Inter had a real injury crisis with Marco Materazzi, Cristian Chivu, Walter Samuel and Patrick Vieira sidelined. Catania also needed to buck up their game after two draws and had Cristian Silvestri back from a ban, but Coach Silvio Baldini continued to sit out his suspension for kicking a colleague.
Inter took the lead through Crespo after being set up by Maicon…and the goal was not against the run of play.
Fit again, rather than fat again, Adriano sprung the offside trap to chest down the ball, but tried an ambitious scissor-kick into the ground that did not trouble Bizzarri. Adriano was jeered by the San Siro crowd after quite a few errors, but on 28 minutes he tested the goalkeeper with a fierce strike.
Catania tried to take the game to Inter when they could and just after the restart there was a fine move between Gionatha Spinesi and Giuseppe Mascara, the former bringing a difficult save out of Julio Cesar at the near post.
Inter doubled their lead 10 minutes from time. Ibrahimovic moved the ball to the left flank for the on-rushing Cesar Aparecido to blast the shot past Bizzarri.
There was a curious moment during the first half, as a fan threw a flare on to the pitch and the other supporters around him apprehended the hooligan, handing him over to the club stewards. Self policing in Italy?!
Lazio 0 Empoli 0
A really poor game saw Lazio pick up their third draw of the season.
For some strange reason Lazio played the game at a very slow tempo and allowed Empoli to get men back whenever danger threatened. Lazio's ponderous play saw them create very little. Empoli may even have snatched an away win but were denied a penalty in the 2nd half as Saudati appeared to be held back when poised to shoot.
Napoli 2 Sampdoria 0
Marcelo Zalayeta netted his third goal in as many Serie A games to give Napoli a second straight win.
These two fallen giants have started the season with great ambition and went head-to-head at the San Paolo. Napoli had shown they deserved their top league status after their shock 5-0 victory at Udinese, but had to prove that was no fluke, while Samp were unbeaten thus far and qualified for the UEFA Cup.
Zalayeta had the first chance when he smashed a header off the bar from a cross by Hamsik.
Lavezzi caused a sensation in the Week 2 victory at Udinese and was again unstoppable down the left flank, earning a multitude of free kicks and chances.
Just three minutes before the break Napoli took a deserved lead thanks to a comical defensive mix-up. Bastrini left the ball for his goalkeeper to come out and grab, but Luca Castellazzi clattered into his teammate, giving Zalayeta all the time in the world to waltz into an empty net.
Napoli doubled their lead with a spectacular team move. Hamsik and Zalayeta combined with a series of one-touch passes until the midfielder dribbled past the last man for a cool finish.
Palermo 1 Torino 1
Torino picked up a useful away draw in an intimidating arena.
Simplicio gave Palermo the lead, and they tried to force the game but found goalkeeper Sereni in fine form, as he kept Torino in the game. This would prove crucial in the second half as ex Inter star Alvero Recoba combined with Rosina to set himself for a fine left foot finish to draw the teams level.
The pressure got too much for Walter Novellino, boss of Il Granita, as he was sent to the stands near the end.
Parma 1 Cagliari 1
Every point is a prisoner for Parma, but Cagliari had also found themselves amongst the favourites for relegation before a ball was kicked. Parma may feel this was two points lost as they missed a penalty during this game.
Cagliari took the lead just before half-time. A long Parola free kick missed everyone to clatter against the far post and Alessandro Matri was quickest to react, tapping in with his right foot towards an empty net
The referee pointed to the spot for a mistimed Lopez challenge that accidentally kicked Morrone. It was a debatable incident, but it didn't matter as Paolo Castellini's penalty was relatively weak and Fortin was able to palm it off the line.
The equaliser was only postponed, as Corradi marked his return to the Stadio Tardini with a splendid strike. Cigarini's chipped ball past the defence went over Corradi's shoulder and the former Manchester City man slammed a perfect volley into the far corner.
An exciting game saw end to end action, but neither team could force a winner.
Reggina 0 Roma 2
Roma are the only team in Serie A to have won all their games after three rounds and are clear at the top of the table after Juan marked his top flight debut with a goal.
Roma started brightly and created early chances, but Reggina had a great chance as Nicola Amoruso struck a right-foot finish from the left flank and Alexander Doni was at full stretch to clear. Doni also parried another Amoruso attempt and this time Tullberg was not alert enough to take advantage of the loose ball.
The Giallorossi took the lead on 50 minutes with Serie A debutant Juan. A free kick was floated across the face of goal and Salvatore Aronica lost sight of the Brazilian, so he flicked in the ball from six yards. Things then collapsed for Reggina as Valdez saw red for a cruching tackle on Simone Perrotta.
Ludovic Giuly had a penalty shout for a mistimed Stadsgaard challenge, then Totti's lob settled on to the roof of the net. Giuly spun round his marker and the shot was deflected into the air for a tricky Campagnolo save.
Roma were totally dominating now, but Perrotta failed to double their advantage clear on goal, firing off target with only the goalkeeper to beat from eight yards!
Moments later, Totti put the tie beyond doubt. Cicinho rolled the pass across, Aquilani's dummy confused the defence and Il Capitano placed a low drive into the net from nine yards.
Siena 1 Milan 1
Milan did not warm up for their Champions League match against Benfica as they might have liked, dropping two points. Milan started brightly, but Siena slowly got into the game, and took the lead when Dida fumbled a shot…Kaladsze had a simple clearance but fell over the ball. Former Middlesbrough man Masimo Maccarone tapped in despite being offside according to replays.
Milan created chances but Siena were kept in the game by some lax defending from Milan, and chances were being created for the home team. This led to an end to end game of many chances, which came to life in stoppage time: first Milan equalised when a free kick was cleared to Nesta who volleyed home superbly. Mario Frick was then shown a red card as he broke up a Milan counter attack, and in the final seconds Milan hit the bar through Seedorf's superb free kick.