Results from round three:
Serie A table:
Venezia triumph at Empoli in the newly-promoted clash
With Empoli coming off a superb win against Juventus, plus being Serie B winners, there seemed to be only one possible outcome against Venezia.
However, Paolo Zanetti’s side proved very creative and found the net twice with Thomas Henry and David Okereke.
Particularly, the Nigerian’s goal was splendid, as Venezia find their first Serie A win since 2002.
Napoli get an astonishing +8 lead on Juventus
Juventus keep delivering negative surprises, as they are yet to win a game after three rounds. Napoli deservedly bring home all three points with a courageous performance, that didn’t actually start the right way.
The Partenopei were off strong, but Kostas Manolas gifted a goal to Alvaro Morata with a poor back pass.
It was all made in the second half for Napoli, with Matteo Politano making good use of another error from Wojciech Szczesny and Kalidou Koulibaly scoring a tap in from an inexplicable back header from Juventus’s new man Moise Kean.
Another top team struggling: Atalanta lose to Fiorentina
Fiorentina fans are silently hoping that this season won’t end up like their previous three, in which they fought for relegation.
Their second consecutive victory came in the name of Dusan Vlahovic, who netted two penalties to bring Fiorentina up to six points.
Atalanta remain stuck on four, as they don’t seem yet like the irresistible goal machine of the past seasons.
Sampdoria bravely hold off Inter
Inter fail to capitalise on Juventus’s and Atalanta’s struggles and lose the lead of the league. It came with a draw against Sampdoria, who played with no fear against the reigning champions.
Inter found the lead with a stunning free-kick from Federico Dimarco, but another defender, Maya Yoshida, equalised with a deflection from nothing less than striker Edin Dzeko.
Lautaro Martinez seemed to redirect the match, but Inter were surprised at the beginning of the second half, as Tommaso Augello’s volley duly delivered a point for Sampdoria
Ribery debuts but Salernitana get thrashed
Both Torino and Salernitana entered the contest with no points to their account, so it was expected to be a tight game.
However, the home side scored an incredible four goals, with a dominating performance.
Antonio Sanabria scored the first of the game, capitalsiing on the visitors’ huge defensive struggles, as Salernitana conceded 11 goals in the first three games: a negative record.
Udinese are marching on!
Lazar Samardzic projects Udinese up to fourth, with the Friulani remaining unbeaten in the first three games, a huge difference compared to last year, in which they lost all of them.
Spezia and Udinese got involved in an exciting match, which seemed to finish in stalemate, up until the German midfielder scored a huge goal.
Spezia were disappointed, as they definitely picked up less points than they could have in these opening games.
Fares leads Genoa to a surprise come-back
Mohamed Fares becomes the first Genoa debutant to score a brace, with his surprise appearance on the scoresheet leading his side to a win over Cagliari.
The Sardinians went up with Joao Pedro and defender Luca Ceppitelli, but just when it looked like the win was theirs, Genoa’s pride kicked in.
Mattia Destro made it 2-1 just few minutes later, with Fares taking the scene, as his last club goal was dated May 2019.
Milan demonstrate their worth and are serious Scudetto candidates
Full score for Stefano Pioli’s Milan, who dominate Lazio in what was expected to be a tighter game. The Rossoneri manage to nullify Lazio’s attacking prowess and win thanks to goals from Rafael Leao and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
The Swedish striker came back from his injury and of course was determinant from the getaway.
There was also time for Franck Kessie’s penalty miss, as Milan announce themselves as serious candidates for the league after winning the first head to head match of the season.
Mourinho enjoys a spectacular game on his 1000th appearance
Roma and Sassuolo produced a must-watch, in which the goalkeepers were protagonists.
Rui Patricio and Andrea Consigli helped keep the score as low as 1-1 for most of the match, together with the post, which stopped Tammy Abraham and Junior Traore.
Bryan Cristante found the net for Roma with a splendid build-up from a free-kick, as Filip Djuricic got the equaliser in the 57th minute.
Just when it looked like all the chances were vain, and the draw was set, Stephan El Shaarawy’s curler claimed the win for Roma, with Jose Mourinho spectacularly running towards his fans to celebrate.
A loss at Bologna may be Di Francesco’s last game
Poor Eusebio Di Francesco, Verona’s coach, can’t catch a break, with his Verona side yet to score points.
Yesterday’s game with Bologna may well have been his last game on the Gialloblu’s bench, as the manager is reportedly already on the way out.
It was Mattias Svanberg who scored the winner at the 87th minute, with Di Francesco set to abandon prematurely his fourth consecutive season, after being sacked from Roma, Sampdoria and Cagliari.
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