Serie A still has no clear front-runner with Napoli and Roma level on top

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Serie A still has no clear front-runner with Napoli and Roma level on top

2025-10-30 19:00 Last Updated At：19:21

ROME (AP) — Nearly a quarter of the way through Serie A there’s still no clear front-runner.

Defending champion Napoli and Gian Piero Gasperini’s Roma are level on top, three points ahead of the two Milan clubs.

Nobody is counting out Inter Milan, which has a deeper bench than any of the other contenders, or AC Milan, which isn’t competing in Europe and will be more rested as the season wears on.

The parity is nothing new.

Serie A has become the most unpredictable of Europe’s five biggest domestic soccer leagues with four different champions over the last six seasons, with last season marking the second time in four years that the title race went down to the last round.

Sunday’s meeting between Milan and Roma at the San Siro could add some clarity to the title race.

Napoli could be tested, too, with a visit by fifth-placed Como on Saturday.

With Luciano Spalletti expected to be hired to replace the fired Igor Tudor at Juventus, the former Napoli and Italy coach could make his debut with the Bianconeri at Cremonese this weekend.

Juventus ended an eight-match winless run by beating Udinese under interim coach Massimo Brambilla on Wednesday.

Facing Cremonese could be complicated. The promoted club is exceeding expectations in eighth place — with only one loss.

Meanwhile, Stefano Pioli at winless Fiorentina and Patrick Vieira at last-placed Genoa risk losing their jobs if their clubs can’t beat Lecce and Sassuolo, respectively.

The arrival of former Leicester striker Jamie Vardy attracted attention to Cremonese at the start of the season. But it’s been Federico Bonazzoli who has emerged as the club’s leading forward.

Bonazzoli scored twice in a 2-0 win at Genoa on Wednesday, his first coming with a bicycle kick, to raise his total to four goals this season.

Hakan Calhanoglu leads the league with five goals for Inter after his brace in a 2-0 win over Fiorentina.

Napoli midfielder Kevin De Bruyne could be out until March after undergoing surgery to repair his injured right thigh.

He joins Belgium teammate Romelu Lukaku on Napoli’s long-term injury list.

Lukaku injured his left thigh in a preseason game and could return in December.

Serie A is still waiting for the Asian Football Confederation to approve holding a game between Milan and Como in Perth, Australia, in February.

Both Milan and Como fans have voiced opposition to traveling so far for a game between clubs situated less than an hour apart.

Also recently, Serie A president Ezio Simonelli said he supports moving evening matches to 8 p.m. starts instead of the current 8:45 p.m. kickoff times.

“Let’s allow kids,” Simonelli said, “the chance to watch an entire game.”

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Death toll from Iranian protests surpasses 2,000, activists say, as chaos recalls 1979 revolution

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The death toll from nationwide protests in Iran surpassed 2,000 people on Tuesday, activists said, and Iranians made phone calls abroad for the first time in days after authorities severed communications during a crackdown on demonstrators.

The number of dead climbed to at least 2,003, as reported by the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency. That figure dwarfs the death toll from any other round of protest or unrest in Iran in decades and recalls the chaos surrounding the country's 1979 Islamic Revolution. The demonstrations began a little over two weeks ago in anger over Iran's ailing economy and soon targeted the theocracy, particularly 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Images obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press from demonstrations in Tehran showed graffiti and chants calling for Khamenei's death — something that could carry a death sentence.

Soon after the new death toll became public, U.S. President Donald Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform: “Iranian Patriots, KEEP PROTESTING - TAKE OVER YOUR INSTITUTIONS!!!”

He added: “I have cancelled all meetings with Iranian Officials until the senseless killing of protesters STOPS. HELP IS ON ITS WAY.” Trump did not give details.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, speaking to the Qatar-funded satellite news network Al Jazeera in an interview aired Monday night, said he had continued to communicate with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff.

The communication “continued before and after the protests and are still ongoing,” Araghchi said. However, “Washington’s proposed ideas and threats against our country are incompatible.” He had no immediate reaction to Trump's latest online comments.

The activist group said 1,850 of the dead were protesters and 135 were government-affiliated. Nine children were killed, along with nine civilians it said were not taking part in protests. More than 16,700 people have been detained, the group said.

With the internet down in Iran, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The AP has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.

Skylar Thompson with the Human Rights Activists News Agency told AP the new toll was shocking, particularly since it reached four times the death toll of the monthslong 2022 Mahsa Amini protests in just two weeks.

She warned that the toll would still rise: “We’re horrified, but we still think the number is conservative."

Speaking by phone for the first time since their calls were cut off from the outside world, Iranian witnesses described a heavy security presence in central Tehran, burned-out government buildings, smashed ATMs and few passersby. Meanwhile, people remain concerned about what comes next, including the possibility of a U.S. attack.

“My customers talk about Trump’s reaction while wondering if he plans a military strike against the Islamic Republic,” said shopkeeper Mahmoud, who gave only his first name out of concern for his safety. “I don’t expect Trump or any other foreign country cares about the interests of Iranians.”

Reza, a taxi driver who also gave just his first name, said protests are on many people's minds. “People — particularly young ones — are hopeless, but they talk about continuing the protests,” he said.

Several people in Tehran were able to call the AP on Tuesday and speak to a journalist. The AP bureau in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, was unable to call those numbers back. Witnesses said text messaging was still down, and internet users in Iran could connect to government-approved websites locally but nothing abroad.

Anti-riot police officers wore helmets and body armor while carrying batons, shields, shotguns and tear gas launchers, according to the witnesses. Police stood watch at major intersections. Nearby, witnesses saw members of the Revolutionary Guard's all-volunteer Basij force, who carried firearms and batons. Security officials in plainclothes were visible in public spaces.

Several banks and government offices were burned during the unrest, witnesses said. Banks struggled to complete transactions without the internet, they added.

Shops were open, though there was little foot traffic in the capital. Tehran's Grand Bazaar, where the demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of Iran's rial currency, opened Tuesday. However, a witness described speaking to multiple shopkeepers who said security forces ordered them to reopen no matter what. Iranian state media had not acknowledged that order.

The witnesses spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal.

It also appeared that security service personnel were searching for Starlink terminals, as people in northern Tehran reported authorities raiding apartment buildings with satellite dishes. While satellite television dishes are illegal, many in the capital have them in homes, and officials broadly had given up on enforcing the law in recent years.

On the streets, people also could be seen challenging plainclothes security officials, who were stopping passersby at random.

State television also read a statement about mortuary and morgue services being free — a signal that some likely charged high fees for the release of bodies amid the crackdown.

Khamenei, in a statement carried by state TV, praised the tens of thousands who took part in pro-government demonstrations nationwide on Monday.

“This was a warning to American politicians to stop their deceit and not rely on traitorous mercenaries,” he said. “The Iranian nation is strong and powerful and aware of the enemy.”

State TV on Monday aired chants from the crowd, which appeared to number in the tens of thousands, of “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!” Others cried out, “Death to the enemies of God!” Iran’s attorney general has warned that anyone taking part in protests will be considered an “enemy of God,” a death-penalty charge.