AC Milan remains winless under Fonseca; Lukaku scores on debut in Napoli win

ROME (AP) — New AC Milan coach Paulo Fonseca was hoping for a reaction when he dropped three key players for a visit to Lazio in Serie A.

The move led to a solid start by the Rossoneri. The final result was a third straight game without a win on Saturday.

Taty Castellanos and Boulaye Dia scored second-half goals for Lazio to overturn an early opener from Strahinja Pavlovic, and the benched Rafael Leao came on to equalize for Milan in a 2-2 draw.

Meanwhile, Romelu Lukaku scored on debut and Antonio Conte’s Napoli earned its second straight win by coming back to beat 10-man Parma 2-1.

Benching issues

Leao, Theo Hernandez and Davide Calabria were each benched at the start by Fonseca.

Leao and Hernandez were sent on after Lazio’s two goals, with former Roma striker Tammy Abraham also entering for his Milan debut, and Abraham provided the assist for Leao’s equalizer.

But Leao and Hernandez then remained on the far side of the field during a cooling break — isolated from the rest of Milan’s squad.

Fonseca said Leao and Hernandez didn't need to join the team for drinks because they had just come on minutes earlier.

“Let’s not create a problem, because there is no problem. The reaction from the players was good,” Fonseca said. “When there’s a problem I take responsibility but right now there’s no problem.”

Milan has two points from two draws and a loss. Lazio has four points.

Improvised goalkeeper

Serie B champion Parma had to move defender Enrico Del Prato into goal after starter Zion Suzuki was sent off with two yellow cards and all five substitutions had been used.

It didn’t go well for Del Prato, who could only get a weak hand on a powerful shot from Lukaku then reacted late to a header from Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa during 15 minutes of stoppage time.

Ange-Yoan Bonny converted a penalty for Parma early on.

Lukau was signed from Chelsea on Thursday, reuniting him with Conte after the pair won Serie A at Inter Milan. He’s wearing No. 11 and not his customary No. 9, which still belongs to Victor Osimhen, who remains in limbo and dropped from the squad after failing to find a new club during the transfer window.

Napoli has six points after opening with a dispiriting 3-0 loss at Hellas Verona.

Eriksson tribute

Before kickoff of the Lazio-Milan match, there was a tribute to former Lazio coach Sven-Goran Eriksson, who died on Monday from pancreatic cancer.

A three-minute video of Eriksson’s years at Lazio was shown on the jumbo screens inside the Stadio Olimpico and a banner in the center circle read, “Sven Goran Eriksson forever.”

Eriksson coached Lazio to the Serie A title in 2000 and also won a Cup Winner’s Cup with the Roman club.

Lazio wore black armbands for the game.

A minute’s silence is being held before every Serie A game this weekend to remember Eriksson.

Winless Bologna

Champions League debutante Bologna remained winless following a 1-1 draw with Empoli, with Giovanni Fabbian and Emmanuel Gyasi trading early goals.

Bologna, fifth last season, hosts Shakhtar Donetsk in its Champions League opener on Sept. 18.

Lecce beat Cagliari 1-0 for its first victory, with a goal from Nikola Krstovic despite playing the entire second half with 10 men.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Andrew Dampf, The Associated Press