Italian Serie A: Matchday 3

 

Fabio Quagliarella (C) scores a back-heel goal against Napoli.

     With a new season for the Italians came a whole new bang of action, and after two dynamic Matchdays, the Serie A is far from settling down as we experience drama, shocks and excitement in the third Matchday.

       The opening match was played between AC Milan and Roma at San Siro. Milan lead first as Franck Kessié scored for them at 40', but he was soon equalised by Federico Fazio at 50'. The match went in stalemate through normal time but Patrick Cutrone saved Milan as he scored a brilliant extra-time goal at 90+5', thus earning Milan their first win of the season. They are now at 14th place with a win and a loss, while Roma sit at 9th with a win, a loss and a draw each.

       Bologna were then trodded-upon by Internazionale. Radja Nainggolan scored his first goal for new club Inter at 66', and thus opening the scoring of the match. Antonio Candreva added another at 82' while Ivan Perišić, in superb form after the World Cup, made it 3-0 at 84'. Inter got their first win and are now at 7th place with a win, a loss and a draw, while Bologna are at 18 with a draw and two losses.

       Parma were defeated by Juventus at Ennio Tardini, as Ronaldo stretched his goal-drought to another week. Mario Mandžukić opened for Juve at 2', but was equalised by Gervinho at 33'. Frenchman Blaise Matuidi shone for Juve as he scored the winner at 58', ending the match 1-2 for the hosts. Juventus are top of the table with three wins, while Parma sit at 17th place, having lost two and drawn one.

       Fiorentina eased past Udinese in a comfortable 1-0 victory at Stadio Artemio Franchi. Marco Benassi was the sole man on the scoresheet as he netted the ball in the 73rd minute, handing Fiorentina their second consecutive win. The latter are at 3rd place on the table, while the visitors are at the 11th spot with a win, a loss and a draw each.

       Atalanta were deprived of goals in their match against Cagliari. They have scored 7 goals so far, but this time they could not produce their magic and lost 0-1 to the Sardinians. The only goal of the match came from Nicolò Barella at 45'. Atalanta are at 6th place with one win, one draw and one loss, while Cagliari are six spots below with the same points, further back only due to smaller goal difference.

       Torino beat SPAL 1-0 at Olimpico di Torino. Nicolas Nkoulou scored the only goal of the match with a brilliant strike at 52'. This secured Torino's first win of the season, who are now at 10th place with a win, a draw and a loss, while SPAL sit at 4th place with a loss and two wins.

       Sampdoria then defeated Napoli in a shocking showdown. Grégoire Defrel opened the scoring at 11' for Sampdoria, and added a second at 32'. Fabio Quagliarella made it 3-0 at 75', and Sampdoria, who clinched their first win, now sit at 13th place with a win and a loss. Napoli, however, have dropped to the 5th spot, as this was their first defeat after two successful wins.

       But Sassuolu vs Genoa was arguably the most interesting match to watch. The scoring started with Krzysztof Piątek of Genoa scoring at 27'. Kevin-Prince Boateng equalised him 7 minutes later, while goals from Pol Lirola at 38' and Khouma Babacar at 41' made it 3-1 for the hosts. An own-goal by Genoa's Nicolás Spolli at 45+1' added to their misery while Gian Marco Ferrari made it 5-1 at 62'. But goals from Genoa's Goran Pandev at 70' and Piątek again at 83' meant the score ended 5-3.

       Chievo drew 0-0 with Empoli in a relatively passive match at Marcantonio Bentegodi. Empoli are now at 8th place with a win, a draw and a loss, while Chievo are bottom-of-the-table with two losses and a draw.

       Lastly, Lazio defeated Frosinone 1-0 at Stadio Olimpico, with the only goal of the game coming from Luis Alberto at 49'. Lazio are surprisingly down at 16th place with a win and two losses, while Frosinone are second-to-last with a draw and two losses.