Paulo Dybala Federico Chiesa Rafael Leao Olivier Giroud Stephan El Shaarawy Nicola Zalewski Italy Ireland La Liga soccer Sport Paulo Dybala Federico Chiesa Rafael Leao Olivier Giroud Stephan El Shaarawy Nicola Zalewski Italy Ireland

European wrap: Ireland U19s' James Abankwah makes first Serie A start for Udinese

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Republic of Ireland youth international James Abankwah made his first Serie A start for Udinese against Juventus on Sunday as the Italian top flight season came to an end.The former St Patrick's Athletic defender had made one previous appearance as a late substitute against Bologna in April, but the 19-year-old was afforded another first-team run out, featuring for an hour on the right of Udinese's back three as they lost 1-0 with Federico Chiesa scoring Juve's winner in the 68th minute.Elsewhere, Spezia and Hellas Verona face a relegation play-off following a dramatic final day at the bottom end of the division.The two sides started the day level on points and could not be separated after both suffered defeats away from home.Dimitris Nikolaou gave Spezia the lead against Europa League runners-up Roma after just six minutes, but Nicola Zalewski equalised just before half-time and Paulo Dybala held his nerve to convert a 90th-minute penalty.The spot-kick was awarded after Kelvin Amian fouled Stephan El Shaarawy, with Amian sent off for a second bookable offence.Verona were on course for the point against AC Milan which would have been enough for safety when Davide Faraoni's 72nd-minute goal cancelled out Olivier Giroud's penalty, but Rafael Leao scored twice in the closing minutes to give the Rossoneri a 3-1 win.After the match, Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic announced his retirement from football at the age of 41.The first relegation play-off since Bologna faced Parma in 2005 will take place at a neutral venue next weekend.At the other end of the table, Atalanta thrashed 10-man Monza 5-2 to secure a Europa League place along with Roma.Champions Napoli ended the season with a 2-0 win over bottom side Sampdoria, Victor

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