— Prepared by tigull —

Saturday 1st October

Inter 0-3 Napoli

There was a big upset in the San Siro, as Napoli beat Inter in Milan for the first time in 17 years, showing how frail the Nerazzurri remain despite the change in manager. The home team were off to the better start with chances for Forlan and also Pazzini, who had a goal disallowed for offside. In the 43rd minute, Obi tripped Maggio, conceding a penalty and earning himself a second yellow in the process, although it is doubtful whether or not the foul was committed inside or just outside the box. Hamsik took the resulting penalty but the Slovak had his shot saved by Julio Cesar, only for Campagnaro to tap the ball in, putting Napoli ahead. Maggio, who was widely hailed as the man of the match, scored early in the second half, exploiting Nagatomo’s weak defending. After a miss by Zuniga, Hamsik sank a powerless Inter with a third goal, bringing an end to a match influenced by some questionable refereeing choices.

Roma 3-1 Atalanta

Luis Enrique’s Roma finally showed good composure and industry as the Giallorossi put an end to Atalanta’s unbeaten start. It is was a lively game right from the start. Padoin and Moralez tried putting La Dea in the lead, with Totti and Osvaldo doing the same for Roma. However, it is was Bojan who broke the deadlock and got his first goal of the season with an accurate left-footed shot. The Spaniard of Yugoslavian descent has grown in confidence along with the rest of the team and the 15 million pounds spent for him is proving a good investment. Osvaldo managed to double the advantage before half time. The second half began with Denis scoring for Atalanta, but late in the match, Simplicio capitalized on Pjanic’s assist, tipping it above the grasp of Consigli. Roma can now move forward with renewed enthusiasm.

Sunday 2nd October

Juventus 2-0 Milan

Juventus defeated the reigning Champions in the match of the day, sending a message to the whole Serie A, that the bianconeri are a force to be reckoned with. During the first half Vucinic shone up front for Juve, but his repeated efforts were kept out by Abbiati and the crossbar. The second half was again played at a very high rhythm mostly in Milan’s half. When Boateng struck from close range, Buffon reacted well. Vidal and Vucinic saw shots ending wide and when the match seemed destined for a draw, Marchisio got a lucky rebound, putting Juventus in the lead with five minutes to go. Boateng saw red a minute later, before Marchisio achieve his first brace of goals thanks to an Abbiati blunder from his long-range shot, giving the Vecchia Signora (Old Lady) a deserved and convincing win.

Udinese 2-0 Bologna

Udinese remained on top of the table along with Juventus thanks to an effortless victory over a lacklustre Bologna. Torje and Di Natale possessed the skill and imagination which Bologna were lacking, but Udinese still were not effective as they could have been. It was Benatia, a defender, who put the home team ahead after a scramble in Bologna’s box. The Moroccan similarly decisive at his own end, dealing with Di Vaio alone in front of Handanovic. Udninese’s Basta had a goal disallowed for offside and Udinese’s meagre lead remained unchanged. In the second half, Agliardi twice saved from Di Natale, Diamanti’s free kick brought out the best of Handanovic’s abilities. On 72 minutes, Armero earned a penalty, and Di Natale made no mistake. Bologna’s reaction was non-existent.

Parma 3-1 Genoa

Giovinco’s talent again proved crucial as Parma beat a higher-rated opponent and move out of the danger zone. Genoa’s goalie Frey was busy right from the start containing the Atomic Ant, Giovinco, but Mirante also had to intervene on Jorquera’s and Constant’s attempts. On 29 minutes, Floccari’s back-heel set Giovinco up and the former Juventus trequartista put Parma in the lead. Bov hits the post shortly after, coming close to making the match even once again, but Parma were more lively and Giovinco earned and converted a penalty for his 5th goal of his season, before inspiring the break that lead to Morrone’s header for a third goal. Palacio scored from the penalty spot in injury time, but it was far too late for a Genoa comeback.

Palermo 2-0 Siena

The Sicilians mastered Siena with little fuss, keeping in touch with the early leaders and granting rookie coach, Devis Mangia, further credit. Palermo scored from the first real attempt, with a header by rising midfielder, Migliaccio. Siena were not ready to give in just yet but still failed to threaten Palermo’s defence, while Abel Hernandez’s dynamism was a constant threat for Siena’s centre backs. In the second half, Balzaretti got a red card to leave the home team a man short and Siena couldn’t take advantage of their numerical superiority. This left room for Palermo counter-attacks, culminating in a foul from Vitiello’s on Zauri, resulting in a red card for the Siena defender. Hernandez scored the penalty to make it 2-0.

Lecce 0-2 Cagliari

Lecce’s disastrous home form continued, while Cagliari continued with the excellent form expressed so far this season. The Sardinians took just 10 minutes to take the lead, when Tiago Ribeiro directed Cossu’s perfect cross to beat the goalkeeper. Cagliari kpt control, thanks to the quality of Cossu and Nainggolan. Lecce only threatened when a dangerous free kick by Mesbah was just inches wide. Right before the break, Biondini cemented Cagliari’s superiority by scoring their second goal, thanks to the assist of Tiago Ribeiro. Di Francesco, Lecce’s manager, tried to shake his team up with substitutions, but Pasquato and Di Michele lacked concentration and Lecce were unable to fight back satisfactorily.

Fiorentina 1-2 Lazio

Miroslav Klose showed how class can outlast physical freshness, and by giving Lazio an important win against a good Fiorentina, he pushes his candidature for Serie A’s Signing of the Year. The Viola had a terrific start and after just eight minutes it was Cerci who put his team in the lead, aided by a lousy Lazio defence. Within minutes though, Lazio’s quality came out and after an attempt by Cissé, it was “the Prophet” Hernanes who scored with a diagonal shot. During the second half, former Celtic goalie Boruc was still the busiest of Fiorentina’s players, but when Cerci had a shot at his second goal, he wasted it by shooting wide. Fiorentina’s pressure grew, but with seven minutes to go, Sculli set up Klose for an easy header to earn Lazio an unexpected win.

Cesena 0-0 Chievo

Adrian Mutu missed a penalty as Cesena earned just their first point of the campaign. The home team frantically looked for the goal, but Guana’s header and Candreva’s volley found an attentive Sorrentino. Chievo seldom tried to come out of their own half, and Cesena’s defence was basically idle throughout the first 45 minutes. Yet, Chievo had an opportunity when Von Bergen and Ravaglia messed up the intervention on Thereau’s header, but the ball did not hit the target. The big chance for Cesena happened after Cesar brought Bogdani down, but the penalty specialist, Sorrentino, saved Mutu’s attempt. Cesena worked hard, but Eder and Bogdani could not find the goal, as the Romagna team shared with Bologna the bottom spot in the league.

Novara 3-3 Catania

Tesser’s squad’, featuring the most prolific offense in Serie A puts on another show but failed to get a hold of Catania in perhaps the most spectacular match of the weekend. The guests were the first ones to score with the experienced Legrottaglie, but Novara quickly took control of the game, with Andujar denying Rigoni and Porcari. The rest of the goals are all scored in the second half. Novara made it level with a generous penalty con verted by Rigoni, before Lodi restored Catania’s lead with a beautiful free kick. Morimoto came on for Novara, and scored from a few feet to make it 2-2. With five minutes to go, Jeda scored for the home team catching the Sicilian defense unprepared on a midfielder’ s assist, but their efforts were frustrated by Gomez’s goal in the 91st minute. Catania earned a point which keeps them afloat, but Novara are left with regret.