The Malta Independent 26 April 2024, Friday
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Joe Hart has an Italian debut to forget with Torino

Associated Press Sunday, 11 September 2016, 18:26 Last update: about 9 years ago

 Joe Hart's Torino debut was a day to forget for the England goalkeeper.

Hart gifted Atalanta the equalizer and failed to stop a penalty in a 2-1 loss Sunday.

The troubles began when Hart misjudged a corner, leapt late and only got a weak glove on the ball, which turned into an assist for Andrea Masiello waiting at the far post. With Hart sprawled out on the pitch, Masiello turned the ball into an empty net.

Torino had taken the lead two minutes earlier in the second half with a splendid free kick from Iago Falque.

Franck Kessie scored the winner eight minutes from the end, rolling in a penalty to the right corner as Hart went in the other direction.

On loan from Manchester City, Hart became the first English goalkeeper to play in Serie A since the league's inception in 1929.

Hart's miscue came a day after Claudio Bravo, his replacement at City, dropped a cross to let Zlatan Ibrahimovic score in the Manchester derby. Still, City won 2-1.

Things went wrong for Hart from the start, with his name listed as John Hart on the official team sheet.

Hart's lone highlight came midway through the first half when he made a difficult save on a sharply angled shot from Kessie, a 19-year-old Ivory Coast international.

City manager Pep Guardiola let Hart go due to questions over the player's distribution capabilities and Torino coach Sinisa Mihajlovic joked on Saturday that he would be happy to take in any other players Guardiola deems unworthy.

Torino was without its two top forwards, Andrea Belotti and Adem Ljajic, who were both out injured.

It was a frustrating match for Mihajlovic, who was sent off for protesting shortly after the half-hour mark after also kicking a water bottle.

It was the fourth time in two seasons that Mihajlovic has been sent off, including his time in charge of AC Milan last season.

Atalanta manager Gian Piero Gasperino was also sent off for protesting in the final minutes.

Meanwhile, it was the first goal for Masiello since returning in 2015 from a 2 1/2-year ban for match-fixing.

Torino and Atalanta each have three points from their opening three matches.

Here's what else happened in Serie A:

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MORE MILAN MISERY

Stipe Perica, an under-21 player for Croatia, scored two minutes from the end as Udinese beat AC Milan 1-0 at the San Siro.

It was Milan's second consecutive loss under new coach Vincenzo Montella.

New Milan signing Jose Sosa hit the crossbar in the first half and Milan defender Ignazio Abate deflected in Perica's volley to give Udinese the win.

Inter Milan, which has only one point, was visiting promoted Pescara later.

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RAIN SUSPENSIONS

Genoa and Fiorentina were locked at 0-0 when their match was suspended after 28 minutes due to a heavy downpour that ruined the pitch. The rest of the match will be played at a later date.

Also, the start of the second half between Roma and Sampdoria was delayed for more than an hour due to heavy rain.

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BOLOGNA'S YOUTH MOVEMENT

AC Milan castoff Simone Verdi and Federico Di Francesco - the son of Sassuolo coach Eusebio Di Francesco - scored in Bologna's 2-1 win over Cagliari. Verdi is 24 and the 22-year-old Di Francesco scored a brace for Italy's under-21 squad in a 3-0 win over Andorra earlier this week. Also, Alessandro Gamberini and Stefan de Vrij traded second-half goals in a 1-1 draw between Chievo Verona and Lazio.


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