Serie A - Week 5: Wednesday Review

Champions Inter climbed to the top of the Serie A table after a comfortable 3-1 win over Napoli as Sampdoria's winning run came to an end at Fiorentina. Elsewhere Milan and Lazio were beaten while Roma secured a late draw at Palermo in a six-goal thriller.

Inter 3-1 Napoli
Inter moved to the top of Serie A with a solid win over Napoli at the San Siro with all four goals coming in the first half. Coach Jose Mourinho, who was sent off in Sunday's 2-1 win at Cagliari, watched on from the stands as Inter raced into a three-goal lead. Samuel Eto'o opened the scoring after just two minutes with his strike partner Diego Milito adding a second three minutes later. Lucio added a third on the half-hour mark with Ezequiel Lavezzi grabbing a consolation five minutes later for under-pressure Roberto Donadoni's side. But Inter's lead was never in any doubt as they slowed down the tempo and bossed possession for the remainder of the match to take over at the top of Serie A, at least for 24 hours.

Fiorentina 2-0 Sampdoria
Sampdoria were brought crashing down to earth as they lost their 100 per cent start to the Serie A season at Fiorentina. The Blucerchiati went into Wednesday night's game at the Stadio Artemio Franchi on top of the Italian tree, but found themselves a goal down after 24 minutes thanks to the impressive Stevan Jovetic. Alberto Gilardino added a deserved second for Cesare Prandelli's men after 66 minutes as they put Sunday's 3-1 defeat by Roma behind them.

Udinese 1-0 Milan
Antonio Di Natale's goal midway through the first half secured Udinese three much-needed points this evening and condemned AC Milan to a second defeat in five Serie A games. The Rossoneri were reduced to 10 men eight minutes from time when midfielder Mathieu Flamini saw red at the Stadio Friuli. The Bianconeri, who headed into this match in 12th spot having collected only one win in their opening four league games, climbed five places to seventh while Leonardo's Milan slipped to 11th.

Palermo 3-3 Roma
Roma were twice pegged back by Palermo as the two sides shared six goals in Sicily. Both teams battled to the end of an entertaining Serie A clash at La Favorita which was packed with chances and end-to-end football despite the torrential rain. Matteo Brighi opened the scoring for the visitors after 20 minutes, only for the Sicilians to level through Igor Budan shortly after. One minute before half-time, Roma were back in front thanks to Nicolas Burdisso but their joy was shortlived as Fabrizio Miccoli equalised thirty seconds later. Antonio Nocerino put the hosts in front for the first time after 54 minutes but Roma captain Francesco Totti equalised two minutes from time from the penalty spot.

Lazio 1-2 Parma
Parma claimed their first Serie A away win of the season with a narrow triumph over 10-man Lazio in Rome. Nicola Amoruso's penalty on the stroke of half-time proved the difference between the sides. Lazio defender Aleksandar Kolarov was adjudged to have clipped Valeri Bojinov inside the area and was given his marching orders. The visitors had taken a 20th-minute lead through Bojinov, only for Mauro Zarate to restore parity from the spot three minutes before the break. The hosts struggled to make an impact in the second half and Parma wasted a hatful of chances but held on for all three points.

Bari 0-1 Cagliari
Cagliari strolled to their first win of the season against an unimpressive Bari side, whose home fans had not witnessed defeat since the beginning of April. The hosts only seemed to come alive in the last 13 minutes following the goal from substitute Nene and it was too little too late to avoid them slipping to their first Serie A loss. Giampiero Ventura's side will now know just how quickly fortunes can turn around in the top flight after seeing themselves fall out the top half of the table.

Bologna 2-0 Livorno
Bologna coach Giuseppe Papadopulo repaid the faith of his club owner by presiding over his side's first win of the Serie A campaign. Papadopulo's troops began the new season with two draws and two losses, forcing President Francesca Menarini to issue a dreaded vote of confidence to his coach on the eve of Wednesday night's match with Livorno. Goals from Daniele Portanova and skipper Marco Di Vaio in either half secured a win that will ease the pressure on Papadopulo's shoulders for another week at least. The defeat for Livorno was their third in five outings since their return to the top flight, and leaves Vittorio Russo's men second-bottom of the standings on two points.

Atalanta 0-0 Catania
Scuffles between Serie A rivals Atalanta and Catania fans and the late sending to the stands of new Atalanta coach Antonio Conte overshadowed a turgid on-field battle at the Stadio Atleti Azzurri d'Italia. Supporters clashed prior to the match, causing a series of disturbances, and Conte was also punished for showing his frustration late on but there was nothing as newsworthy occurring on the pitch as each side continued their winless starts to the campaign. Both sides are rooted at the wrong end of the table after five games, rock-bottom Atalanta with a single point and Catania with just two.

Siena 0-0 Chievo
Siena and Chievo both struck the woodwork in the final seconds of their Serie A clash at the Stadio Artemio Franchi after a game of few clear-cut chances sprang to life at the last. Aside from an early penalty appeal for handball against Siena's Daniele Ficagna and Simone Vergassola's poor 83rd-minute miss, there was little for either set of fans to get excited about in the final third for the majority of the match. That changed moments before the whistle came, with first Sergio Pellissier and then Paul Codrea striking the post as the stalemate threatened to be broken.

SERIE A REVIEW:
[Wednesday 23 September] - [Thursday 24 September]