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Inter started with a victory, Christian Vieri netting the all important goal against Torino in the San Siro, or Giuseppe Meazza. The granata sealed their fate when Comotto was dismissed after an incident with Materazzi. They had their chances to score in this game but the referree disallowed one for offside and turned down a late penalty appeal. Critics of Juve please take note! Inter could have scored more though and should have won comfortably. Still, Cuper knows only lo scudetto will do this season and will gladly settle for another thirty-three 1-0 victories.
La Vecchia Signora opened their season with a comprehensive 3-0 rout of Atalanta in the Delle Alpi. Del Pero netted twice, once from the spot. Salvatore Fresi completed the scoring in the 92nd minute. Special mention for Napoli and Juventus legend Ciro Ferrara, the veteran had a great game and proved that there is no substitute for class.
In the Olimpico Lazio lost 3-2 to Chievo. Simeone gave the biancocelesti the lead before D'Anna equalised. Bierhoff made it 2-1 to Chievo before Corradi scored against his old team to level it. With Couto the mainstay in defence, there was no way Chievo weren't going to score again and they duly did, the aptly named Della Morte giving Chievo a 3-2 advantage. All in all a good day for Chievo as Hellas Verona lost their opening Serie B match. Final word for Mancini, sell Couto and you might avoid relegation.
Newly promoted Modena were given a footballing lesson in the Stadio Braglia by an impressive Milan. Simic, ex-Inter scored once and Inzaghi scored on either side of his strike. Nesta made his debut but Rivaldo had to wait until the 68th minute as he started on the bench due to an ankle problem. An impressive start by the rossoneri and the feeling in Italy is that Milan will be the team to beat this season. I still think Juve will win the scudetto but I wouldn't be surprised if all was decided on the last day of the season again.
The other scores:
Brescia 1 Piacenza 2
Como 0 Empoli 2
Perugia 2 Reggina 0
Udinese 1 Parma 1
Next round:
Atalanta v Bologna
Chievo v Brescia
Empoli v Juventus
Milan v Perugia
Parma v Como
Piacenza v Udinese
Reggina v Inter
Roma v Modena
Torino v Lazio
This week, four Italian clubs competed in the Champions' League. This is the first time since the inception of the CL that Italy have had four clubs in the group stage.
The results were mixed. Roma lost 3-0 in the Olimpico to Real Madrid. On the face of it, a going over. It could have been different though if the giallorossi had been awarded a penalty when Hierro blatantly fouled Montella. Capello's team were without Totti and the in-form Batistuta, they were sorely missed.
Inter drew 2-2 in Rosenborg. It was a below par performance, further hindered by Cannavaro's dismissal. Still, on the positive side, Crespo scored twice which bodes well for the nerazzurri.
On Wednesday, Milan outclassed Lens who were flattered by the 2-1 scoreline. On the same night in the De Kuip, Feyenoord cheated their way to a point. Van Hooijdonk's presence seems to reduce them to the level of Celtic in that they cheat whenever possible and have scant regard for the laws of the game. The twice retaken freekick resulted in an ill-deserved equaliser after Juventus had outclassed them, the impressive Camoranesi scoring the opener. Lippi's men will rue missed chances but if the spirit of the game had been followed, they would have left Holland with all three points.
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