Serie A leader Napoli held by Udinese. Inter can close the gap on Monday

MILAN (AP) — Serie A leader Napoli failed to make the most of a stumble by title rival Inter Milan as it was held to a 1-1 draw by Udinese on Sunday.

Napoli was looking to move six points clear of second-placed Inter Milan after the defending champion surprisingly lost 3-0 at Fiorentina in their rearranged match on Thursday.

Instead, Inter can close the gap to just one point with a victory on Monday — against Fiorentina again — after Napoli paid the price for its poor finishing.

It was another good result for mid-table Udinese, which ended a five-match winless run with a victory over Venezia last weekend.

Napoli missed a number of chances at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.

Scott McTominay prodded wide from point-blank range but atoned for that error almost immediately by heading in a corner to give Napoli the lead in the 37th minute.

However, a series of Napoli mistakes allowed Jurgen Ekkelenkamp to level three minutes later with a swerving shot from outside the area into the far bottom corner.

It was a second straight draw for Napoli, which was held 1-1 at Roma last weekend.

Lazio moved back into fourth place with a dominant 5-1 win over bottom club Monza.

Adam Marusic's header gave Lazio only a slender lead at the break, despite being in full control, but the floodgates opened in the second half with Pedro scoring twice and Taty Castellanos and Faruq Dele-Bashiru adding the others.

Stefano Sensi converted a late penalty for Monza, which remained eight points from safety.

Lazio leapfrogged two points above Juventus, which slipped back to fifth. It was 10 points below Napoli.

Paulo Dybala netted his first goal of 2025 to help a much-changed Roma team to a 1-0 win at relegation-threatened Venezia.

Dybala powerfully converted a second-half penalty after teammate Angeliño was tripped by Venezia defender Alessandro Marcandalli.

Roma coach Claudio Ranieri had opted to rotate his team ahead of Thursday’s Europa League playoff against Porto.

Roma remained ninth in Serie A. Venezia was second from last, five points from safety.

Cagliari boosted its chances of avoiding the drop with a 2-1 win over fellow struggler Parma to inch four points clear of the relegation zone. Parma stayed in the bottom three.

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

Napoli's Scott McTominay, center, in action during the Serie A soccer match between Napoli and Udinese at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium in Naples, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025. (Alessandro Garofalo/LaPresse via AP)

Napoli's Scott McTominay, number 8, scores on a header his side's opening goal during the Serie A soccer match between Napoli and Udinese at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium in Naples, Italy, Sunday Feb. 9, 2025. (Alessandro Garofalo/LaPresse via AP)

Napoli's Scott McTominay celebrates scoring his side's opening goal during the Serie A soccer match between Napoli and Udinese at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium in Naples, Italy, Sunday Feb. 9, 2025. (Alessandro Garofalo/LaPresse via AP)

Napoli's head coach Antonio Conte during the Serie A soccer match between Napoli and Udinese at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium in Naples, Italy, Sunday Feb. 9, 2025. (Alessandro Garofalo/LaPresse via AP)

Roma's Paulo Dybala celebrates after scoring their side's first goal of the game during the Italian Serie A soccer match between Venezia and Roma at the Pier Luigi Penzo Stadium, in Venice, Italy, Sunday Feb. 9, 2025. (Paola Garbuio/LaPresse via AP)

Lazio's Pedro scores his side's second goal during a Serie A soccer match between Lazio and Monza, at Rome's Olympic Stadium, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Lazio players and Lazio's head coach Marco Baroni, centre, celebrate after Lazio's Pedro scored his side's second goal during a Serie A soccer match between Lazio and Monza, at Rome's Olympic Stadium, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Lazio's Pedro, top, celebrates after scoring his side's fourth goal during a Serie A soccer match between Lazio and Monza, at Rome's Olympic Stadium, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025 (Fabrizio Corradetti/LaPresse via AP)

NEW YORK (AP) — Cassie, the R&B singer and former girlfriend of Sean “Diddy” Combs, testified on Tuesday that the music mogul abused and sexually exploited her for years, as she took the witness stand for the first time during his sex trafficking trial.

Sighing heavily and pausing to compose herself at times, Cassie told the jury in New York that she felt compelled by Combs to participate in elaborate sexual marathons called “freak offs” involving male sex workers. She also said Combs assaulted her numerous times during their turbulent relationship.

“He would mash me in the head, knock me over, drag me, kick me. Stomp me in the head if I was down,” she said, leaving her bruised and bloodied. She said it was difficult to refuse Combs’ demands because she feared he would hurt her or leak videos of the “freak offs” to the internet.

Cassie, whose legal name is Casandra Ventura, sued Combs in 2023 alleging years of abuse. The suit was settled within hours but dozens of similar legal claims followed, sparking the criminal investigation.

She is the star witness for prosecutors who accuse Combs of using his status as a powerful executive to orchestrate a deviant empire of exploitation, coercing women into abusive sex parties and becoming violent if they refused.

Lawyers for three-time Grammy winner argue that although he could be violent, Combs never veered into sex trafficking and racketeering, telling jurors that the sexual acts were consensual. Defense attorney Teny Geragos said in opening statements on Monday that jurors might think Combs is a “jerk” and might not condone his “kinky sex,” but that “he’s not charged with being a jerk.”

Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty. He has been jailed since his arrest in September. If convicted, could get at least 15 years and up to life in prison.

She and Combs met in 2005 when she was 19 and he was 37. He signed her to his Bad Boy Records label and, within a few years, they started dating.

“Sean controlled a lot of my life, whether it was career, the way I dressed, everything, everything,” Cassie testified.

Under questioning by a prosecutor, Cassie said her relationship with Combs ran the gamut from good times to arguments and physical altercations.

“If they were violent arguments, it would usually result in some sort of physical abuse and dragging, just different things,” Cassie said. Asked how frequently Combs became violent with her, Cassie softly responded: “Too frequently.”

Cassie sniffled and dabbed her eyes with a tissue while on the stand. She is pregnant and would occasionally rest her hands on her belly.

Now 38, Cassie said she was barely 22 when Combs first asked her to do a “freak off.” The encounters would go on for 36 or 48 hours, and she said the longest lasted four days. She said they stemmed from Combs’ interest in voyeurism.

Cassie said the “freak offs” involved hiring a sex worker and “setting up this experience so that I could perform for Sean" while Combs watched. This took place in private, often in dark hotel rooms, unlike Combs' very public White Parties in the Hamptons that attracted A-list celebrities and gossip columnists.

She said her first “freak off” occurred in Combs' Los Angeles home with a male stripper from Las Vegas and she felt dirty and confused afterward, but relief that Combs was happy.

Cassie said she felt obligated to go along with future “freak offs."

“I just didn’t want to make him upset," she said. "I just didn’t want to make him angry and regret telling me about this experience that was so personal.”

She also worried about potential violence and the threat of the sex videos being posted on the internet if she refused, she testified.

Cassie began crying as she was asked if there was any aspect of “freak offs” that she liked. She said that “time spent with him” was what she enjoyed.

Soon, she said, she was doing “freak offs” weekly. They went on for a decade, with the final one occurring in 2017 or 2018, she said.

"'Freak offs' became a job where there was no space to do anything else but to recover and just try to feel normal again,” she said. Each time, she said, she had to recuperate from lack of sleep, alcohol, drugs “and other substances,” and “having sex with a stranger for days.”

Shown still images from the now-infamous 2016 security camera footage of Combs beating her at a Los Angeles hotel, Cassie said that prior to the altercation: “We were having an encounter called a ‘freak off’ and I was leaving there.”

Cassie said the “freak offs” involved lots of baby oil. On one occasion, she said, a blow-up pool of baby oil and lubricants was placed in a hotel room and she was told to get inside. She also described being humiliated by some of the things Combs made her do.

“It was such a mess,” she said. “It was like, ‘What are we doing?’”

The Associated Press doesn’t generally identify people who say they are victims of sexual abuse unless they come forward publicly, as Cassie has done.

On Monday, jurors were shown the hotel security video, which CNN aired last year, leading Combs to apologize. The video shows Combs wearing only a white towel, punching, kicking and dragging Cassie in a hotel hallway.

Israel Florez, a former security officer at the hotel, testified Monday that he refused when Combs offered him a stack of money and said “Don't tell nobody."

California prosecutors said they couldn't prosecute the assault because it happened years before the video was made public and the statute of limitations had expired.

Combs was among the most influential hip-hop producers and executives of the past three decades. The rapper, entrepreneur and founder of Bad Boy Records has worked with a slew of top-tier artists including Notorious B.I.G., Mary J. Blige and Usher. He also created the fashion clothing line Sean John and produced the reality show “Making the Band” for MTV.

Associated Press writer Dave Collins in Hartford, Connecticut, contributed to this report.

Professional stripper, Daniel Philip, testifies on witness stand on the first day of Sean Diddy Combs' trial in Manhattan federal court, Monday, May 12, 2025, in New York. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)

FILE - Cassie Ventura, left, and Sean "Diddy" Combs appear at The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating "China: Through the Looking Glass" in New York on May 4, 2015. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP, File)

Janice Combs, mother of Sean Diddy Combs, left, arrives at Manhattan federal court, Tuesday, May 13, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Sean Diddy Combs listens during opening statements on the first day of trial in Manhattan federal court, Monday, May 12, 2025, in New York. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)

Sean Diddy Combs, left, stands as his defense attorney, Teny Geragos, gives her opening statement to the jury on the first day of trial in Manhattan federal court, Monday, May 12, 2025, in New York. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)