Serie A - Week 7: Sunday Review

Inter took the outright Serie A lead in spectacular style with a 4-0 victory at Roma after Lazio had earlier lost 3-1 at Bologna and Udinese drew 2-2 with Lecce to lose ground. Elsewhere Catania won the Sicilian derby and AC Milan kept the pressure on.

ROMA 0-4 INTER
Inter stormed to the top of Serie A on Sunday night, playing arguably their best football of the season to demolish Roma. Goals early in both halves from Zlatan Ibrahimovic made it an uphill struggle for last season's league runners-up while two goals in as many second-half minutes from Dejan Stankovic and Victor Obinna put the defending champions back on top of the pile. Maicon also hit the post as Jose Mourinho's side ran riot against a Roma side who lacked the same incisiveness in front of goal as their opponents and, with four defeats in seven matches, they continued their disappointing start to the season, falling nine points behind the Nerazzurri.

BOLOGNA 3-1 LAZIO
Lazio relinquished their place at the top of Serie A when they were comprehensively beaten at struggling Bologna. Marco Di Vaio scored twice to add to Sergio Volpi's early opener as the hosts romped to a 3-0 half-time lead, reducing Tommaso Rocchi's goal shortly after the break to nothing more than a consolation. The victory snapped a run of five straight defeats for Daniele Arrigoni's men, elevating them from 18th to 15th in the table, but defeat for Lazio means they slip to fourth, two points behind leaders Inter.

MILAN 3-0 SAMPDORIA
AC Milan continued their recovery from a rocky start to the season with victory over Sampdoria, but it was not always as straight forward as the final score suggests. Although missing several players through injury and suspension, Samp put up a good fight until Stefano Lucchini handled Ronaldinho's shot inside the area to earn a second yellow card in the 54th minute. Ronaldinho scored the resulting penalty, then added a second in the 66th minute before Filippo Inzaghi capped the victory in the final minute. The win takes Milan just three points behind leaders Inter, while Samp fall into the relegation zone and still without a win this season.

LECCE 2-2 UDINESE
Udinese produced a fine comeback to claim a point against Lecce at the Stadio Via del Mare. The hosts established a 2-0 lead thanks to Simone Tiribocchi's first-half strike and an own goal from Maurizio Domizzi after the break, but Udinese rallied and Alexis Sanchez pulled one back before Gaetano D'Agostino levelled the scores. Despite bringing their four-game winning streak to an end, the result was enough to put Udinese second in the table ahead of Catania and Napoli on goal difference. Lecce remain mid-table with nine points from their opening seven fixtures.

CATANIA 2-0 PALERMO
Catania maintained their 100% home record and claimed a share of second place in Serie A by beating 10-man Palermo in the Sicilian derby. Jorge Martinez put the home side ahead midway through the second half and a penalty from Giuseppe Mascara with four minutes to go settled the affair. The visitors had to play the entire second period with a numerical disadvantage following the dismissal of defender Moris Carrozzieri on the stroke of half-time.

GENOA 1-0 SIENA
Genoa extended their 100 per cent record at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris with a narrow win over Siena. A goal from Giuseppe Biava in the 20th minute was enough to make it four wins out of four for Gian Piero Gasperini's side in front of their own fans and lift them into the top 10 of Serie A. The home side were profligate in the first half and almost paid the price, but they held on to claim the win, despite a much-improved second-half showing from Siena which saw them hit the post.

TORINO 0-1 CAGLIARI
A late goal from Cagliari substitute Robert Acquafresca saw his side record their first win of the season and climb off the bottom of Serie A. Torino will have been left scratching their heads as to how they managed to lose a game they had been firmly in control of. A combination of some fantastic saves from Cagliari goalkeeper Federico Marchetti and a host of wasted chances meant the game was still goalless going into the final five minutes before Acquafresca snatched all three points for his side.

CHIEVO 1-1 ATALANTA
Atalanta coach Luigi Del Neri could not get the better of his former charges in an even contest at Chievo. The Verona club, who were led to UEFA Cup qualification in 2002 by Del Neri, took the lead in first-half stoppage time courtesy of Andrea Mantovani's header. But Del Neri was not to be denied a point on his return to the Stadio Marc'Antonio Bentegodi, and Ferreira Pinto levelled just after the hour. The result ended a run of two straight defeats for the Flying Donkeys, while Atalanta slipped a couple of places in a congested top half.

SERIE A REVIEW:
[Saturday 18 Oct] - [Sunday 19 Oct]