Serie A Review a�� Round 4: Genoa Tops Table As Crisis Strikes Inter

Matchday 3 of Serie A had loads of drama, action, goals, humiliations, sackings and more. Even though Serie A started late this year, it has never been low on action and Matchday 3 proved to be no exception. Whereas a former champion was humiliated, few Italian giants were held to entertaining draws. In addition to all this, a team, which was least expected to do well, is currently the League leaders. TheHardTackle recaptures the moments of the matches played and presents a lowdown of Matchday 3 of Serie A.

The first match was played between Novara and Internazionale at Silvio Piola. Inter had been winless all summer and faced with the minnows of Serie A, they had the perfect oppurtunity to chalk out their first win of the season. The match started with the Serie A newcomers taking the game to the former champions, Inter. Repeated attacks from Novara exposed Inter’s frailty at the back and with 38 minutes on the clock, the home team took the lead through Riccardo Meggiorini. A clever ball from Mazzarani found Riccardo, who shot into the far corner to give the home team a dream start.

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Depreived of possession, Novara continued their raids at the Inter citadel, or whatever was left of it. Ranocchia provided Novara with a penalty in the 86th minute, when he brought down Morimoto inside the box. Playing with an ankle injury, not only did Ranocchia’s absense leave Inter with a man down, but clearly the discomfort of the team to adjust to the playing style of Gasperini was showing. Sneijder, a man who was central to Inter’s success, found himself playing in an awkward position and that hampered Inter’s gameplay. The match ended 3-1 in favor of Novara as Rigoni scored his second in extra time. In the event of this disastrous and humiliating loss, Gasperini was sacked, hardly three months into the new job.

Lecce then took on Atlanta, a side that was plagued with match-fixing allegations at the start of the season. Denis started the scoring with a spot kick in the 3rd minute. An evenly contested game saw both the teams with almost equal number of chances to score. Mesbah levelled the proceedings with a controversial goal in the 25th minute, before Denis’ goal in the 56th minute earned the visiting team full points. Juventus faced Bologna at home with the hope of winning their third match on the trot.

With a reborn Pirlo orchestrating the play from midfield, it looked like another comfortable three points for Juve as Vucinic scored the first from a Pirlo free kick. But as luck would have it, the goal-scorer turned villian as he picked up a second yellow at half time, as Juve went into the break a man down. Matri came on for Del Piero in the second half as Juve made light of the fact that they were a man down. But Bologna took advantage of the numerical advantage as Portanova headed home the equalizer. Juve then went on the attack with Pirlo once more the creator. But even after repeated efforts, Juve failed to find a winner.

Elsewhere, Palermo took on Cagliari at home. The match started on a frentic note as Zehavi scored in the very first minute itself. His powerful shot not only found the top corner of the net, but also gave the home teams something to cheer about at the very onset of the match. The relentless attacks continued from Palermo as Migliaccio had a goal disallowed. Refusing to be cowed down by the dubious offside ruling, Bertolo scored Palermo’s second in the 15th minute and Miccoli made it 3-0 in the 76th minute from a free kick. 3-0 up, the home team became complacent and the visitors claimed two back to back goals as the match ended 3-2 in favor of Palermo, thereby breaking the perfect start that Cagliari had enjoyed so far.

Round 4 saw a surprise league leader in the form of Genoa. Led by an outstanding Rodrigo Palacio, Genoa went to the top of the table. From the start of the match, Palacio gave a taste of what was about to come from his smart turns, dribbles and shoots. His efforts bore fruit when he opened the scoring in the 29th minute and followed it up with his second minutes later. After that the fight was between the goalkeepers, as both Frey and Andujar kept out shots at goal one after another. At last, Milan target Kevin Constant scored the third after a good link-up play with Palacio. Inter target Kucka then found his goal-bound shot saved which left Genoa with seven points, at the top of the table.

After an entertaining draw on Matchday 1, Lazio lost their subsequent match, which heaped pressure on coach Reja, who even considered resigning before this match. Newcomers Cisse and Klose both started as Reja looked to earn the first victory of the season for the Romans. However, they soon found themselves on the backfoot when former Chelsea man, Mutu, beat Marchetti to put the home side on top at the start. Their efforts led to Hernanes’ penalty in the second half and from then on, Lazio grew in confidence. The link-up play between Cisse and Klose proved vital as the German scored the winner to silence the home crowd and earn Lazio all three points.

Napoli, who had earlier won their opening two matches as well as shocked champions Milan in the previous match, took on Chievo, a team badly in need of three points after the loss to Parma earlier. With Cavani starting on the bench, Santana led the attack and even came close to scoring, only to shoot over the bar. Napoli failed to piece together their attack as Chievo threatened to look dangerous. Their repeated invasions led to the only goal of the game, as Moscardelli scored, coming on as a second half substitute. At the Artemio Franchi, the Viola took on Parma. The first half ended goal-less as both the teams fought for possession but had few shots on goal. The fireworks started in the second half as Jovetic scored his first of the night with his right foot. Cerci’s header then doubled their lead as Jovetic scored the third in the 81st minute, thereby earning Fiorentina all three points.

The action next shifted to San Siro in Milan, where the defending champions took on Udinese. With no victories in the opening two matches, which included a loss to Cavani-led Napoli, the defending champions had a lot to prove as the strove to earn their first three points of the season. With the medical room having more experience than the playing eleven, Milan had their work cut out from the very beginning. Their luck further worsened when Pato strolled out with a hamstring injury. On one hand, it dealt Milan a huge blow, as Pato has been a regular scorer, having scored in the last four games. On the other hand, it handed El Shaarawy a golden oppurtunity to make his home debut a memorable one.

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The youngster has been marked as a player for the future, who can be groomed to become one of the very best. An Abbiati howler put Milan on the backfoot as Di Natale scored when presented with an open goal, proving once more that San Siro is indeed one of his happiest hunting grounds in Italy. With a goal up, the visitorsa�� closed shop as seeing out the lead became the priority for them. Milan continued to press for the equalizer, which came when Cassano (not on a sugar high) provided the assist for El Shaarawy. Even though the youngster marked his debut with a goal, the first win of the season continued to elude Allegri and his men.

The last action of this Matchday saw Roma taking on Siena at home. With a gliterring array of players and manager bought in the recently concluded transfer window, Roma is seen by many to be the next big force in Italy. Luis Enrique has even brought a player from Barcelona, a certain Bojan to help him realize this dream. But so far, they have flattered to deceive. After the opening day loss to Cagliari, the Romans were held in a 0-0 draw against Inter. Borriello, Totti and Osvaldo started the match as the attacking trident as Roma took the lead via Osavaldo’s tap in. But their effort to see out the lead was lost when Vitiello scored in the dying moments of the game to heap more pressure on Enrique and earn Siena one valuable point.

Substitute of the Week

Davide Moscardelli (Chievo)

The game was tied at 0-0 when Moscardelli came in the second half, replacing Cyril Thereau. In the next half and hour, he was a constant menace for the Napoli defense. Breaking the deadlock with a superb strike, Moscardelli not only earned his team three points, but also broke Napoli’s recent run of success.

Goal of the Week

Zahavi(Palermo)

It took only 15 seconds for Zahavi to score the first goal against Cagliari. Receiving the ball on the left side of midfield, Zahavi ran a few paces before shooting the ball into the right top corner of the net, leaving behind a hapless Agazzi. More than the goal, the immediate impact of the long-range shot wins Zahavi the goal of the week.

Assist of the Week

Rodrigo Palacio(Genoa)

Palacio was a constant threat during the match against Catania as his inventiveness not only fetched him two goals but also managed to torment the Catania defense all night. Released on the left via a through ball, Palacio spotted Constant near the far post. His inch perfect cross was met by the sweet sight of the ball bulging the back of the net.

Howler of the Week

Christian Abbiati(Milan)

In his 250th match in Milan shirt, Abbiati chose to make a blunder, which would leave even an amatuer goalkeeper blushing. Managing to fool Abate on the right, Torje crossed into the box. With two defenders inside the box and Di Natale nowhere near, it looked like a routine take for the veteran goalie. Instead Abbiati chose to spill the ball straight into the path of Di Natale, who gleefully accepted the chance to score.

Team of the Midweek

Results

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