Juventus gets back to winning ways with a lot of help from the post

MILAN (AP) — Juventus got back to winning ways but needed a lot of help from the post.

The Bianconeri won 2-0 at Udinese following an own-goal from home goalkeeper Maduka Okoye and Nicolò Savona’s strike, with the ball bouncing off the right post immediately before both goals.

It was only Juve’s second win in six matches in all competitions and lifted it up to third, ahead of the rest of the weekend’s fixtures. It was four points behind Serie A leader Napoli, which hosts fourth-place Atalanta on Sunday.

Udinese slipped to eighth after it was leapfrogged by AC Milan, which won 1-0 at Monza.

Only two points separated Udinese and Juventus coming into the match.

Juventus took the lead in the 20th minute with a wonderful piece of play from Khéphren Thuram, who ran into the box and nutmegged a defender before taking a shot from a tight angle. The ball bounced off the inside of the far right post and in off the back of Okoye.

It would have been a first goal in Italy for Thuram, the younger brother of Inter Milan's Marcus Thuram.

Udinese had a number of chances to level before Juventus doubled its lead in the 37th.

The same post had a part to play again as Kenan Yildiz’s finish was deflected off almost exactly the same spot and Savona fired in the rebound.

Udinese thought it had got back into the match early in the second half but Keinan Davis’ effort was ruled out immediately as he had pushed Juventus defender Federico Gatti, causing him to crash into goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio.

Rafael Leão was on the bench again and Milan managed a narrow win as it prepares for a tough trip to Real Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Leão was brought on in the 63rd minute and immediately created a great opportunity but he then fired it well wide.

By that point Milan was already 1-0 up after breaking the deadlock shortly before halftime. Christian Pulisic whipped in a cross from the right and Álvaro Morata's header came off a Monza defender but Tijjani Reijnders nodded in the rebound.

Bologna welcomed back club captain Lewis Ferguson 203 days after his anterior cruciate ligament injury and the midfielder helped the team to its first home victory since even before he was sidelined.

There was a standing ovation when Ferguson was brought on in the 82nd minute and again when he first touched the ball moments later. There were also banners in the stands welcoming him back.

And Ferguson was involved in the only goal of the match to help Bologna beat Lecce 1-0 and get its first home win in seven months. He spread the play down the left, where the cross came in for Riccardo Orsolini’s header into the far bottom corner with five minutes remaining.

Ferguson, who was key to Bologna’s impressive campaign last season, needed surgery after injuring his knee playing against Monza on April 13, ruling the Scotland midfielder also out of the European Championship.

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Bologna's head coach Vincenzo Italiano shouts on the touchline during the Serie A soccer match between Bologna and Lecce, at Renato Dall'Ara Stadium in Bologna, Italy, Saturday Nov. 2, 2024. (Massimo Paolone/LaPresse via AP)

Bologna's Riccardo Orsolini scores his team's first goal during the Serie A soccer match between Bologna and Lecce, at Renato Dall'Ara Stadium in Bologna, Italy, Saturday Nov. 2, 2024. (Massimo Paolone/LaPresse via AP)

Bologna's Riccardo Orsolini celebrates victory after the Serie A soccer match between Bologna and Lecce, at Renato Dall'Ara Stadium in Bologna, Italy, Saturday Nov. 2, 2024. (Massimo Paolone/LaPresse via AP)

AC Milan's Alvaro Morata, left, in action during the Italian Serie A soccer match between Monza and AC Milan at U-Power Stadium in Monza, Italy, Saturday, Nov. 2 , 2024. (Spada/LaPresse via AP)

AC Milan's Tijjani Reijnders celebrates scoring during the Italian Serie A soccer match between Monza and AC Milan at U-Power Stadium in Monza, Italy, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024. (Spada/LaPresse via AP)

AC Milan's Tijjani Reijnders scores their side's first goal of the game during the Italian Serie A soccer match between Monza and AC Milan at U-Power Stadium in Monza, Italy, Saturday, Nov. 2 , 2024. (Spada/LaPresse via AP)

Udinese's Florian Thauvin controls the ball during the Italian Serie A soccer match between Udinese and Juventus at the Bluenergy Stadium in Udine, Italy, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024. (Andrea Bressanutti/LaPresse via AP)

Juventus' Khephren Thuram, left, fights for the ball with Udinese's Keinan Davis during the Italian Serie A soccer match between Udinese and Juventus at the Bluenergy Stadium in Udine, Italy, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024. (Andrea Bressanutti/LaPresse via AP)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Hawaii woman who vanished after landing in Los Angeles three weeks ago disappeared voluntarily as she sought to “step away from modern connectivity” and was last seen crossing into Mexico with her luggage, police said at a news conference where they urged her to contact her distraught family.

Hannah Kobayashi, 30, appeared unharmed as she walked alone into a tunnel at the San Ysidro crossing about 125 miles (201 kilometers) southeast of Los Angeles around noon on Nov. 12, the day after her family reported her missing, LA police said Monday. Authorities made the discovery after reviewing surveillance video from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection late Sunday.

Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell said there is no evidence Kobayashi was being trafficked or was otherwise a victim of a crime. Her disappearance is now classified as a “voluntary missing person.”

“We’ve basically done everything we can do at this point. She’s left the country and in another nation now,” he said, adding that if she returns to the U.S., law enforcement will be notified.

McDonnell said she has a right to her privacy, but urged her to reach out to her family or law enforcement.

“A simple message could reassure those who care about her,” McDonnell said. He explained that the missing person case will remain active until her safety is confirmed by law enforcement.

Kobayashi went missing after the budding photographer from Maui didn’t make a connecting flight to New York on Nov. 8 to travel for a new job and to visit relatives. She told her family she would sleep in the Los Angeles International Airport that night.

Family members assumed she was on standby for another flight, according to her aunt, Larie Pidgeon. The next day, Kobayashi texted them to say she was sightseeing in Los Angeles, planning to visit The Grove shopping mall and downtown LA, Pidgeon said.

On Nov. 11, the family received “strange and cryptic, just alarming” text messages from her phone that referenced her being “intercepted” as she got on a Metro train and being scared that someone might be stealing her identity, her aunt said.

Her father, Ryan Kobayashi, who had been in the search party along with volunteers, was found dead by apparent suicide on Sunday, Nov. 24, in a parking lot near LA International Airport, police and her family said.

McDonnell said during a police commission meeting last Tuesday that detectives determined Hannah Kobayashi missed her connecting flight intentionally. Kobayashi's sister, Sydni Kobayashi, disputed his statement in a social media post.

Police said Monday that after Hannah Kobayashi was seen in various locations around LA, she requested that her luggage, which had been checked to New York, be sent back to LAX. She then returned to the airport to retrieve it on Nov. 11 and did not have her phone when she left again, according to police.

Investigators found that she had “expressed the desire to step away from modern connectivity."

Police also identified and questioned a man that Kobayashi was seen with on the Metro. He was “cooperative” and said he met her at LAX, police said.

Sydni Kobayashi did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment. Members of the public who were in the “Help Us Find Hannah” Facebook group, which garnered the interest of more than 25,000 participants, shared a post from the group Monday that said the family would be shutting the group down after “threats against their lives and the lives of their small children.”

The post also said Sydni Kobayashi and her mother would not be responding to any messages.

During the news conference, McDonnell reflected on all that the family had endured these last few weeks.

“My ask would be to anybody considering doing this, think about the people you’re leaving behind, your loved ones who are going to be worried sick about you,” he said.

The story has been updated to correct the location of San Ysidro to southeast of Los Angeles, not southwest.

EDITOR’S NOTE — This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org.

Golden reported from Seattle.

Ryan Kobayashi, center, holds a picture of his missing daughter Hannah Kobayashi outside Crypto.com Arena, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024 in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)