Serie A - Week 1: Sunday Review

Serie A champions Inter were surprisingly held 1-1 by newly-promoted Bari in their opening match of the new season, while Juventus started with a win, Genoa defeated Roma in a five-goal thriller and Palermo beat Napoli.

Inter 1-1 Bari
Inter managed only a 1-1 draw against newly-promoted Bari in their opening game of the Serie A campaign. The defending champions went ahead after 56 minutes when Samuel Eto'o scored on his league debut from the penalty spot after Diego Milito was brought down inside the area by Leonardo Bonucci. The visitors, who had enjoyed few chances up to then, hit back with 16 minutes remaining when Vitaly Kutuzov struck an equaliser. Dropping two points at the San Siro has added to a frustrating start to the season after Jose Mourinho's side lost the Supercoppa to Lazio earlier this month.

Juventus 1-0 Chievo
Juventus got their campaign off to a winning start with a 1-0 home victory over Chievo. Diego, Juve's big summer signing from Werder Bremen for around 25million euros, sent in a cross for Vincenzo Iaquinta to head home after just 11 minutes. Ciro Ferrara's side dominated the first period and seemed destined to pile on more goals, but they eased off after the break and, in the end, had to be content with one at the Stadio Olimpico.

Genoa 3-2 Roma
Genoa defeated Roma by the odd goal in five after all the goals were scored in a dramatic second half at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris. Domenico Criscito opened the scoring for Genoa after 49 minutes, but Roma turned the game around with goals from Rodrigo Taddei after 54 minutes and Francesco Totti 10 minutes later. But Genoa refused to lie down and levelled again through an Alberto Zapater free-kick on 69 minutes before Giuseppe Biava grabbed the winner seven minutes from the end.

Palermo 2-1 Napoli
Fabrizio Miccoli was the hero for Palermo as the home side recorded a 2-1 victory over Napoli. Marek Hamsik was on hand to cancel out Edinson Cavani's opener before Miccoli bagged the winning goal. It was the ideal start for the Sicilian club under new coach Walter Zenga, while Napoli's search continues for their first Serie A away win of 2009.

Lazio 1-0 Atalanta
Tommaso Rocchi ensured Lazio got their campaign off to a winning start against Atalanta as his team won 1-0 at the Stadio Olimpico. The Italian striker netted the only goal after 22 minutes against a team that made the hosts sweat for the victory. Atalanta were unlucky not to come away with a point after having plenty of opportunities to level the score.

Catania 1-2 Sampdoria
A last minute goal from Daniele Gastaldello ensured Sampdoria snatched a late 2-1 win at Catania. Giampaolo Pazzini got Sampdoria up and running but Takayuki Morimoto levelled before Augustyn Blazej was handed a red card. And Sampdoria made their numerical advantage pay as Gastaldello struck in the dying moments to ensure three points.

Udinese 2-2 Parma
Udinese's Antonio Di Natale denied Parma a winning return to Serie A with an injury-time equaliser in a 2-2 draw at the Stadio Friuli. Francesco Guidolin's newly-promoted side had twice gone ahead, but on both occasions it was the Udinese skipper Di Natale that pulled the hosts level. Milan-owned Alberto Paloschi had put Parma ahead after 42 minutes but they could not even keep the lead into the break - Di Natale scoring an injury-time penalty after Alessandro Lucarelli fouled Christian Zapata in the area. Lucarelli made up for his mistake with a towering header four minutes after the break, and that strike had looked to be the decisive moment before Di Natale bobbed up again in injury time.

Livorno 0-0 Cagliari
Livorno got a point under their belts at the first attempt as they drew 0-0 with Cagliari on their return to Serie A. The Leghorn side were rock bottom as they dropped out of the division two years ago, but they matched a Cagliari side still smarting from their early Coppa Italia exit. Neither team could dominate as both created chances, but a lack of cutting edge meant the sheets remained clean at both ends.

SERIE A REVIEW:
[Saturday 22 August] - [Sunday 23 August]