Inter Milan begin their Serie A title defence on Saturday as clear favourites to retain the Scudetto, but the reigning champions have undergone significant changes since completing a league and Italian Cup double in May.

Cristian Chivu is entering his second season in charge and has reshaped a squad he inherited from Simone Inzaghi little over a year ago. 

The Romanian has focused on rejuvenating an ageing team while adding a distinctly Premier League flavour during the summer transfer window.

Spanish goalkeeper Josep Martinez is expected to take over from the departed Yann Sommer as part of a refreshed rearguard that was showing signs of wear.

Veterans Francesco Acerbi, Matteo Darmian and Stefan de Vrij have all moved on, while Died Spence, who impressed for England at the 2026 World Cup, has arrived alongside experienced Manchester City centre-back John Stones.

Manuel Akanji, another former City defender, has completed a permanent switch after joining Inter on loan last term, but Denzel Dumfries is now at Real Madrid. 

Inter are also pursuing Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones as they look to maintain a squad capable of competing on multiple fronts.

With captain Lautaro Martinez and France forward Marcus Thuram continuing to lead the attack, supported by emerging talents Pio Esposito and Ange-Yoan Bonny, Inter are targeting a third league title in four seasons.

They are also eager to make amends for a disappointing European campaign that ended in the knockout play-off round against Norwegian side Bodo/Glimt.

"The objective is always to win, always to dominate the league," midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu recently told beIN Sports. "In five seasons I've won eight trophies and played in two Champions League finals, and we'll keep trying to win titles."

- Amorim tasked with Milan reboot -

The race to unseat Inter appears wide open, with city rivals AC Milan turning to ex-Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim in a bid to revive their fortunes after finishing fifth last season.

They splashed out a club record 74 million euros ($86 million) to sign Portugal forward Goncalo Ramos from Paris Saint-Germain, striving to bolster the attacking options for a team hurt by a lack of goals.

"I know exactly what this club means: history, prestige and an extraordinary fanbase around the world," Amorim said after his appointment in June. 

"It is a challenge I embrace with pride and enthusiasm, fully aware of what these colours represent. I can't wait to get started and to experience every day the passion that drives AC Milan."  

Anything less than a return to the Champions League would represent another setback for the seven-time European champions after a series of frustrating seasons that have tested supporters' patience.

Napoli finished second last season but head into the new campaign under new management after Antonio Conte's exit.

Conte's successor, Massimiliano Allegri, boasts six Serie A titles with Juventus and Milan. He has questions to answer though after a disappointing spell at Milan ended with the club missing out on Champions League qualification on the final day.

Napoli have also had a quiet transfer window. Romelu Lukaku left for Turkey after an injury-ravaged past year, leaving Rasmus Hojlund as the main man up front for the 2024-25 Italian champions.

Juventus also view a top-four finish as the minimum requirement. The Turin giants ended last season sixth, 18 points behind Inter, and continue to grapple with financial pressures despite the backing of the Agnelli family.

The club has made sweeping changes and parted ways with Serbian striker Dusan Vlahovic, previously Serie A's highest-paid player. Juventus have nevertheless invested heavily, spending more than 40 million euros to secure France forward Randal Kolo Muani.

Should Milan and Juventus fail to meet expectations again, Roma and ambitious Como could be well placed to capitalise. 

Roma finished third under Gian Piero Gasperini, while Como, led by former Spain midfielder Cesc Fabregas, are preparing for a remarkable Champions League debut just seven years after playing in Italy's fourth tier.

Elsewhere, Fiorentina have spent more than 120 million euros to mark the club's centenary and erase memories of a disastrous 2025-26 campaign that ended with a 15th-place finish.

jr/mw/bsp 

Last week, the San Francisco 49ers didn’t play starters. That allowed rookie receiver De'Zhaun Stribling to be the focal point of the offense, and he had a surprising seven catches in less than 20 minutes of game action.

The 49ers did use starters in their second preseason game. And Brock Purdy had eyes for Stribling too.

Stribling caught three passes on the 49ers’ first nine offensive plays against the Los Angeles Chargers. He had a couple of receptions in which he caught the ball away from his body, showing off his strong hands. He did the same thing in San Francisco’s first preseason game, and showed an ability to win on contested catches. The 49ers’ starters departed after one series but Stribling stayed in, and he had a 21-yard reception on Mac Jones’ first throw. It wasn’t all perfect as Stribling failed to haul in a deep pass later in the drive, but he had plenty of separation on the play.

Things change when the regular season starts, but based on early returns it appears the 49ers might have hit big on their second-round pick.

The 49ers took Stribling with the first pick of the second round in this year’s draft and were mocked for it by many. Stribling wasn’t ranked by plenty of experts ahead of receivers who went behind him like Denzel Boston, and that brought about a discussion of whether teams should follow the “consensus board” of draft experts. The 49ers scoffed at that.

It has been just two abbreviated performances in the preseason, but so far it looks like the 49ers were right.

Stribling wasn’t hugely productive in college between Washington State, Oklahoma State and Ole Miss, never reaching more than 882 yards in a season, but he tested very well at the NFL scouting combine. At 6-foot-2 and 207 pounds, he ran a blazing 4.36-second 40-yard dash. The 49ers were obviously impressed.

The 49ers can use the help in the passing game with Ricky Pearsall already done for the season due to knee injury and George Kittle returning from a torn Achilles. If the early preseason returns mean anything, Stribling might be a big part of the offense right away.

DALLAS (AP) — Arike Ogunbowale scored a season-high 32 points, Jessica Shepard added a career-best 26 and the Dallas Wings beat Indiana 91-85 on Thursday night, ending the Fever's five-game winning streak.

Caitlin Clark had 10 points and nine assists and Paige Bueckers finished with 13 points and eight assists on a rough shooting night for both former No. 1 overall picks six days after each scored 29 in the Fever's 98-87 victory.

They combined to go 9 of 31 from the field two weeks before their expected debut — alongside Indiana forward Aliyah Boston — on the senior U.S. women's national team at the FIBA World Cup.

Kelsey Mitchell tied her season high with 37 points, getting 21 before halftime to set the WNBA record with her 21st consecutive game with at least 20 points. Mitchell, who topped the previous mark of Las Vegas Aces star A'ja Wilson, was 4 of 7 from 3-point range and made all 15 of her free throws.

Awak Kuier had 11 points, eight rebounds and a career-high seven blocks as the Wings won for just the fourth time in 12 games since a six-game winning streak that was their longest since moving to Texas 10 years ago.

The needed boost for Dallas came at the sold out home of the Dallas Mavericks. While there were plenty of Fever fans wearing Clark's familiar No. 22, the home team had the backing of Mavericks minority owner Mark Cuban in a courtside seat and 2025 No. 1 overall pick and reigning NBA Rookie of the Year Cooper Flagg in a suite.

Kuier had five blocks before halftime to tie her previous best from 2021, when the native of Egpyt was a 20-year-old rookie.

The Wings had matched their biggest lead of five when they started the fourth quarter with Bueckers on the bench.

Shepard, who had eight rebounds and four assists, and Alysha Clark scored before Clark hit a 3-pointer. After Odyssey Sims hit two free throws and Bueckers returned, Bueckers hit a jumper for Dallas' first 10-point lead at 74-64.

The Fever missed their first chance to set a franchise record for victories, holding at last year's total of 24.

It was the first game for the Wings since they announced that this year's No. 1 overall pick, Azzi Fudd, will miss the rest of the season to undergo arthroscopic surgery on her ailing right knee.

Mitchell hit the 20-point mark with a layup off an inbound play that started with just 5.4 seconds left in the first half after Bueckers and Clark got tangled up with Bueckers trying to foul her new USA Basketball teammate on purpose.

___

See AP’s full WNBA coverage here

WESTFIELD, Ind. — The final whistle blew 40 minutes earlier than expected as eight summers of Indianapolis Colts training camp at Droplight Grand Park Sports Campus had officially come to an abrupt end. 

For the Colts, the Grand Park chapter began in 2018 when the team originally announced a 10-year partnership, with the first camp opening July 25, 2018. The Colts were forced back to their Indianapolis headquarters in 2020 because of the NFL’s COVID-19 protocols, then returned back to Grand Park in 2021. Beginning next summer, training camp will return to the Indiana Farm Bureau Football Center on West 56th Street.

Operationally, the move makes sense because the coaches will have their offices, meeting rooms and practice at one facility. It allows the organization to take advantage of the technology and infrastructure installed and already available at its headquarters. The Colts announced the move in January, citing growing logistical and technological demands. 

But there is something that cannot be measured by better WiFi, because Grand Park gave Colts fans a different kind of exposure. For eight summers, families could pack the grandstands, walk through Colts City and watch the team prepare for another season from only a few yards away. Even today, there were families who traveled four hours that left devastated after the announcement of no autographs. There were fans confused why practice ended so early and why they felt forced out of Grand Park. It was a crummy buzzkill to what was a special annual event for the community. Children who might not have had the opportunity to attend a Colts game at Lucas Oil Stadium in downtown Indy could see their favorite player Jonathan Taylor (or Bijan Robinson) break through a runway, watch a quarterback launch a deep ball or collect an autograph from a signature from a player they had only seen on television.

Just one mile away, it became part of the rhythm of the summer for me as each practice still offered plenty to evaluate while covering the Colts. For starters, Keenan Allen waited until the very last day to give Colts fans their first glimpse of the team’s newest receiver in full pads. The 14-year veteran, who signed a one-year contract worth up to $8.32 million in incentives, participated in two one-on-one reps before getting a series of team repetitions.

Allen won his first 1on1 battle on a short slant route, but his second rep, he essentially had to play defensive back and used his length to knock away a bad pass headed toward the back corner of the end zone. Allen did not receive a target during team drills, but his presence offered an encouraging live look of what the offense can look like. He spent eight seasons with head coach Shane Steichen in their time with the Los Angeles Chargers, giving him a familiarity with the system that could accelerate his transition to Indianapolis.

#Colts WR Keenan Allen during 1-on-1s.

🎥: @TBGofficial_https://t.co/C6rrEBeYTmpic.twitter.com/cfw2uh6ABJ

The Colts spent much of the final practice aiming to confront an issue that Steichen mentioned he wants to see more consistency from, the rushing attack. There was no way to sugarcoat the struggles in both joint practices as Jonathan Taylor’s first five carries produced fewer than 10 yards. The Falcons repeatedly stuffed the Colts’ tailbacks at the line of scrimmage, including another stuffed run by rookie defensive tackle Carlos Allen Jr. against fellow Colts’ rookie Seth McGowan.

Even a low-red-zone period designed to emphasize the battle in the trenches produced little rhythm for the Colts touted offensive line. For all the offensive frustration though, the Colts quarterbacks offered way more encouraging moments than the Falcons QBs did. Riley Leonard flourished in his final practice of camp, throwing four touchdown passes during the low red zone period to four different pass catchers, including Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, Deion Burks, Will Mallory and Tyler Moore. Anthony Richardson Sr. completed 5-of-7 passes in Thursday’s joint-practice, but his best moment came during the final one-minute drill while leading the second unit. 

Both teams were faced with a scenario where the offense was trailing by one point with just 1:05 remaining on the game clock. For four straight series, the Colts emerged victorious. Jones ignited the final drive with a short hitch to Josh Downs, then followed with a deep shot for Downs down the near sideline as a defensive pass interference penalty gifted the Colts an advantage from the opposing 40-yard-line. Rather than risk a turnover, Steichen chose to drain the clock like he did in the Denver Broncos game last season and fed McGowan for an inside run instead of airing it out. Shrader delivered a 48-yard field goal before time expired. 

Richardson also needed just two plays to moonwalk into Falcons territory as he connected with Westbrook-Ikhine over the middle, then found Burks wide open on a drag route for another chunk gain. Despite bobbling a couple high snaps in opposing territory, Richardson was still able to hit Burks on a slant before finding Coleman Owen on a quick out route. Steichen again settled for Shrader to try from 50 yards out and he drilled it, with enough distance to strike the left upright on the opposite practice field.

Four straight competitive periods. Four Colts victories between Wednesday and Thursday. Next summer, there won’t be a grandstand filled with fans waiting in Westfield to greet Colts players walking out from the Field 0f Dreams’ practice facility. 

The Grand Park era is over. There was no grand finale. No fireworks. No post-practice autographs. Just one last practice. Perhaps that was a bittersweet ending. Training camp has never really been about the last practice. It has been about the work that comes during it. The sweat from the 90 August heat. The competition to make the team and earn your place on the field. 

There was uncertainty from injuries like most NFL teams. Some were answered like Daniel Jones full participation, while others were left unanswered like Alec Pierce and Charvarius Ward. The backup quarterback competition remains unresolved. Leonard will get his opportunity to start inside Lucas Oil Stadium for Saturday’s preseason game against the Falcons.