Milan defeat Venezia in a farewell night for Yao
Milan struggled before finally breaking the resistance of newly promoted Venezia to win 2-0, thanks to the first goal from their new Portuguese star Gonçalo Ramos, in the opening of the second round of the Italian league. Ramos, who became Milan’s most expensive signing this summer for 74 million euros ($86 million), cracked Venezia’s defense in the 69th minute with a curling shot from inside the penalty area following a pass from Belgian substitute Alexis Saelemaekers.
The Portuguese striker, who arrived from French club Paris Saint-Germain, had previously missed several clear scoring opportunities, most notably in the first minute and again in the 60th.
Milan added a second goal in the 89th minute in an unusual fashion. Swiss substitute Ardon Jashari broke through to face Venezia goalkeeper Filip Stanković, but lost the duel. The ball, which Serbian goalkeeper Stanković pushed away, struck a defender before trickling into the empty net.
Despite the victory, Milan failed to fully convince its fans, who are still reeling from the harsh end to the 2025-2026 season when the team lost its Champions League qualification spot in the final round.
With this win, the team managed by Portuguese coach Rúben Amorim temporarily topped the Italian league table with six points, after defeating Torino 2-1 in the opening round. However, Napoli and Inter Milan, who face Como and Cagliari respectively today, have a chance to seize the top spot.
For his part, Portuguese international Rafael Leão announced after the match that he would leave his club Milan, which he has represented since 2019, to join Turkish side Galatasaray. Leão said in the mixed zone: “It’s a difficult moment. I’ve said goodbye to my teammates after seven years, and it’s time to say farewell.”
Germany
Bayern Munich began their campaign to defend the German title with a 5-1 victory over visitors Stuttgart, in a match where new Moroccan arrival Ismaila Sarr quickly made his mark in the Bundesliga.
The Bavarian side had already started the season by winning the German Super Cup against rivals Borussia Dortmund 2-1 last Saturday.
Sarr, who arrived from Dutch club PSV Eindhoven, contributed to all five goals by assisting the fourth and fifth.
France
Brazilian captain Marquinhos saved his team, Paris Saint-Germain, the reigning champions, from defeat by scoring the equalizing goal in a 2-2 draw against Lille, in the opening of the second round of the French league.
The French and European champions appeared to be heading for defeat after Icelandic player Hákon Haraldsson (21st minute) and substitute Delain Bakwa (84th minute) gave Lille a 2-0 lead.
However, a shot from Portuguese player Vitinha in the first minute of stoppage time revived hope for the team managed by Spanish coach Luis Enrique, before playmaker Vitinha delivered a cross that Marquinhos headed into the net in the final moment of the match in northern France (90+5).
Monaco will face Marseille in the same round today.
