European football: Loftus-Cheek has appendectomy surgery as Milan lose

Milan midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek has had successful appendectomy surgery after being diagnosed with acute appendicitis, the Serie A club said on Sunday.

Local media reported that during Milan’s training camp in Napoli the England international experienced severe abdominal pain that necessitated hospitalisation for further investigation.

Tests confirmed the diagnosis, prompting the operation, which went well, the club said in a statement. Further details on Loftus-Cheek’s condition have not been provided.

First-half goals from Matteo Politano and Romelu Lukaku earned Napoli a 2-1 victory over visitors Milan to move within three points of Serie A leaders Inter Milan.

Napoli, who came into the contest with only one win in their past seven league matches, have 64 points, six clear of third-placed Atalanta, who lost at Fiorentina earlier on Sunday.

Politano opened the scoring 63 seconds into the match, pouncing on some sloppy Milan defending to power a long-range effort into the bottom corner, before Lukaku doubled the lead in the 19th minute with a scuffed shot following a great interception and pass by Billy Gilmour.

The visitors, who barely managed a shot on target until the second half, wasted a golden chance to pull one back in the 69th minute when Santiago Giménez’s poor penalty was saved by Alex Meret after Philip Billing had been penalised for a foul on Theo Hernández.

Luka Jovic put Milan on the scoresheet six minutes from time but the defeat left them ninth with 47 points, as pressure mounts on coach Sérgio Conceição amid a poor run of results that has left them nine points off the Champions League qualification spots.

Marko Arnautovic scores Inter’s first goal against Udinese. Photograph: Mattia Ozbot/Inter/Getty Images

The leaders, Inter, secured a 2-1 home win against Udinese in Serie A with goals from Marko Arnautovic and Davide Frattesi in the first half and their goalkeeper, Yann Sommer, made some important late saves.

Arnautovic gave Inter the lead with a first-time effort after 12 minutes and Frattesi doubled their advantage before the half-hour mark, both converting from excellent assists by Federico Dimarco.

Inter’s advantage narrowed when the Udinese defender Oumar Solet scored in the 71st minute from long range and Sommer pulled off crucial saves late on for Inter to seal the win.

Fiorentina’s Moise Kean scored an excellent first-half solo goal in a 1-0 home win against title-chasing Atalanta, dealing another blow to the visitors’ Scudetto hopes.

The Italy striker put Fiorentina up just before the break after a brilliant run and low shot past Marco Carnesecchi that squeezed inside a bottom corner. Atalanta, beaten 2-0 at home by Inter before the international break, remain third on 58 points.

Barcelona beat Girona 4-1 at home in their Catalan derby on Sunday after Robert Lewandowski scored twice in the second half to leave Hansi Flick’s side three points clear at the top of La Liga.

Barça took the lead two minutes before the break when Lamine Yamal’s free-kick was deflected in off the Girona defender Ladislav Krejci for an own goal but Girona struck back after the restart when Arnaut Danjuma equalised.

But Barcelona did not panic and Lewandowski restored their lead with an acrobatic finish just after the hour before the Polish striker made it 3-1 from a counterattack as La Liga’s top scorer netted his 25th goal of the season.

Ferran Torres made it 4-1 late on as Barça took revenge for a 4-2 loss in the same fixture last season to move on to 66 points, three clear of second-placed Real Madrid after 29 games. Girona remain in 13th place.

Real Betis beat Sevilla 2-1 in the Great Derby on Sunday night. Rubén Vargas gave the visitors the lead in the 17th minute before Johnny Cardoso levelled soon after. Cucho Hernández scored the winner for Betis in first-half stoppage time. Betis stay sixth in La Liga on 47 points while Seville are 11th.

Borussia Dortmund eased to a 3-1 home win over Mainz with two goals from Maximilian Beier to earn their first win in three league matches as they battle to get back into Champions League contention with seven matches left to play in the Bundesliga.

Beier tapped in from a Karim Adeyemi cutback in the 39th minute before Emre Can headed in at the far post from a corner three minutes later. The hosts added a third with a 72nd-minute header by Beier to make sure of the win that lifts them to 10th place on 38 points.

Mainz, who drop to fourth place on 45, cut the deficit with a goal from Paul Nebel. The top four teams win automatic Champions League qualification.