes remaining to snatch a point from the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, where a passionate crowd thought a big win was coming their way. Instead Atalanta will end a historic year a point ahead of Inter, who have a game in hand, after the champions briefly drew level on points with a 3-0 win earlier at Cagliari.

Europa League holders Atalanta will lead the league even if Napoli beat Venezia on Sunday and draw level on 41 points with Gian Piero Gasperini’s side who have a significantly better goal difference than the 2023 champions.

Should two teams finish level at the top of Serie A come the end of the season they will face off in a single match to decide the destination of the Scudetto, which Atalanta have never won.

“We struggled for long periods in the first half, but we were much better in the second,” said Atalanta coach Gasperini.

“This year has been the best year in Atalanta’s history, let’s hope we can make 2025 the same.”

Atalanta showed great character to battle back from Fisayo Dele-Bashiru’s 27th-minute goal which came in an intense opening period from Lazio.

The away side were initially blitzed by Lazio, with Marco Carnesecchi making two sensational stops before Matteo Guendouzi curled a great strike off the post in the 11th minute.

But as the match wore on, Atalanta, who were without injured star striker Mateo Retegui, grew into the game and deservedly drew level in front of a boisterous and hostile crowd in the Italian capital.

Brescianini netted his third goal of the season thanks largely to Ademola Lookman, who made up for earlier missing from yards out by beating Lazio’s offside trap, meeting Nicolo Zaniolo’s hooked pass and rolling across to his teammate to salvage a precious point.

Next up, Atalanta travel to play the Italian Super Cup in Saudi Arabia, where they will face Inter on Thursday.

Lautaro back in the goals

Lautaro Martinez ended an eight-match scoring drought at Cagliari, netting the second in an engaging contest in Sardinia which Inter won with second-half goals from the Argentina striker, Alessandro Bastoni and Hakan Calhanoglu.

Inter have won their last five in Italy’s top flight, scoring 19 and conceding just once, a burst in form which has re-established Inter as favourites to retain the Scudetto.

The only thing missing for Inter were goals from captain Martinez, who hadn’t scored since November 3 before he prodded home Nicolo Barella‘s cross in the 71st minute on Saturday.

“The most important thing is that Inter win. If I get a goal too, then that’s a bonus,” said Martinez.

“We work hard every day to win trophies and anyone who sets foot on the pitch will give their all for the team. We’ve just got to keep going and make 2025 like this year.”

Inter could have won by an even more convincing margin had captain Martinez not wasted great chances in each half and Cagliari goalkeeper Simone Scuffet not pulled off superb saves to deny Marcus Thuram and Barella.

But Martinez did net his seventh goal this season in all competitions and seven minutes later Calhanoglu made absolutely sure of the points from the penalty spot.

Cagliari are just inside the relegation zone after a fourth consecutive defeat for Davide Nicola’s side, a point behind Verona and Como who both play on Monday.

Nicolo Zaniolo made sure Atalanta will stay top of Serie A this weekend with the only goal in Saturday’s 1-0 win at Cagliari which secured a club-record 10th straight league win. Substitute Zaniolo decided a hard-fought encounter in Sardinia by stroking home Raoul Bellanova’s cut-back in the 66th minute. The victory moved Atalanta five points clear in Serie A. Closest challengers Napoli can cut the gap back to two points at Udinese later on Saturday, while Juventus are 10 points off the pace ahead of their home fixture with bottom club Venezia.

“We’re up there, but winning 10 matches in a row doesn’t really mean anything as there are teams this season who have won eight on the bounce,” said coach Gian Piero Gasperini to DAZN.

Gasperini was not happy with his players’ performances as, after impressing in Tuesday’s 3-2 defeat to Real Madrid, they struggled against Cagliari who are 15th and only two points above the relegation zone.

Atalanta, who also struck the post through Ademola Lookman almost straight after Zaniolo’s winner, only came away with all three points thanks to a brilliant performance between the sticks from Marco Carnesecchi.

Goalkeeper Carnesecchi pulled off three sensational stops in the six minutes before the break and saved the win in stoppage time by keeping out Leonardo Pavoletti’s header.

“A good chunk of this team, not everyone, needs to grow up a bit and get the same mentality as the core group of the squad,” said Gasperini. whose decision to make three substitutions at half-time was a sign of his dissatisfaction.

“Only then will we make those big steps forward.”

Zaniolo’s strike was his third of the season and a further sign of new life from the Italy international after a difficult last few years.

The 25-year-old was once the rising star of Italian football after coming to prominence at Roma, where two serious knee injuries in 2020 stymied his development as a creative playmaker.

He won the inaugural Europa Conference League with Roma in 2022 under Jose Mourinho, but fell out with the Portuguese coach and last year was packed off to Galatasaray, from where he was loaned to Atalanta in July.

Mohamed Salah helped maintain Liverpool’s perfect record in the Champions League on Tuesday while holders Real Madrid bounced back from their defeat at Anfield to topple in-form Italians Atalanta. Elsewhere, struggling Paris Saint-Germain gained a vital win at Salzburg, while Bayer Leverkusen edged Inter Milan to move second. Aston Villa, in their first appearance in the continent’s elite club competition for 41 years, maintained their bright progress beating Leipzig 3-2 to sit third. The first eight teams qualify directly for the last 16 with those placed ninth to 24 entering a play-off round.

In Spain, Salah’s 63rd-minute penalty proved decisive against dogged debutants Girona to extend the Premier League leaders’ record to six from six in the revamped format of Europe’s flagship club competition.

Under new coach Arne Slot Liverpool are virtually assured a place in the last 16.

“If you ask me about all six games, I’m really pleased with all the results… (but) I’m far from pleased about the performance tonight,” Slot told reporters in Girona.

“(We had) hardly any control at all over the game, maybe the second half was a bit better but then I’m trying to be positive.”

Salah sent Paulo Gazzaniga the wrong way to net his 50th Champions League goal, pulling the Egyptian level with Filippo Inzaghi as the 10th highest goalscorer of all-time in the competition.

The winger is out of contract at the end of the season but his 16 goals across all competitions have been essential in Liverpool’s superb first half of the season.

While Liverpool are sitting pretty with two league phase rounds to come early next year, kings of Europe Real Madrid, beaten 2-0 by Liverpool last time out, have work to do to ensure their progress into the knockout phase.

Kylian Mbappe gave Real a 10th minute lead before hobbling off injured in Atalanta, his strike was cancelled out by Charles de Ketelaere’s penalty in first-half additional time.

Settle nerves

Real coach Carlo Ancelotti started Vinicius Junior for the first time since a hamstring problem last month. The Brazilian had Real back on top before the hour, with Jude Bellingham also on the scoresheet for a 3-2 win over the Serie a leaders.

The hard-fought victory moved Real up to 18th on nine points and will have helped to settle any nerves at the 15-time European champions ahead of games against Salzburg and Brest in January.

PSG put the wheels back on their stuttering campaign with a much needed 3-0 defeat on the road at Salzburg.

The French champions went into this encounter in 25th with just four points and three goals scored after five matches.

They approach their last two league outings in provisional 24th – the final berth for the play-offs ahead of Wednesday’s games.

Bayern swept aside Ukraine side Shakhtar Donetsk in Gelsenkirchen 5-1. Fellow Bundesliga giants Leverkusen became the first team to score against Inter in this year’s competition in a 1-0 win that lifted them five points adrift of Liverpool at the top of the league.

Another noteworthy performance on matchday six came on the Brittany coast where modest French Ligue 1 outfit Brest dished out a 1-0 defeat to former European champions PSV Eindhoven.

It left the Atlantic port city club flying high in fifth in their first ever appearance at European football’s high table.

In other games, Celtic and Dinamo Zagreb remained in contention for the knockout round after an uninspiring 0-0 draw and Club Brugge beat Sporting 2-1.

Headline matches on Wednesday include Manchester city at Juventus, and Barcelona at Borussia Dortmund.

Carlo Ancelotti hinted on Monday that Vinicius Junior could make his Real Madrid comeback for his team’s key Champions League clash at red-hot Atalanta. Vinicius was expected to be out until the Intercontinental Cup final next week after suffering a hamstring injury last month but Ancelotti told reporters that he is in contention to start in Bergamo on Tuesday night. “Vinicius is in good shape but we’ve got to assess him. I think it’s very important for him how he does in training today,” said Ancelotti. 

“But we’ve got Rodrygo back and Bellingham is good. He’s trained well. They’ll all train today and then later we’ll take a decision.”

Federico Valverde is keen to have Vinicius back to help dig Madrid out of the uncomfortable position in which they find themselves in the Champions League.

Madrid might be two points behind leaders Barcelona with a game in hand in La Liga but Ancelotti’s team are 24th in Europe’s top club competition and risk dropping out of the play-off positions for the last 16 in Bergamo.

“It’s always a pleasure to play with Vinicius and also to have him as a friend, as a teammate, to have him close to me,” said Valverde.

“We’ve seen how eager he is to play and come back. Obviously, it’s great for us that he can play tomorrow. Whether he plays or not, that’s a question for Carlo Ancelotti, but he can always offer something.”

Madrid face probably the form team in Europe in Atalanta, who on Friday equalled a club record of nine straight wins in Serie A by beating AC Milan.

That win gave Atalanta top spot in Italy’s top flight, and Gian Piero Gasperini’s side, who sit fifth in the Champions League having only conceded one goal in five matches, have been tipped by some as favourites for Tuesday’s fixture even though they were beaten by Madrid in the European Super Cup.

“It will be a demanding game. Atalanta are in great form and they’ve improved a lot since the Super Cup,” added Ancelotti. 

“They’ve won a lot of games. And they compete very well. We’ve got an opportunity to pick up points and we’ve got to take advantage of these three games to qualify.

“The most important thing is qualifying. We’ve got to pick up those points, and that will be difficult. Getting into the top eight looks a bit tricky so maybe we’ll have to go through the play-offs. Unfortunately that’s the way it is.”

Gasperini insisted that his team are not favourites to win and warned against arrogance when facing the 15-times European champions.

“No team can call themselves favourites when they’re playing Real,” he said.

“We’re very happy for where we are but to go from there to say that we’re better than Real Madrid doesn’t help.

“We come into this match on an extremely gratifying run of results and all we can be is happy for what we’ve gifted our supporters.” 

Real Madrid usually deliver in the Champions League when the pressure is on and their trip to face Atalanta on Tuesday is shaping up to be a crucial clash for the troubled holders. The record 15-time winners have lost three of their first five matches and find themselves 24th in the standings, with places 25 to 36 eliminated at the end of the group phase. Carlo Ancelotti’s side travel to Bergamo this week before hosting RB Salzburg and then visiting French outfit Brest with their future in the competition on the line.

In-form Atalanta lead Serie A and have not been beaten yet in the Champions League, sitting fifth.

Madrid, meanwhile, have been beset by a string of problems including adaptation difficulties for superstar summer signing Kylian Mbappe and several key players sidelined through injury.

Italian coach Ancelotti has tried to ease the pressure on 25-year-old former Paris Saint-Germain striker Mbappe, who has scored 11 goals in 21 games since joining Los Blancos.

“He isn’t at his best level, but we have to give him time to adapt,” said Ancelotti last week. “He can do better and he’s working to do that.”

While Mbappe’s goal rate is not a cause for particular concern, his performances have left plenty to be desired given his status as one of the world’s top players.

Recent penalty misses against Liverpool in the Champions League and Athletic Bilbao in La Liga, both matches finishing in defeats, exacerbated the focus on Mbappe, who has also had off-field problems.

The striker was not part of two recent France squads, is battling with PSG over an unpaid salary claim and is also reported to be under investigation in Sweden in a rape case.

“I received nothing, no summons. I read the same thing as everyone else. The Swedish government hasn’t said anything — I’m not involved,” Mbappe told Canal+ on Sunday.

– Important absences -Madrid have lost key defenders Dani Carvajal and Eder Militao to long-term knee injury problems.

Even midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni, whom Ancelotti has turned to as an emergency defender in the past, has also been out hurt, only returning recently.

Madrid will also be without Ferland Mendy, Eduardo Camavinga and David Alaba for the visit to face Atalanta.

In the good news column they are set to have Brazilian wing wizards Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo Goes back fit and available.

However Vinicius’ expected return re-opens a debate which was in full flow before he suffered a hamstring injury a fortnight ago.

The Ballon d’Or runner-up likes to play on the left wing, which is also Mbappe’s favourite spot.

After using Mbappe as a centre-forward for much of the season to date, Ancelotti finally swapped them over for one match before Vinicius was hurt.

The coach cited the French forward’s break from international duty as the reason to put him on the wing, whereas Vinicius had returned from playing in South America.

Ancelotti suggested Mbappe’s struggles were not just down to him but an issue of consistency affecting the whole team.

Although he accepted criticism for Madrid’s form, having lost five games across all competitions already, after stumbling just twice in the whole of last season, Ancelotti said his team would fight.

“It’s not a funeral — we’re still fighting in all competitions,” said Ancelotti last week, following Madrid’s stumble at Athletic, the fifth of those defeats.

“We have to be optimistic, keeping in mind the problems we’re having and have had.

“But we have to be optimistic because we have a quality squad. We have not been able to find our best form, but I am convinced we will sooner or later.”

With a thumping 3-0 win over Girona on Saturday in La Liga under their belt, following that up with a show of force at Atalanta would start to ease concerns in the Spanish capital.