Welcome to the first of many Serie A weekly reviews! Serie A had some exciting action over the weekend in the second round of matches.
On paper, Roma-Inter looked to be the most anticipated match, but Inter never lived up to the hype as they saw the King of Rome pick and choose his spots.
Cagliari 1 – 1 Atalanta
10 men Atalanta, against all odds, seemed to have the match wrapped up after saving 2 penalties and a Denis goal in the 81st minute until Ekdal equalized in extra time. As the season progresses, it will be interesting if either of these teams will stay in top-flight Italian Calcio.
Catania 3 – 2 Genoa
Fireworks were flying on the island of Sicily Sunday evening. A free kick from Lodi with only a few minutes remaining sealed Genoa’s fate. Bergessio, the Argentine, netted his first two goals of the season for Catania. I expect Bergessio to break double digits this year in goals.
Lazio 3 – 0 Palermo
Lazio were more than convincing in their 3-0 smashing on Palermo. Klose netted a double and Candreva had the goal of his career. He sent a screamer from 25 yards out into the upper corner. This was a match that Lazio looked as if they had something to prove. For the 2nd straight week Palermo were handed a 3-0 defeat which could scream trouble.
Inter 1 – 3 Roma
Totti, the king of Rome, reeled in the years and gave an impressive performance assisting two goals for the Giallorossi. Roma took Inter down from their imaginary cloud where they believed they were the team to beat in Serie A.
A major takeaway from this match is the development of Osvaldo. The first two weeks of the season have been nothing but fantastic for Osvaldo besides his 2nd yellow in extra time where he slapped his hands on a Sneijder cross. His chip was world-class.
Napoli 2 – 1 Fiorentina
After Cavani, the man who looks like an old woman, renewed his contract with Napoli, they had their second impressive win in a row. In what looked like to be an own goal, Hamsik claims to have striked the ball with his hair to put Napoli up 1-0 10 minutes into the 2nd half. 20 minutes later Dzemaili sent in a screamer after a failed clearance from Fiorentina.
In the closing minutes Jovetic brought Fiorentina within one, but they could not find the equalizer in the end.
Parma 2 – 0 Chievo
In one of the 3 matches that no one cares about, Parma had a great showing against Chievo and came up with the 2-0 victory. Belfodi scored an impressive header and Rosi sealed the victory in the closing minutes on a beautiful assist from Biabany.
Sampdoria 2 – 1 Siena
For the second straight week Sampdoria came up with all three points. Maxi Lopez scored on a turnaround shot from inside the box. In the 61st minute a penalty was awarded to Siena. Calaiò struck the crossbar but Vergassola scored the rebound to bring Siena level.
Only 6 minutes later Gastaldello scored a header to put Sampdoria back in front for the remainder of the contest.
Bologna 1 – 3 Milan
Pazzini! Pazzini! Pazzini! 3 goals (1 coming from a suspect penalty) were all the Rossoneri needed to beat Bologna. Unfortunately for the Milan, they have even more injuries to deal with. Boateng and Montolivo will be out for a couple weeks.
Luckily we are at the international break, so the injuries will not hurt as much as both players should only miss out of 1 week’s action.
Even though Milan won 3-1, they looked shaky in the back. Bonera might be the worst defender in Italy.
Torino 3 – 0 Pescara
Torino slammed 10 men Pescara. This match was clearly the least appetizing. It seems even more evident that Pescara will find it extremely difficult to find points in any week this season.
Udinese 1 – 4 Juventus
The champions proved why they are the best yet again against Udinese. Early on, in the 12th minute, Brkic was given a harsh red as he fouled Giovinco in the box. The rest seemed to be history as Juve did whatever they pleased. Giovinco put 2 on the board and Vidal was able to hit a PK (after failing last week). Vucinic also scored just before the half.
Even though Udinese were a man down, it is impossible to think that any other team can seriously challenge Juve for the Scudetto. Asamoah has shined through the zebra stripes and we are yet to see his partner Isla who should debut on the left versus Genoa after the international break.
Final Thoughts
Napoli-Roma-Lazio-Inter-Milan, however, will be a dog fight for the two champion’s league spots. Destro is the youngster to watch, but Osvaldo will make things tough for the youngster as he is emerging as a force to be wrecking with up top.
Milan seems to have found an answer up top, but will the team be able to stay healthy. If not, Galliani should expect the Europa League and a new coach. It will be interesting to see how things play out in the coming weeks.
Written by Kevin Bourbon
Follow him on Twitter @kjbourbon
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