Week-End Reviews

After the Summer wait, Serie A continues. Here are the results and summaries for matchday 2. Full Video Highlights here.
.

Italy.TheOffside.com week 2 review

.

Italian Calcio Blog week 2 review

.

Gazzetta in English week 2 review

.

AC Milan‘s poor early-season form continued on Sunnday when they lost 2-0 at Genoa for their second consecutive defeat. Giuseppe Sculli struck in the first half and Diego Milito converted a stoppage-time penalty to leave Milan with no points in Serie A after they lost their opener 2-1 to promoted Bologna. The result increases the pressure on coach Carlo Ancelotti following Milan’s disappointing 5^th-place finish last season and an embarrassing 2-0 defeat at second-division Swiss side Lugano in a friendly on Wednesday.

Genoa 2-0 Milan Match Report (mCalcio)

.

Champions Inter Milan beat Catania 2-1 at home (thanks to two Sicilian own goals), while last year’s runners-up AS Roma lost 3-1 at Palermo on Saturday, despite taking the early lead.

Inter 2-1 Catania Match Report (mCalcio)

Palermo 3-1 Roma Match Report (mCalcio)

.

In the evening fixture later on Sunday, Juventus beat Udinese at home thanks to a goal by ex-Palermo striker Amauri.

Juventus 1-0 Udinese Match Report (mCalcio)

.

In other matches, Napoli came from behind to beat Fiorentina 2-1 thanks to second-half goals by Marek Hamsik and Christian Maggio after Adrian Mutu had put the visitors ahead four minutes before the break. The end stands of Napoli’s San Paolo stadium were closed and will remain shut for the next two home games as a penalty after violence marred their opening-day visit to Roma. The game was also one of three games considered high risk which away fans were banned from, along with Genoa-Milan and Saturday’s match between Inter and Catania at the San Siro.

Lazio are the early pacemakers in Serie A this year, courtesy of a 2-0 home win over Sampdoria secured with goals by Mauro Zarate and Goran Pandev. Atalanta also have a 100% win record from two games after Tiberio Guarente gave them a 1-0 victory at Bologna.

Finally, Lecce overcame Chievo at home thanks to goals by Caserta and Castillo, Reggina vs. Torino ended in a 1-1 draw (goals by Amoruso and a Di Loreto o.g.), while Siena went on to defeat Cagliari at home through Calaió and Ghezzal.

.

GOALS of the WEEK

Keeping true to our “more quality, less quantity” tradition (I change it when it suits me), here’s the candidates for goal of the week…
.

• Zarate‘s slamming top-corner from outside the box (Lazio-Sampdoria)
• Mutu‘s (offside) finish after Gilardino’s lovely heel set-up (Napoli-Fiorentina)
• Amoruso‘s dribble and finish from outside the box (Reggina-Torino)
• Miccoli‘s woo-ooh shot into the top-right corner (Palermo-Roma)

And the winner is… Giuseppe Sculli. Not so much because of the individual finish (a banal diagonal effort) but rather due to the orchestrated teamplay and action as a whole, in particular the gorgeous Milito chest-pass. Maldini and Favalli don’t know what hit them…

.

Results Summary

.

Serie A 2008-09 Matchday 2

.

	Palermo	3-1	Roma
	Inter	2-1	Catania
	Lazio	2-0	Sampdoria
	Genoa	2-0	Milan
	Siena	2-0	Cagliari
	Napoli	2-1	Fiorentina
	Bologna	0-1	Atalanta
	Reggina	1-1	Torino
	Lecce	2-0	Chievo
	Juventus	1-0	Udinese

.