Just like previous seasons, Italian Serie A starts in a colorful ways especially for big teams, after Ac Milan was held against Lazio, football fans saw Napoli and Juventus taking full advantage in this first week as both teams picked up splendid victories. Meanwhile, As Roma had a disappointing start yet again this season as the capital team suffered a 2-1 defeat against Cagliari despite playing in front of their fans at Olympico, Rome.
Napoli and Juve Party
Being touted by many as one of the main Scudetto challenger for Milan this season, Napoli preserved the pundits’ trust as they trashed home team, Cesena 3-1 with goals from Ezequiel Lavezzi, Hugo Campagnaro and Marek Hamsik. The Partenopei got an advantage though on the game as their opponent was forced to play with 10 men, yet the victory is indeed an important feat ahead of the Southern Italian side’s difficult fixtures ahead, where they are facing the likes of Manchester City in the Champions League and the Rossoneri in the next Serie A fixture.
Napoli’s success in the first week was also followed by Juventus, who successfully trashed their visitor Parma 4-1 at the Bianconeri’s new home base, Juventus Stadium, a victory which simply marked the new stadium’s opening. Ex- Milan star, Andrea Pirlo played in important part on the “Old Lady”’s victory against the Gialloblu as the 31-years-old midfielder bagged two assist which saw Stephan Lichtsteiner, starting the goal fest and Claudio Marchisio closing it.
Meanwhile, the other two goals from Antonio Conte’s team were scored by Simone Pepe and new boy, Arturo Vidal, both in the second period as Parma also picked up a consolation goal through ex-Juventus youngster, Sebastian Giovinco. The scoreline and performance from Conte’s men were definitely pretty convincing but more tests obviously still needed, knowing their opponent arrived at Turin without a convincing game plan as they left Pirlo widely unmark for most of the match, allowing the former Milan man, dictating Juve’s game rather easily.
Roma Starts With Misery
In Olympico, a team which attract many fans’ interest this season, As Roma, once again failed to impress as after crashing out from the Europa League last month, Luis Enrique’s men already tasted their first defeat in the league and it also happened in front of their own fans. Goals from Bruno Conti and El Kabir, only got one reply from Daniele De Rossi, who scored deep in injury time, not allowing the home team any more chance of getting an equalizer.
Only losing 2-1 in the end, Enrique could still say that his team were a bit unlucky as they were forced to play with 10 men as Jose Angel got send in the second half after the left back was spotted kicking Davide Biondini. The red card looked a bit harsh though from the reply since it doesn’t seem that Angel kicked out Biondini on purpose as the young Spaniard defender was only trying to get the ball back from the Italian midfielder.
The main concern that could be addressed for Enrique’s team would be their inability to create dangerous chances before they concede the first goal, although the capital club have more of the ball possession. Before trailing to Conti’s striker, Roma looked a bit slow in the final third as their passing game simply lacked sharpness at times, not to mention the fact that Francesco Totti still looked as the only player, who can spark life for the Romans.
Things won’t get easier for Roma though as next week they are scheduled to face Inter Milan at San Siro, that’s definitely a much more difficult match on paper for Enrique’s boys especially with Jose Angel being unavailable. However, next week the capital club could get some reinforcement arriving with Simon Kjaer, Juan, David Pizarro or maybe even young talent, Erik Lamela already available for selection.
Serie A Results (minus Inter Milan v Palermo result):
Milan v Lazio 2-2, Cesena v Napoli 1-3, Juventus v Parma 4-1, Catania vs Siena 0-0, Chievo vs Novara 2-2, Fiorentina vs Bologna 2-0, Genoa vs Atalanta 2-2, Lecce vs Udinese 0-2, Roma vs Cagliari 1-2
