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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

Bologna's Riccardo Orsolini fights for the ball with Empoli's Mattia Viti, right, during the Serie A soccer match between Bologna and Empoli at Renato Dall'Ara Stadium, Bologna, Italy, Saturday Aug. 31, 2024. (Massimo Paolone/LaPresse via AP)

Lecce's Nikola Krstovic, left, celebrates scoring during the Serie A soccer match between US Lecce and Cagliari Calcio at the Via del Mare Stadium in Lecce, Italy, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. (Giovanni Evangelista/LaPresse via AP)

Lazio players stand together on the pitch and a picture of Swedish coach Sven-Goran Eriksson is displayed on the screen during a tribute to the former Lazio coach who passed away recently, before a Serie A soccer match between Lazio and AC Milan, at Rome's Stadio Olimpico, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

A picture of Swedish coach Sven-Goran Eriksson is displayed on the screen during a tribute to the former Lazio coach who passed away recently, before a Serie A soccer match between Lazio and AC Milan, at Rome's Stadio Olimpico, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Napoli's Romelu Lukaku celebrates after scoring a goal during the Italian Serie A soccer match between Napoli and Parma at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium in Naples, southern Italy, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. (Alessandro Garofalo/LaPresse via AP)

Napoli's Romelu Lukaku celebrates after scoring goal 1-1 during the Serie A soccer match between Napoli and Parma at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium in Naples, italy - Saturday Aug. 31, 2024. (Alessandro Garofalo/LaPresse via AP)

AC Milan's Rafael Leao goal 2-2 during the Serie A Enilive soccer match between SS Lazio and AC Milan at the Rome's Olympic stadium, Italy, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. (Fabrizio Corradetti/LaPresse via AP)

Lazio players, in the background, celebrate after Lazio's Boulaye Dia scored their second goal during a Serie A soccer match between Lazio and AC Milan, at Rome's Stadio Olimpico, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Three Americans, two Spaniards and a Czech citizen were arrested Saturday after Venezuelan officials accused them of coming to the South American country to assassinate President Nicolas Maduro.

The arrests were announced on state television by Diosdado Cabello, the nation's powerful interior minister. Cabello said the foreign citizens were part of a CIA-led plot to overthrow the Venezuelan government and kill several members of its leadership. In the television program, Cabello showed images of rifles that he said were confiscated from some of the plotters of the alleged plan.

The arrest of the American citizens included a member of the Navy, who Cabello identified as Wilbert Joseph Castañeda Gomez. Cabello said that Gomez was a former navy seal who had served in Afghanistan, Iraq and Colombia. Spain's embassy in Venezuela did not reply to a request for comment on the arrests of its citizens.

The U.S. State Department late Saturday confirmed the detention of a U.S. military member and said it was aware of “unconfirmed reports of two additional U.S. citizens detained in Venezuela.”

“Any claims of U.S. involvement in a plot to overthrow Maduro are categorically false. The United States continues to support a democratic solution to the political crisis in Venezuela,” the statement said.

The announcement of the arrests comes just two days after the U.S. Treasury imposed sanctions on 16 allies of Maduro who were accused by the U.S. government of obstructing voting during the disputed July 28 Venezuelan presidential election, and carrying out human rights abuses.

Earlier this week, Spain's parliament recognized opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez as the winner of the election, angering Maduro allies who called on the Venezuelan government to suspend commercial and diplomatic relations with Spain.

Tensions between Venezuela's government and the U.S. have increased as well following the election, whose result sparked protests within Venezuela in which hundreds of opposition activists were arrested.

Venezuela's Electoral Council, which is closely aligned with the Maduro administration, said Maduro won the election with 52% of the vote, but did not provide a detailed breakdown of the results.

Opposition activists, however, surprised the government by collecting tally sheets from 80% of the nation's voting machines. The tally sheets collected by the opposition were published online, and they indicate that Gonzalez won the election with twice as many votes as Maduro.

Despite international condemnation over the election's lack of transparency, Venezuela's supreme court, which has long backed Maduro, confirmed his victory in August. Venezuela's attorney general then filed conspiracy charges against Gonzalez, who fled to Spain last week after it became clear he would be arrested.

Maduro has dismissed requests from several countries, including the leftist governments of Colombia and Brazil, to provide tally sheets that prove he won the election. Maduro, who has been in power since 2013, has long claimed the U.S. is trying to overthrow him through sanctions and covert operations.

The Maduro administration has previously used Americans imprisoned in Venezuela to gain concessions from the U.S. government. In a deal conducted last year with the Biden administration, Maduro released 10 Americans and a fugitive wanted by the U.S. government to secure a presidential pardon for Alex Saab, a close Maduro ally who was held in Florida on money laundering charges. According to U.S. prosecutors, Saab had also helped Maduro to avoid U.S. Treasury sanctions through a complex network of shell companies.

FILE - Socialist Party President Diosdado Cabello gives his weekly press conference, in Catia La Mar, La Guaira, Venezuela, Aug. 19, 2019. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, File)

FILE - Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro addresses government loyalists gathered at the presidential palace in support of his reelection one month after the presidential vote, in Caracas, Venezuela, Aug. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, File)