Serie A leader Napoli held by Udinese. Inter can close the gap on Monday

MILAN (AP) — Serie A leader Napoli failed to make the most of a stumble by title rival Inter Milan as it was held to a 1-1 draw by Udinese on Sunday.

Napoli was looking to move six points clear of second-placed Inter Milan after the defending champion surprisingly lost 3-0 at Fiorentina in their rearranged match on Thursday.

Instead, Inter can close the gap to just one point with a victory on Monday — against Fiorentina again — after Napoli paid the price for its poor finishing.

It was another good result for mid-table Udinese, which ended a five-match winless run with a victory over Venezia last weekend.

Napoli missed a number of chances at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.

Scott McTominay prodded wide from point-blank range but atoned for that error almost immediately by heading in a corner to give Napoli the lead in the 37th minute.

However, a series of Napoli mistakes allowed Jurgen Ekkelenkamp to level three minutes later with a swerving shot from outside the area into the far bottom corner.

It was a second straight draw for Napoli, which was held 1-1 at Roma last weekend.

Lazio moved back into fourth place with a dominant 5-1 win over bottom club Monza.

Adam Marusic's header gave Lazio only a slender lead at the break, despite being in full control, but the floodgates opened in the second half with Pedro scoring twice and Taty Castellanos and Faruq Dele-Bashiru adding the others.

Stefano Sensi converted a late penalty for Monza, which remained eight points from safety.

Lazio leapfrogged two points above Juventus, which slipped back to fifth. It was 10 points below Napoli.

Paulo Dybala netted his first goal of 2025 to help a much-changed Roma team to a 1-0 win at relegation-threatened Venezia.

Dybala powerfully converted a second-half penalty after teammate Angeliño was tripped by Venezia defender Alessandro Marcandalli.

Roma coach Claudio Ranieri had opted to rotate his team ahead of Thursday’s Europa League playoff against Porto.

Roma remained ninth in Serie A. Venezia was second from last, five points from safety.

Cagliari boosted its chances of avoiding the drop with a 2-1 win over fellow struggler Parma to inch four points clear of the relegation zone. Parma stayed in the bottom three.

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Napoli's Scott McTominay, center, in action during the Serie A soccer match between Napoli and Udinese at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium in Naples, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025. (Alessandro Garofalo/LaPresse via AP)

Napoli's Scott McTominay, number 8, scores on a header his side's opening goal during the Serie A soccer match between Napoli and Udinese at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium in Naples, Italy, Sunday Feb. 9, 2025. (Alessandro Garofalo/LaPresse via AP)

Napoli's Scott McTominay celebrates scoring his side's opening goal during the Serie A soccer match between Napoli and Udinese at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium in Naples, Italy, Sunday Feb. 9, 2025. (Alessandro Garofalo/LaPresse via AP)

Napoli's head coach Antonio Conte during the Serie A soccer match between Napoli and Udinese at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium in Naples, Italy, Sunday Feb. 9, 2025. (Alessandro Garofalo/LaPresse via AP)

Roma's Paulo Dybala celebrates after scoring their side's first goal of the game during the Italian Serie A soccer match between Venezia and Roma at the Pier Luigi Penzo Stadium, in Venice, Italy, Sunday Feb. 9, 2025. (Paola Garbuio/LaPresse via AP)

Lazio's Pedro scores his side's second goal during a Serie A soccer match between Lazio and Monza, at Rome's Olympic Stadium, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Lazio players and Lazio's head coach Marco Baroni, centre, celebrate after Lazio's Pedro scored his side's second goal during a Serie A soccer match between Lazio and Monza, at Rome's Olympic Stadium, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Lazio's Pedro, top, celebrates after scoring his side's fourth goal during a Serie A soccer match between Lazio and Monza, at Rome's Olympic Stadium, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025 (Fabrizio Corradetti/LaPresse via AP)

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian drones blasted apartment buildings and the power grid in the southern Ukraine city of Odesa in an overnight attack that injured six people, including a toddler and two other children, officials said Wednesday.

Four apartment buildings were damaged in the bombardment, according to regional military administration head Oleh Kiper. Power company DTEK said two of its energy facilities suffered significant damage. The company said that 10 substations that distribute electricity in the Odesa region were damaged in December alone.

Russia has this year escalated its long-range attacks on urban areas of Ukraine. In recent months, as Russia’s invasion of its neighbor approaches its four-year milestone in February, it has also intensified its targeting of energy infrastructure, seeking to deny Ukrainians heat and running water in the bitter winter months.

From January to November this year, more than 2,300 Ukrainian civilians were killed and more than 11,000 were injured, the United Nations said earlier this month. That was 26% higher than in the same period in 2024 and 70% higher than in 2023, it said.

Russia’s sustained drone and missile attacks have taken place against backdrop of renewed diplomatic efforts to stop the fighting.

U.S. President Donald Trump hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at his Florida resort on Sunday and announced that a settlement is “closer than ever before." The Ukrainian leader is due to hold talks next week with the heads of European governments supporting his efforts to secure acceptable terms.

The ongoing attacks, meantime, are inflaming tensions.

The overnight Odesa strikes “are further evidence of the enemy’s terror tactics, which deliberately target civilian infrastructure,” Kiper, the regional head, said.

Moscow has alleged that Ukraine attempted to attack Russian President Vladimir Putin’s residence in northwestern Russia with 91 long-range drones late Sunday and early Monday. Ukrainian officials deny the claim and say it’s a ruse to derail progress in the peace negotiations.

Maj. Gen. Alexander Romanenkov of the Russian air force claimed Wednesday that the drones took off from Ukraine’s Sumy and Chernihiv regions.

At a briefing where no questions were allowed, he presented a map showing the drone flight routes before they were downed by Russian air defenses over the Bryansk, Tver, Smolensk and Novgorod regions.

It was not possible to independently verify the reports.

The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, on Wednesday called the Russian allegations “a deliberate distraction” from the peace talks.

“No one should accept unfounded claims from the aggressor who has indiscriminately targeted Ukraine’s infrastructure and civilians since the start of the war,” Kallas posted on X.

Zelenskyy said Wednesday that Romania and Croatia are the latest countries to join a fund that buys weapons for Ukraine from the United States. The financial arrangement, known as the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List, or PURL, pools contributions from NATO members, except the United States, to purchase American weapons, munitions and equipment.

Since it was established in August, 24 countries are now contributing to the fund, according to Zelenskyy. The fund has so far received $4.3 billion, with almost $1.5 billion coming in December alone, he said on social media.

Ukraine’s air force said Wednesday that Russia fired 127 drones at the country during the night, with 101 of them intercepted by air defenses.

Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry said that 86 Ukrainian drones were shot down overnight over Russian regions, the Black Sea and the illegally annexed Crimea peninsula.

The Ukrainian attack started a fire at an oil refinery in Russia's southern Krasnodar region, but it was quickly put out, local authorities said.

This story has corrected the day of the alleged Ukrainian drone attack on the Russian president’s residence to late Sunday and early Monday.

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, emergency services personnel work to extinguish a fire following a Russian attack in Odesa, Ukraine, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

In this image made from video provided by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025, a Russian Army soldier fires from D-30 howitzer towards Ukrainian positions in an undisclosed location in Ukraine. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)