Empoli, who are battling relegation, opened the scoring after four minutes when striker Alberto Cerri headed in a close-range cross for what proved to be the winner.

The Champions League will have 36 teams in the group stage from next season, four more than this term.

Daniele De Rossi will stay on long-term as Roma coach, the Serie A club announced on Thursday, hours before their Europa League quarter-final decider with AC Milan.

"Evan is feeling better and is in good spirits. He will remain in the hospital for further observations," said Roma on social media, alongside a photo of Ndicka flexing his right bicep while sat upright in a hospital bed in Udine.

Play in Roma's Serie A match at Udinese on Sunday was abandoned after Evan Ndicka collapsed with an apparent problem with his chest.

Noah Okafor salvaged a hard-fought point for Milan in the 84th minute on a hot spring day in Reggio Emilia, but second-placed Milan still risk conceding the Scudetto to Inter in a hotly-anticipated derby despite coming back from two goals down.

Italy midfielder Frattesi poked home the decisive goal in the fifth minute of stoppage time in Udine to maintain Inter's 14-point lead at the top of the table with seven matches left in the season.

AC Milan strolled past 10-man Lecce 3-0 on Saturday to consolidate second place in Serie A and take another step towards Champions League qualification.

Monday's comfortable victory left Inter needing just 11 more points from eight matches to beat second-placed AC Milan to a 20th Italian league crown.

"We're not mathematically out of it but the chances of us getting there are very slim," said Calzona after his first league defeat as Napoli boss

Italian club Napoli said they were "stunned" after Italy's football federation (FIGC) on Tuesday dropped a probe into alleged racist comments made by Inter Milan's Francesco Acerbi to Napoli's Juan Jesus due to lack of evidence.

Juan Jesus nodded home Napoli's leveller with nine minutes remaining after fighting back from Matteo Darmian's opener shortly before half-time to snatch a deserved point.

Lazio coach Maurizio Sarri has resigned after a poor run of form left the Serie A team off the pace in the race for European football, Italian media reported on Tuesday.

Inter moved to 75 points and an 18-point lead over second-placed Juventus, who host Atalanta on Sunday. Bologna are fourth on 51 points after 28 games.

Youngster Kristjan Asllani and veteran Alexis Sanchez scored within six minutes of each other in the San Siro as Inter move closer to going one better than local rivals AC Milan and their Scudetto tally, which would get them a second star above their club badge.

Italy forward Domenico Berardi has been ruled out of Euro 2024 after suffering a season-ending Achilles injury during Sassuolo's 1-0 defeat by Verona in Serie A on Sunday.

France star Paul Pogba has been given a four-year ban from football by Italy's anti-doping tribunal after testing positive for testosterone last August, his club Juventus said on Thursday.

Inter Milan cruised to a 4-0 home win against Atalanta in Serie A on Wednesday, extending their lead at the top of the standings to 12 points as they edge closer to a 20th league title.

"The talent of the champion came out. Players like Paulo are decisive and for me they should never be questioned," said Roma coach Daniele De Rossi.

Argentina striker Martinez joined the 100 club in Italy's top flight when he opened the scoring in the 15th minute in southern Italy.