Saturday 30 SeptemberTorino 0-4 Lazio
Torino coach Alberto Zaccheroni's job could be on the line after a 4-0 home spanking by Lazio in Turin on Saturday evening. Zaccheroni was brought in to replace Gianni De Biasi, the man who led the Turin club to promotion, at the start of the season but despite solid investment by the club in the transfer market he has only registered two points from five matches. All the goals came in the second half for Lazio with Tommaso Rocchi opening the scoring before Massimo Oddo added two more, the first from the penalty spot. Stefano Mauri completed the rout after 71 minutes and Zaccheroni, who numbers Udinese, AC Milan, Lazio and Internazionale among his former clubs, knows that patience must be wearing thin.
Atalanta 1-1 Reggina
The opening match of the round saw Atalanta held 1-1 by Reggina in a match where both goals came in the first six minutes. Simone Loria opened the scoring for the Bergamo-based hosts before the visitors equalised through Giacomo Tedesco. The result means Atalanta have six points from five games, while Reggina wipe off another point from their 15-point Calciopoli penalty leaving them on minus ten.
Sunday 1 October
Roma 1-0 Empoli
Roma returned to the Serie A summit after a header from Vincenzo Montella sunk Empoli on Sunday. Montella scored midway through the first half to ensure his team clinched three points at the Stadio Olimpico. The result means the Giallorossi are one point clear of Internazionale. Luciano Spalletti's men enjoyed plenty of possession but their failure to kill the game off meant they had to sweat in the latter stages to defend their lead. Fortunately for the hosts, Empoli offered little danger as Luigi Cagni's men slumped to their first defeat of the season without a fight.
Cagliari 1-1 Inter
Internazionale slipped off the top of the table after being held to a surprise draw by Cagliari at the Stadio Sant'Elia. Leonardo Colucci gave the hosts a 16th-minute lead, but the Sicilians were pegged back just 12 minutes later when Fabio Grosso levelled for the Italian champions. The result follows Inter's midweek Champions League defeat to Bayern Munich.
Chievo 0-1 Palermo
Palermo joined Roma at the top of the Serie A standings following a deserved away victory over Chievo. Former Chievo midfielder Eugenio Corini struck the only goal of the game on the half hour mark to make sure the Sicilians clinched their fourth league victory of the season. The first half was an even affair and although Chievo enjoyed more possession after the re-start, their lack of effectiveness in front of goal greatly hindered them. The result means that Chievo are still winless after five league games played while Palermo are level on 12 points with Roma.
Milan 0-0 Siena
AC Milan were frustrated into their third consecutive goalless draw as they once again fired blanks, this time against a determined Siena and their man-of-the-match goalkeeper Alex Manninger. A goalless draw in Leghorn against Livorno last Saturday was followed by another 0-0 draw, against Lille in the Champions League, on Tuesday. Despite their latest setback, this time at a wet San Siro, the Milan giants are yet to lose in Serie A this season and are already in the black in terms of points won despite their eight-point penalty. The home side found it difficult to break down a dogged Siena side that played tactically well and defended stoutly with utmost discipline.
Fiorentina 3-0 Catania
Fiorentina returned to winning ways with an emphatic 3-0 home victory over nine-man Catania. Substitute Martin Jorgensen opened the scoring in the 53rd minute before Luca Toni doubled his team's lead with 10 minutes left to play. Viola captain Dario Dainelli completed a wonderful afternoon for the hosts four minutes later. Fiorentina were given a helping hand with Catania having to play in numerical inferiority from the 36th minute after Mattia Biso was sent off for a double booking. Lorenzo Stovini joined Biso in the changing rooms with 10 minutes remaining, after his dangerous tackle on Riccardo Montolivo earned him a straight red. The result marked Fiorentina's second triumph of the season, and it has allowed the Florence-outfit to further cut down on their 19-point penalty handed to the club in the summer following the Calciopoli scandal. After their second three-point haul of the season, the Florence-based club are still 13 points away from breaking even.
Messina 0-1 Livorno
Livorno registered only their second win of the season to beat Messina at the Stadio San Filippo and end the Sicilian club's unbeaten start in the league. Daniele Arrigoni's side went into the clash having drew their previous two games in Serie A. But they showed no signs of a UEFA Cup hangover as substitute Tomas Danilevicius secured all three points with his second goal of the season 14 minutes from time.
Sampdoria 3-2 Parma
Sampdoria ended a run of 16 Serie A games without a win with a 3-2 victory over Parma. The last time Walter Novellino's side won was on February 12 against Messina, and it looked like that run was about to be extended when Daniele Dessena put the visitors ahead after four minutes. Daniele Franceschini brought the home side level in the 22nd minute, and goals from Gennaro Delvecchio and Emiliano Bonazzoli put Samp close to the three points. A grandstand finish was provided by referee Nicola Rizzoli when he awarded Parma a dubious penalty, but Matteo Contini's goal was only a consolation. Domenico Morfeo was sent off after receiving a second yellow card to make Parma's hopes of a recovery even slimmer.
Udinese and Ascoli played out an uninspiring goalless draw with the hosts missing a chance to close on the leading group. Ascoli are yet to win this season but, helped by points deductions for other teams, are in a reasonably comfortable league position despite picking up only three points from a possible 15. Udinese are provisionally joint fourth and are maintaining the good form they showed at the end of last season when Giovanni Galeone took the reins and led the club from the relegation zone to mid-table safety. However, their failure to beat Ascoli will doubtless irk owner Giampaolo Pozzo who had during the week criticised his team's failure to perform against what he calls "smaller teams" - he cited Ascoli and Messina, 1-0 victors over Udinese on day one of the season, as examples.
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