Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1016519
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 19 AUGUST 2018 30 SPORTS FOOTBALL Federico Bernardeschi scores dramatic late winner as Cristiano Ronaldo draws blank on debut JUVENTUS came from behind to snatch a dramatic 3-2 win at Chievo as Cristiano Ronaldo made his debut for the Turin side on Saturday, although the Portuguese was not among the scorers in his first Serie A match. Ronaldo was thwarted sev- eral times by veteran Chievo goalkeeper Stefano Sorrentino and his handball in the build- up led to a late Juventus goal being disallowed. Sami Khedira put Juventus ahead after three minutes but the visitors were stunned when Mariusz Stepinski lev- elled seven minutes before the break. Emanuele Giaccherini con- verted a penalty against his former club to give Chievo a shock lead in the 56th minute, only for Chievo's Mattia Bani, under pressure from Leonardo Bonucci, to deflect a corner into his own net in the 75th minute. Juventus had a goal disal- lowed for handball by Ronaldo but, in the next attack, Fed- erico Bernardeschi turned the ball in to give the champions a winning start. Harry Kane breaks August drought as Tottenham Hotspur down Fulham HARRY Kane finally ended his Au- gust goalscoring drought as Eng- land's World Cup luminaries in- spired Tottenham Hotspur to a morale-boosting 3-1 Premier League win over newcomers Fulham yester- day. At the end of a week when news of their delayed move to their new stadium left fans frustrated, Spurs gave them plenty to cheer at their temporary home with England cap- tain Kane and Kieran Trippier, who scored a glorious free kick, guiding them to victory. Spurs' first-half dominance was rewarded by Lucas Moura's clinical 43rd minute strike, his first league goal. However, Fulham hit back after the break as Aleksandar Mitrovic, soon after hitting the post, nodded home a 52nd-minute equaliser while on the floor. Three minutes after Trippier's beauty, a similar effort to his strike against Croatia in the World Cup semi-final, Kane, who had already had an early goal disallowed and hit the bar, at last broke his August hoodoo. He was delighted that his 77th minute clinical finish ended the statistical oddity that he had never previously scored a Premier League goal in 14 attempts in that particular month. "Wish every game could be in Au- gust," tweeted Kane afterwards, with tongue doubtless firmly in cheek. "It looked like it would be one of those days for me, but that is the game of a striker," he said after his goal sealed a second straight win for Spurs. "I thought we played really well and created a lot of chances. But credit to Fulham. Only after about 60 minutes did we start to take it into more dangerous areas." Manager Mauricio Pochettino made no signings in the close sea- son, with Kane again feeling that their display backed up the club's policy. "The gaffer has said he is not go- ing to just bring in players for the sake of it. We have been playing with each other for a long time this team," said Kane. "It is a good start with two wins out of two." Results: Cardiff City - Newcastle United 0-0 Everton - Southampton 2-1 Leicester City - W. Wanderers 2-0 Tottenham H. -Fulham 3-1 West Ham Utd. - AFC Bour. 1-2 Cheslea - Arsenal 3-2 Harry Kane in action with Fulham's Timothy Fosu-Mensah