Serie A champion Napoli produces more drama vs. Cagliari; Gasperini picks up perfectly from Ranieri

ROME (AP) — Antonio Conte jumped up and down and whirled his arms like a child as he ran around in delirium.

The fans inside the Stadio Armando Diego Maradona also erupted in joy.

Three months after beating Cagliari to secure its fourth Serie A title, Napoli was again celebrating a victory over the Sardinian club.

What made it so dramatic this time was that Frank Anguissa scored five minutes into stoppage time for a 1-0 win after Napoli had wasted chance after chance in its home opener.

Moments before the goal there had been gasps of despair as Scott McTominay attempted an unsuccessful bicycle kick near the goal.

Turned out, nothing so complicated was necessary as Anguissa was left unmarked in the center of the area to calmly redirect in a cross from Alessandro Buongiorno.

“I would have been happy with a 0-0. There are matches where you get the ball and score easily. Today it seemed like there was a curse on the goal,” said Conte, who is in his second season coaching Napoli. “But the team believed until the end and the final result was deserved.”

Injured striker Romelu Lukaku was also overcome with emotion, posting a photo on Instagram of himself holding his head in apparent disbelief with a caption that read, “Pfffff wow wow wow. These wins are the best.”

Napoli joined Roma — which won 1-0 at promoted Pisa — and Cremonese with a full six points through two rounds. Inter Milan and Juventus can extend their winning starts on Sunday.

Inter hosts Udinese and Juventus visits Genoa.

While Napoli midfielders McTominay and Kevin De Bruyne have been its most dangerous players in the opening two rounds, help in attack is on the way after the international break with the southern club close to signing Rasmus Hojlund from Manchester United to fill in for Lukaku.

Gian Piero Gasperini is picking up right where Claudio Ranieri left off at Roma.

Roma went unbeaten last season from mid-December to mid-May under Ranieri, who then retired from coaching and selected Gasperini to succeed him as part of his new advisory role.

The Giallorossi also won their opener against Bologna 1-0.

At Pisa, Matías Soulé scored in the 55th minute with a textbook goal that involved all three of Roma’s forwards.

Substitute Paulo Dybala crossed to newly signed Ireland forward Evan Ferguson, who laid the ball off for Soulé to shoot into the far corner.

Pisa, which hosted a Serie A match for the first time in 34 years, had a couple of chances in quick succession early on. The Arena Garibaldi sits practically in the shadow of the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

Italian Cup winner Bologna bounced back from an opening defeat by beating big-spending Como 1-0.

Riccardo Orsolini scored near the hour mark with a deflected shot after also threatening early on.

Bologna, which lost its opener at Roma, earned its first points of the season. For Como, it was a setback after impressing in a 2-0 win over Lazio.

Owned by Indonesian tobacco billionaire brothers Robert Budi Hartono and Michael Bambang Hartono, Como has spent 104 million euros ($121 million) in the current transfer market — the fifth most in the league.

Bologna was without Ciro Immobile, the four-time Serie A scoring leader it recently signed, who is out for an estimated two months after injuring his right leg last weekend.

With Gasperini gone after a nine-year tenure, Atalanta again struggled in a 1-1 draw at Parma.

Mario Pasalic put Atalanta ahead with a long shot in the 79th but newly signed Patrick Cutrone came off the bench to equalize on debut for Parma six minutes later by tapping in a rebound.

Atalanta, which also drew its opener against Pisa, has two points under new coach Ivan Juric. Parma, which lost its opener at Juventus, has one point.

Atalanta striker Gianluca Scamacca lobbed a shot off the post in the first half.

On Sunday, it's: Inter vs. Udinese; Genoa vs. Juventus; Torino vs. Fiorentina; and Lazio vs. Hellas Verona.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Roma's coach Giampiero Gasperini during the Serie A soccer match between Pisa Sporting Club and AS Roma in Pisa, Italy, Saturday, Aug. 30, 2025. (Alessandro La Rocca/LaPresse via AP)

Napoli players celebrates teammate Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa's goal during the Serie A soccer match between Napoli and Cagliari at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium in Naples, southern Italy, Saturday, Aug. 30, 2025. (Alessandro Garofalo/LaPresse via AP)

Napoli's Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa celebrates after scoring a goal during the Serie A soccer match between Napoli and Cagliari at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium in Naples, southern Italy, Saturday, Aug. 30, 2025. (Alessandro Garofalo/LaPresse via AP)

Napoli's Lorenzo Lucca kick a high ball over Cagliari's Sebastiano Luperto during the Serie A soccer match between Napoli and Cagliari at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium in Naples, Italy, Saturday, Aug. 30 , 2025. (Alessandro Garofalo/LaPresse via AP)

Bologna's chairman Joey Saputo greets the fans ahead of the Serie A soccer match between FC Bologna and Como 1907 in Bologna, Italy, Saturday, Aug. 30, 2025. (Massimo Paolone/LaPresse via AP)

Como's head coach Cesc Fabregas gestures during the Serie A soccer match between FC Bologna and Como 1907 in Bologna, Italy, Saturday, Aug. 30, 2025. (Massimo Paolone/LaPresse via AP)

Como's Mergim Vojvoda, right, and Bologna's Riccardo Orsolini, left, challenge for the ball during the Serie A soccer match between FC Bologna and Como 1907 in Bologna, Italy, Saturday, Aug. 30, 2025. (Massimo Paolone/LaPresse via AP)

Bologna's Riccardo Orsolini, right, scores the opening goal during the Serie A soccer match between FC Bologna and Como 1907 in Bologna, Italy, Saturday, Aug. 30, 2025. (Massimo Paolone/LaPresse via AP)

Bologna's Riccardo Orsolini, center, celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the Serie A soccer match between FC Bologna and Como 1907 in Bologna, Italy, Saturday, Aug. 30, 2025. (Massimo Paolone/LaPresse via AP)

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A state appeals court is being asked to dismiss felony voter misconduct charges against an Alaska resident born in American Samoa, one of numerous cases that have drawn attention to the complex citizenship status of people born in the U.S. territory.

In arguments Thursday, attorneys for Tupe Smith plan to ask the Alaska Court of Appeals in Anchorage to reverse a lower court's decision that let stand the indictment brought against her. Her supporters say she made an innocent mistake that does not merit charges, but the state contends Smith falsely and deliberately claimed citizenship.

Prosecutors also have brought charges against 10 other people from American Samoa in the small Alaska community of Whittier, including Smith’s husband and her mother-in-law. American Samoa is the only U.S. territory where residents are not automatically granted citizenship by being born on American soil and instead are considered U.S. nationals. Paths to citizenship exist, such as naturalization, though that process can be expensive and cumbersome.

American Samoans can serve in the military, obtain U.S. passports and vote in elections in American Samoa, but they cannot hold public office in the U.S. or participate in most U.S. elections.

About 25 people gathered on a snowy street outside the courthouse before Thursday's hearing to support Smith. One woman, Fran Seager of Palmer, held a sign that said, “Support our Samoans. They are US nationals.”

Smith's husband, Michael Pese, thanked the American Samoa community in the Anchorage area. “If it wasn’t for you guys, I wouldn’t be strong enough to face this head on,” he said.

State Sen. Forrest Dunbar, a Democrat who attended the rally, said the Alaska Department of Law has limited resources.

“We should be going after people who are genuine criminals, who are violent criminals, or at least have the intent to deceive,” he said. “I do not think it is a good use of our limited state resources to go after these hardworking, taxpaying Alaskans who are not criminals.”

Smith was arrested after winning election to a regional school board in 2023. She said she relied on erroneous information from local election officials when she identified herself as a U.S. citizen on voter registration forms.

In a court filing in 2024, one of her previous attorneys said that when Smith answered questions from the Alaska state trooper who arrested her, she said she was aware that she could not vote in presidential elections but was “unaware of any other restrictions on her ability to vote.”

Smith said she marks herself as a U.S. national on paperwork. But when there was no such option on voter registration forms, she was told by city representatives that it was appropriate to mark U.S. citizen, according to the filing.

Smith “exercised what she believed was her right to vote in a local election. She did so without any intent to mislead or deceive anyone,” her current attorneys said in a filing in September. “Her belief that U.S. nationals may vote in local elections, which was supported by advice from City of Whittier election officials, was simply mistaken.”

The state has said Smith falsely and deliberately claimed citizenship. Prosecutors pointed to the language on the voter application forms she filled out in 2020 and 2022, which explicitly said that if the applicant was not at least 18 years old and a U.S. citizen, “do not complete this form, as you are not eligible to vote.”

The counts Smith was indicted on “did not have anything to do with her belief in her ability to vote in certain elections; rather they concerned the straightforward question of whether or not Smith intentionally and falsely swore she was a United States citizen,” Kayla Doyle, an assistant attorney general, said in court filings last year.

One of Smith's attorneys, Neil Weare, co-founder of the Washington-based Right to Democracy Project, said by email last week that if the appeals court lets stand the indictment, Alaska will be “the only state to our knowledge with such a low bar for felony voter fraud.”

Bohrer reported from Juneau, Alaska.

Michael Pese and his wife, Tupe Smith, stand outside the Boney Courthouse in Anchorage, Alaska, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, ahead of the Alaska Court of Appeals hearing a challenge to the voter fraud case brought against her by the state. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)

Michael Pese, left, his wife, Tupe Smith, and their son Maximus pose for a photo outside the Boney Courthouse in Anchorage, Alaska, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, ahead of the Alaska Court of Appeals hearing a challenge to the voter fraud case brought against her by the state. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)

FILE - Tupe Smith poses for a photo outside the school in Whittier, Alaska, May 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen, File)