Italy great Alessandro Nesta has been appointed as the new head coach of Monza.

The 48-year-old comes in as the successor to Raffaele Palladino, who switched Monza for Fiorentina last week.

Nesta, a World Cup winner in 2006, has enjoyed a modest managerial career compared to his remarkable playing days.

The former defender will embark on his first Serie A season as a coach after spells with Perugia, Frosinone and Reggiana.

Nesta led promoted Reggiana to an 11th-place finish in Italy's second tier and has now resolved his contract issues with the club in order to take over at Monza.

His new club finished 12th last season in what was just their second campaign in Serie A.

Alex Sandro celebrated trophies and finals with Juventus but says he will cherish his bond with the Bianconeri supporters the most after an emotional farewell on Saturday.

The Brazil international waved goodbye in Turin for one final time against Monza, signing off with a goal in a 2-0 victory at Allianz Stadium.

Alex Sandro made a record-equalling 327 appearances for Juve, matching Pavel Nedved's record for the most by a foreign player in the club's history.

Yet the versatile defender will be moving onto new beginnings after Juve ended the season third in Serie A.

"It was emotional for me, I have never cried so much in my life," he told DAZN, having joined the club in 2015.

"I am proud of myself and what I achieved. Over the last few days, I told everyone that the trophies and finals were lovely, but what I take away is the bond with the people."

Paolo Montero was in interim charge once more for the clash with Monza, in which Federico Chiesa was also on target.

The Juventus caretaker also oversaw a 3-3 draw with Bologna after Massimiliano Allegri was dismissed, and Montero acknowledged he has not changed much in terms of tactics.

"I honestly did not come here to transform anything, but to collaborate and I am proud to be with these players," Montero told DAZN.

"Every time they play, I sit in the stands to watch them, so it was an honour to be here with them."

Montero referenced Chiesa as one of Juve's key players going forward.

"We evaluated the players in the best shape," Montero added. "Chiesa has the quality to play on the right like at Fiorentina or the left like for Italy.

"He is a champion with a very positive mentality and is prepared for the Euros this summer.

"Chiesa makes the difference, I saw that at the stadium. If he continues to play at this tempo, he creates spaces and becomes deadly in one-on-one situations.

"These players can play wide, central, left or right, the important thing is that they have space to take men on."

Juventus completed their Serie A campaign with a comfortable 2-0 home win over Monza thanks to first-half goals from Federico Chiesa and Alex Sandro.

Juve ended their season on 71 points, third in the standings, though they can still be overtaken by Europa League champions Atalanta, who sit fifth and have two matches left to play.

Chiesa broke the deadlock after 26 minutes on Saturday and long-serving left-back Sandro, playing in his final game for the Bianconeri before departing as a free agent, doubled the lead two minutes later with a header from a corner.

Juve came close to scoring a third early in the second half, but Chiesa's attempt from the edge of the box hit the woodwork.

Thiago Motta is expected to take charge of Juve in the coming days, after his departure from Bologna was confirmed.

Monza ended the campaign in 12th place with 45 points.

Data Debrief: How's your luck?

Chiesa's effort against the frame of the goal means that, since the beginning of the last season, only Inter (36) hit the woodwork more times than Juve (35) in Serie A.

Juve will be hoping to be that bit more clinical next term as they aim to challenge for the title under Motta. 

Napoli keeper Alex Meret saved Matteo Pessina’s second-half penalty to ensure the Serie A title-holders walked away with a point as they played out a disappointing goalless draw with Monza.

Amir Rrahmani could have given the hosts the lead after the break but wasted a free header, and while Meret made the vital stop to preserve the draw he was worryingly forced off soon after.

Napoli boss Walter Mazzarri was sent off while his side’s finishing woes were highlighted by substitute Gianluca Gaetano’s inability to find the back of the net when in acres of space just outside the six-yard box.

The visitors, who saw Mirko Maric dismissed late in stoppage time, mustered few further chances and would be happy with the point, while the hosts extended their poor run of form at the Maradona Stadium.

Mazzarri was without the suspended Victor Osimhen and Matteo Politano, both of whom were sent off against Roma last time out.

Frank Anguissa had a deflected effort comfortably saved while at the other end of the pitch Meret looked on relieved when Pedro Pereira’s early attempt took a deflection before sailing narrowly past his left post.

The hosts had found a slightly stronger foothold by the halfway point in the first period but neither keeper found himself with much work to do.

Giacomo Raspadori nodded wide and Napoli were nearly ahead just before half-time, when an excellent Mario Rui cross found Anguissa in an ideal position but he was only able to direct his effort – easily the best chance of the first half – straight at keeper Michele Di Gregorio.

There was a second-half change for Raffaele Palladino with Samuele Birindelli coming on to replace Pereira, who had been booked, with Napoli wasting an early free-kick near the corner flag.

Rrahmani then somehow sent a free header over the crossbar from Piotr Zielinski’s delivery before Raspadori sent the ball skipping across the face of goal from a tight angle.

Valentin Carboni scuffed an effort for the visitors and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia came close for Napoli, nutmegging the Monza keeper who subsequently smothered the ball before Birindelli forced Meret into his first real save.

While Napoli had looked likelier to score since before half-time, it was Monza who won the best chance after Jesus was penalised for handball inside the penalty area, Pessina stepping up but squandering the spot-kick as Meret proved alert to his intentions.

Meret’s evening worryingly came to a close after 74 minutes and, with Pierluigi Gollini a last-minute absentee from the matchday squad due to an left ankle issue, on came Nikita Contini, while Giorgio Cittadini would soon replace the injured Danilo D’Ambrosio for the visitors.

Mazzarri, who had previously been booked, was sent off after he got involved in a touchline scuffle, while Rui, Kvaratskhelia and finally Gaetano seemed only able to direct efforts directly at the keeper as they ran out of time to find a winner.

Teenager Jan-Carlo Simic announced himself with a goal on his Serie A debut as AC Milan eased to victory over Monza.

The 18-year-old, a first-half replacement for the injured Tomasso Pobega, scored from close range after Tijjani Reijnders had given the home side a third-minute lead at San Siro on Sunday.

Fellow substitute Noah Okafor rounded off a slick team move late on to cement a 3-0 win four days after Milan had come from behind at Newcastle to secure a Europa League berth.

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Victory, just a third in eight attempts in the league, will have come as a relief to under-pressure head coach Stefano Pioli, whose side are now five points adrift of second-placed Juventus in the table, but as many clear of Napoli in fourth.

Buoyed by their success on Tyneside in midweek, the Rossoneri set off in determined fashion and had already seen Olivier Giroud head wastefully over when they took a third-minute lead.

Netherlands international Reijnders took matters into his own hands as he surged through three challenges and into the penalty area before shooting through keeper Michele Di Gregorio’s legs.

Di Gregorio then had to get down well to keep out Theo Hernandez’s eighth-minute strike after Rafael Leao had made good ground down the left.

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The visitors responded and on-loan Milan man Lorenzo Colombo fired into the sidenetting on the turn with Roberto Gagliardini perhaps better-placed, but Ruben Loftus-Cheek saw a deflected attempt loop just over Di Gregorio’s crossbar before the keeper palmed away Alessandro Florenzi’s long-range effort.

It took a fine save by Di Gregorio to keep out Florenzi’s 40th-minute drive, but he was beaten seconds later when substitute Simic applied the finishing touch after Leao had turned smartly away from Matteo Pessina and crossed, before the crossbar denied Christian Pulisic an eye-catching third.

Leao returned seemingly intent on enjoying himself as he embarked upon a series of enterprising runs deep into enemy territory, but it was Simic who went close when he headed wide from a 53rd-minute corner.

Substitute Patrick Ciurria sent a long-range shot over Mike Maignan’s crossbar, but the France international had to make a solid save to keep out Andrea Colpani’s strike.

However, the home side increased their lead in style with 13 minutes remaining when Giroud produced a sublime lay-off from Reijnders’ pass to set up Okafor to score.

Giroud might have got his name on the scoresheet at the end but he failed to make the most of a pacy counter-attack as the visitors were spared further punishment.

Federico Gatti hit a last-gasp winner to send Juventus top of Serie A with a battling 2-1 victory at Monza.

The hosts had looked like rescuing a point when Valentin Carboni struck at the start of stoppage time to cancel out Adrien Rabiot’s opener.

But Juve would strike back deep into added time as Gatti’s effort sealed the three points to take Massimiliano Allegri’s side top.

Dusan Vlahovic saw an early penalty saved by Michele Di Gregorio after Andrea Cambiaso had been upended in the box but Rabiot headed in soon after before the late drama saw Juventus go top.

In the Bundesliga, Davie Selke hit the only goal as Cologne won at fellow strugglers Darmstadt 1-0 to leave both sides on nine points.

Selke struck on the half-hour mark to seal what could prove to be a vital victory for the visitors.

Las Palmas beat 10-man Getafe 2-0 to move up to eighth in LaLiga.

Julian Araujo hung in the air to head the home side ahead moments before the break, with Getafe’s hopes of battling back suffering a blow when Omar Alderete was sent off.

With just three minutes of the second half gone, Alderete was initially booked after catching Enzo Loiodice on the ankle but the yellow card was upgraded to red after a VAR review.

Substitute Cristian Herrera wrapped up the points for Las Palmas as he tapped in from close range late on.

Meanwhile in Ligue 1, Reims moved level on points with fourth-placed Lille courtesy of a 2-1 home win over Strasbourg.

Amir Richardson opened the scoring for the hosts early on and the lead was doubled courtesy of Mohamed Daramy’s strike before the break.

Strasbourg pulled a goal back through Kevin Gameiro’s late penalty but Will Still’s side held on for the points.

Federico Gatti scored a last-gasp winner to send Juventus top of Serie A with a battling 2-1 victory at Monza.

The hosts had looked like rescuing a point when Valentin Carboni struck at the start of stoppage time to cancel out Adrien Rabiot’s opener.

But Juve would strike back deep into added time as Gatti’s effort sealed the three points to take Massimiliano Allegri’s side top ahead of this weekend’s fixtures.

Dusan Vlahovic saw an early penalty saved by Michele Di Gregorio after Andrea Cambiaso had been upended in the box.

The visitors would not be kept at bay for long, though, as Rabiot broke the deadlock in the 12th minute when he headed home a corner.

Allegri’s men could not build on their lead however, with Di Gregorio rarely tested.

The Monza goalkeeper kept out a driven Rabiot effort with ease while Gatti fired over from distance with chances at a minimum.

Monza thought they had made Juve pay for not doubling their advantage when substitute Carboni scored.

His ball into the box evaded everyone and drifted in past Juve stopper Wojciech Szczesny as the home side scored with their first effort on target of the night.

Despite their celebrations, Monza could not hold on for a point as, with Juventus throwing men forward, Rabiot crossed low for the unmarked Gatti.

The defender fluffed his lines with his first chance but thrashed the ball home at the second attempt to seal a dramatic win for the visitors.

The victory takes Juventus top of the table, moving a point clear of Inter Milan, who face a tough trip to fourth-placed Napoli on Sunday evening.

Lewis Hamilton finished only 17th in practice for the Italian Grand Prix as Sergio Perez crashed out.

Carlos Sainz provided Ferrari’s home fans with reason for cheer by posting the fastest time at the Italian team’s home track in Monza.

The Spaniard, who celebrated his 29th birthday on Friday, edged out McLaren’s Lando Norris by 0.019 seconds with championship leader Max Verstappen in fifth place, two tenths back.

But seven-time world champion Hamilton, who signed a new £50million-a-year contract with Mercedes earlier this week, ended up only 17th of the 19 drivers who set a time after bemoaning the lack of straight-line speed.

Hamilton’s Mercedes team-mate George Russell finished ninth, 0.821sec slower than Sainz.

While Verstappen has romped to 11 wins from 13 this season – and could become the first driver in history to seal 10 consecutive victories on Sunday – his team-mate Perez has endured a turbulent campaign.

And the Mexican faced more misery here after he lost control of his Red Bull machine through the high-speed Parabolica.

Perez ran on to the gravel on the exit of the corner leading into the main straight and skidded across the sandtrap before nudging the wall.

Perez was able to limp back to the pits but team principal Christian Horner was left grimacing on the Red Bull pit wall.

Before his spin, Perez had displayed encouraging pace – finishing third, 0.185 behind Sainz – and unusually ahead of Verstappen.

Verstappen, 138 points clear in the world standings on his unstoppable march towards a hat-trick of titles, ended the opening running at the top of the time charts. But his best effort in the day’s concluding running was scuppered by traffic.

The 25-year-old wanted to go for another timed lap, only for his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase to tell him “it isn’t qualifying”.

The Dutch driver was also fined 500 euros (£428) for breaking the 50mph pit-lane speed limit by 3mph.

However, given his crushing dominance this year, he will head into the remainder of the weekend as the favourite to land another win and better the record he shares with Sebastian Vettel.

McLaren have bounced back from a poor start to the year following an upgrade at June’s Austrian Grand Prix. Behind Norris in second place, Oscar Piastri finished fourth.

Elsewhere, Charles Leclerc, who won here to the delight of the Tifosi in 2019, was sixth, one place ahead of the ever-impressive Alex Albon in his Williams, with Fernando Alonso eighth for Aston Martin.

Alonso’s team-mate Lance Stroll failed to set a lap after he broke down with a fuel system failure in the opening moments.

Serie A champions Napoli slipped to a shock defeat on Sunday as Monza claimed a deserved 2-0 win against the Partenopei at Stadio Brianteo.

Goals from Dany Mota and Napoli loanee Andrea Petagna handed Luciano Spalletti's men just their fourth top-flight loss of the season, dampening their ongoing title celebrations.

Spalletti opted for a handful of changes against mid-table opposition, and will have expected more from his men despite the low-stakes nature of this clash.

But for Raffaele Palladino, his Biancorossi will nevertheless delight in taking one of the biggest scalps of their successful first campaign in the top flight.

With Napoli already champions and Monza secure in their Serie A place for next season, a lacklustre dead rubber appeared to be on the cards in the first quarter-hour.

But a shrewd counter-attack from the hosts sparked matters into life shortly afterwards, with Mota taking full advantage of a disjointed defence to tuck home the opener.

The visitors chased a response, with Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa forcing a cracking save from Michele Di Gregorio just before the break, but Napoli were left trailing at the interval.

Matters worsened following the restart, when Petagna darted into the box to seize on a rebound and curl a shot beyond Pierluigi Gollini, finding the bottom-left corner.

Napoli continued to test Monza, but efforts from Mathias Olivera and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia were ably saved, while Victor Osimhen saw a penalty shout waved away.

Napoli's inability to find a way back in saw them suffer a rare reverse, in what fans will hope was merely a hangover from their Scudetto success.

Simone Inzaghi acknowledged Inter must show greater maturity in their Serie A performances after they missed out on a chance to move into the top four with a 1-0 home loss to Monza.

Luca Caldirola's 78th-minute finish was enough to give the visitors an upset victory at San Siro and further extend the Nerazzurri's barren league run.

Inter have collected just one point from five Serie A games, damaging their hopes of Champions League qualification. The defeat saw them fail to capitalise on a draw for city rivals Milan against Bologna earlier on Saturday.

Speaking afterwards, Inzaghi reflected on another tough result for his side, noting he feels they are doing little wrong but must be smart to find answers.

"We got nervous," he told DAZN. "We want this victory, but it is not coming in the league at the moment.

"A mature team must stay in the game. We need to direct the game.

"Now we're talking about a defeat that has slowed down [any chance of momentum]. We have to work on it and not just up front.

"After Lisbon, I was calm. But then, we have seen how it has gone.

"But we lose games that we do not deserve to lose, so we still have to be rational."

With eight top-flight games to go and just a two-point gap to third-place Roma, Inter's top-four hopes are far from over.

In addition, they still have the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie with Benfica to come this week, having taken a 2-0 victory on the road in Portugal.

Inzaghi accepts there is a tough spell ahead, and says both he and Inter must be frank in their self-appraisal if they are to turn matters around.

"We're behind in the league, but we have time to recover, even if these are heavy [blows to take]," he added. 

"This result is not deserved but we need to make more of an impact on games.

"We were the best attacking side in Italy, but now we have difficulties. We have to do a mea culpa, including myself as the coach."

Luca Caldirola returned to haunt Inter as Monza snatched a stunning 1-0 win at San Siro, a result that means Simone Inzaghi's problems are deepening.

Defender Caldirola started his playing days at Inter but did not make the grade as a first-team regular, going on to have a journeyman career. However, a powerful header from the 32-year-old snatched all three points for Monza on Saturday, as Inter fluffed their big chance to go fourth in the table.

Milan's draw with Bologna earlier in the day had opened up that opportunity, but Inter's dismal run of form continued as Caldirola claimed the spotlight.

It is now one point from the last five league games for Inter, a desperate run at this crucial stage of the season.

Inter striker Romelu Lukaku headed wide from an excellent position early on, wasting a big chance, and there were to be several of those for the home side.

Joaquin Correa then combined neatly with Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Lukaku as he carved out a route into the Monza penalty area, but the Argentine forward was denied by Michele Di Gregorio's save.

It was Correa who was providing much of the early Inter threat, but the first half proved a largely drab affair.

Monza's Carlos Augusto fired into the side-netting as the visitors posed an early threat after the break, with Inter losing defender Stefan de Vrij to injury.

Nicolo Rovella also threatened for Monza with a long-range effort before Inter's Lukaku had a header clawed away by Di Gregorio.

Correa sent a shot narrowly wide, and Lukaku fired fractionally over the bar as the hosts pushed for a breakthrough, yet Dany Mota went equally close for Monza with a left-footed strike that went just too high.

Monza stunned their hosts in the 78th minute when Caldirola stomped through a crowd to head in Patrick Ciurria's left-wing corner, and Inter could not find a way back to level terms.

Stefano Pioli credited his Milan players for their efforts in a "perfect week" after Junior Messias' goal guided them to victory at Monza.

Messias' well-taken volley ensured Milan secured a third 1-0 win in the space of eight days, having previously gone seven games without winning across all competitions. 

While that run left Milan's Scudetto defence in tatters, the Rossoneri are third in the Serie A table after keeping three clean sheets in a row for the first time since a run of seven ended last April.

Having seen Milan build on Tuesday's Champions League last-16 victory against Tottenham, Pioli hailed his team's powers of recovery and challenged them to kick on.

"It was the perfect week, we can start over from here," Pioli said at his post-match press conference. "We haven't even conceded a goal and we're on the right track. 

"We needed to regain unity, the difference now isn't tactics but the desire we've regained to win, to compete for the second balls. 

"Monza were brilliant in the second half but we fought until the end and this is important. It's a shame we didn't finish the game in the second half."

Milan have now won back-to-back Serie A games for the first time since the Italian top flight restarted after the World Cup, having only tasted victory twice in their previous five league contests.

Pioli's decision to switch to a three-man backline has provoked Milan's revival, with wing-backs Messias and Theo Hernandez impressing once again at Monza.

Asked about Milan's change of system, Pioli said: "We'll go back to playing with four when we find the right characteristics. 

"Malik Thiaw gives us physicality and the possibility of duelling with physical forwards. The other players also have the characteristics to play in a three."

Milan climbed into Serie A's top four as Junior Messias secured a 1-0 win at Monza, whose owner Silvio Berlusconi failed to get one over on his old club.

Messias fired home on the turn just after the half-hour mark after Monza – who entered the game as Serie A's only unbeaten team in 2023 – twice went close in a fast start to Saturday's match.

Monza played their part in a lively affair but were unable to give Berlusconi – who bankrolled Milan to five European crowns – a result to cherish against his beloved Rossoneri.

Milan were able to claim victory without calling on Zlatan Ibrahimovic for the first time this season, with the striker again an unused substitute as they moved above Atalanta and Roma into third place.

Ciprian Tatarusanu was forced into action twice in the first two minutes, turning Patrick Ciurria's attempt away at the near post before denying Andrea Petagna from the resulting corner.

Rafael Leao saw a dipping 25-yard strike brush the post as Milan played their way into the game, while Michele Di Gregorio made two sharp saves to keep out Brahim Diaz and Fikayo Tomori.

Di Gregorio was finally beaten 31 minutes in, however, getting a hand to Messias' powerful left-footed volley but failing to stop the ball from finding the bottom-right corner.

Ciurria drilled a 20-yard effort against the foot of the post with 17 minutes remaining, but Milan stood firm and almost added a second through Charles De Ketelaere. 

Stefano Pioli set Milan the target of securing a top-four finish in Serie A as he declared himself satisfied with the Rossoneri's response to a dire run of form.

Milan went seven games without a win across all competitions recently, losing three successive league matches before stopping the rot against Torino last Friday.

The Rossoneri then built on that victory with a 1-0 win in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie against Tottenham, with Spurs failing to respond to Brahim Diaz's early header.

Having been heavily criticised for his tactical switches during Milan's poor run, Pioli has been vindicated by those victories, although he maintains they have work to do to secure a top-four finish.

"Everyone experiences the results with their gut; we have to be impervious to both criticism and excessive praise," Pioli said at a press conference to preview Saturday's trip to Monza.

"It's the league season that gives us the concrete possibility of playing in the Champions League again next year. I've seen the things I wanted to see.

"We're coming from two very good games, and we're trying to win tomorrow. The next game will tell how the team is doing, against a team that is doing very well and playing very well."

Milan are still waiting for the return of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who was an unused substitute for last week's win against Torino after recovering from anterior cruciate ligament surgery.

The 41-year-old striker was absent from the matchday squad for Tuesday's win over Spurs but is available to face Monza, although the form of Olivier Giroud means Pioli has a decision to make.

"The more [Ibrahimovic] trains, the more his condition increases. He'll be available tomorrow, too," Pioli said.

"Giroud is doing very well, [Divock] Origi is doing well, too, and tomorrow I'll see what choices to make."

Saturday's game will see Milan reunited with former owner Silvio Berlusconi, who has overseen Monza's dramatic rise to the top flight since purchasing the club in 2018.

The 86-year-old recently declared Portugal international Rafael Leao should be used in a central striking role by Milan, and Pioli was in no mood to argue with him.

"I always agree with Berlusconi," Pioli smiled. "Always." 

Massimiliano Allegri said Juventus "never had a first half like" their poor showing against Monza on Sunday.

The Bianconeri went in 2-0 down to the visitors at the break and were unable to turn it around in the second-half as Raffaele Palladino's men completed a league double over them.

Goals from Patrick Ciurria and Dany Mota were enough for Monza to secure a 2-0 win at Allianz Stadium, following their 1-0 win against Juve earlier in the season in Palladino's first game in charge.

Monza became only the second team ever to win both their first two games against Juventus in Serie A, after Inter in 1930.

Speaking to the media after the defeat, Allegri said: "I'm angry, we can't concede goals like that. We've never had a first half like today.

"We have to think about working on the field... we need to examine our conscience and start playing with intent again."

It was the latest setback for Juve after being hit with a 15-point deduction in Serie A related to previous transfer dealings, and Allegri was left in no doubt how much work there is to do to rescue their season.

"Reality says that we have 23 points, so we still have to win many more," he said. "This is reality, and if we don't look at it, we'll get hurt. 

"We are all responsible for the performance... In [our last] three games [in the league] we won just one point and conceded 10 goals.

"We facilitated the Monza goals, they came out with disarming ease. You can't allow them to get into the defence like we did. They got through us too easily.

"We didn't have any reactions... The last few performances were not up to par, when you lose you have to lose in another way, [though] there was a different attitude in the second half."