Sports coverage: Roma draw in Champions League, Formula 1 trials in Madrid, and Juventus news

Gian Piero Gasperini, coach of the Italian team Roma, stressed that his team could be satisfied with a 1-1 draw with its host Fenerbahce, in the opening round of the league stage of the European Champions League, noting that “the point could be important for the team’s ranking in the competition table and for achieving our goals.”

Roma imposed its control over the course of events in the match, which was held in the Turkish city of Istanbul, and advanced in the score thanks to a powerful ground shot from Brian Cristante from the edge of the penalty area.

However, the team's performance declined over time, and goalkeeper Miley Svilar was forced to make several saves, before conceding the equalizer scored by Archie Brown with a technical touch (a dropped shot).

Gasperini told Sky Sport Italia, saying: “The team’s performance was good, but it was not easy in this atmosphere and against a team that, even though it was playing on its home soil, clustered defensively and tried to rely on counterattacks, taking advantage of the speed of its attackers.”

The Italian coach added: “I think we played very well.” In the end, the point can be important for the team’s ranking in the competition table, as we also need draws to achieve our goals.”

Brown's goal came from a through pass. Roma's defense had difficulty dealing with the movements of Fenerbahce players without the ball.

Gasperini commented on this, saying: “We certainly made wrong moves in defence, but this sometimes happens when we fall too far back. In fact, our performance is better when we attack and press in the opposing team’s half of the field.”

He continued: “It is something we definitely need to work on in the coming period. Because we can't always rush forward, especially in this tournament; There will be times when we will have to defend. "It was a mistake in our defensive movements."

Roma is awaiting a heavy-caliber confrontation in the next round of the tournament, as it hosts the Spanish team Real Madrid, the historical champion of the Champions League with 15 titles, which opened its campaign in the league stage of the competition this season with a 2-1 victory over its Italian guest, Inter Milan.

British George Russell led his Mercedes team to occupy the first two places in the first free trials of the Spanish Grand Prix in the Formula 1 World Championship, after topping the standings at the new Madrid circuit, ahead of his teammate Kimi Antonelli, on Friday.

Russell achieved the best lap in free trials with a time of one minute and 34.077 seconds on the Madring Circuit, 0.286 seconds ahead of the fastest lap recorded by leader Antonelli (20 years old) on soft tires.

Ferrari duo Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton finished third and fourth respectively, 0.459 and 0.543 seconds behind the fastest lap on a bright and sunny afternoon, while Max Verstappen, driver of Red Bull, and defending champion Lando Norris, driver of McLaren, occupied fifth and sixth places.

Rookie driver Arvid Lindblad from the Racing Bulls team came in seventh place, with McLaren's Oscar Piastri in eighth place, after the Australian complained that his legs came into contact with something inside the cockpit, while Audi driver Nico Hulkenberg took ninth place.

New Zealander Liam Lawson, who is replacing injured French driver Isaac Hajjar for the third time in a row, completed the top ten in a Red Bull car.

After a violent accident led to the cessation of previous Formula 2 testing, the Formula 1 testing session took place without interruptions or major accidents.

Local star Fernando Alonso, driver of Aston Martin, crashed his car into the wall, while the other Spanish driver, Carlos Sainz, driver of Williams, finished 14th in his city, and a number of drivers complained through the internal communication circle of their teams about others blocking their way.

“This is very obnoxious,” Hulkenberg said after Hamilton refused to let the German pass at the final corner.

Lindblad described both Hamilton and Antonelli as “idiots,” after he accused them of deliberately blocking traffic at the circuit’s distinctive La Monumental turn.

It is expected that goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario will be the only Italian player in the starting lineup for Juventus, when it visits Sassuolo, on Sunday, in the fourth stage of the Italian Football League Championship, according to a news report, on Friday.

It is likely that Juventus will not include any other Italian player in the match. According to what was reported by the Italian newspaper La Gazzetta, the only Italian player expected to appear in Juventus’ starting lineup during the match that will be held at Mapei Stadium is Vicario, who is loaned to the “Old Lady” club from the English team Tottenham Hotspur.

Juventus is currently missing the services of nine players, including its Italian stars Andrea Cambiasso, Jeff Ecator and Manuel Locatelli.

The newspaper revealed in its report that the two centre-backs, Federico Gatti and Daniele Rugani, are scheduled to start the match from the bench against Sassuolo, and the same applies to the young midfielder Augusto Owusu (21 years old), who was promoted from the club’s youth team to enhance the midfield options in the first team.

It is noteworthy that Juventus is currently in sixth place in the competition standings, with 7 points, after playing its first three matches in the tournament.