Serie A made an emphatic return to the lives of calcio fanatics at the weekend and reminded each and every one of us why we have missed it so much.
Roma kicked things off with a disappointing draw away at Hellas Verona, only to have their spirits lifted when current Scudetto holders Juventus were shocked by Udinese who left the Juventus stadium with all three points, and in doing so became the first team to claim maximum points against the Bianconeri in Turin in a staggering 48 games.
The biggest game of the round saw Fiorentina defeat AC Milan 2-0, while Champions League hopefuls Napoli were beaten by the continually impressive Sassuolo.
Serie A newboys Carpi proved they still have some progress to make as they were demolished by Sampdoria, conceding five goals in the opening 40 minutes, while Frosinone can take pride from their performance having taken the lead against much-fancied Torino, despite eventually falling to defeat.
Elsewhere, Inter saw off a stubborn Atalanta side thanks to an injury time winner from debutant Stevan Jovetic, while Lazio overcame Bologna in reasonably comfortable fashion.
Our Team of the Week will see a 3-4-3 formation deployed.
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Orestis Karnezis – Udinese
The Greek shot-stopper was in fine form and Juventus will consider themselves unfortunate to have not scored a goal on the night. The Zebrette would not have stood a chance were it not for the exploits of the 30-year-old and can thank him for their historic 1-0 victory.
Nicolo Cherubin – Atalanta
The 28-year-old can feel aggrieved to have been on the losing side, as his Atalanta fell to a last-gasp Stevan Jovetic winner. Cherubin was phenomenal on the night, shutting down attack after attack and made a number of vital blocks, particularly in the second half in what turned into a backs-to-the-wall performance for the Bergamo outfit.
Nikola Maksimovic – Torino
Another Toro player who has been a target for many Serie A sides this summer proving his value to the Granata already this season. The Serb was dominant as ever when called into action and kept Frosinone at arms length for the most part.
Thomas Heurtaux – Udinese
The Frenchman did the job of many men at the Juventus Stadium as he went toe-to-toe with the Bianconeri strikers, as well as cleaning up the mess left by his defensive partners time and time again. He was by far the standout performer in the Zebrette’s back line and provided the most protection to the imperious Karnezis in goal.
Bruno Peres – Torino
The Brazilian full-back has been the centre of much transfer attention throughout the summer and showed everybody exactly what all the fuss is about with his very first appearance of the season. It’s easy to see why Roma have been chasing him all summer as he powered forward on several occasions, while not forgetting his defensive duties. Perhaps deserved a goal for his efforts.
Lucas Biglia – Lazio
The newly appointed Lazio captain will look back on this game with mixed emotions, as he was forced off with an injury that will likely see him miss the vital Champions League qualifier away to Bayer Leverkusen. Up until his departure, however, he was fantastic. He dominated the midfield, which his replacement struggled to do for the remainder of the game. He capped his performance with a well-taken goal.
Borja Valero – Fiorentina
The Spaniard completely controlled the midfield in typical fashion as the Viola saw off AC Milan. In possession, he was composed and rarely put a foot wrong despite constantly being under pressure. Without the ball, he put in a number of strong tackles which set the tempo and tone for his teammates to follow.
Antonio Candreva – Lazio
The Italian began his campaign much like previous seasons and was impressive on the night. Consistently used his pace and strength to give the Bologna defenders problems and he capitalised on this when he delivered the cross that allowed Ricardo Kishna to give the Biancocelesti their early lead.
Luis Muriel – Sampdoria
The former Udinese man welcomed Carpi to the league in the most unforgiving way possible. He won a penalty for his side early on and subsequently added two goals of his own in quick succession. The Colombian’s performance alone is a sobering reminder for Carpi that they have a lot of work to do should they want to stay in the top tier.
Cyril Thereau – Udinese
His appearance in this team as a forward is based purely on his natural position, rather than where he did most of his work on the weekend just gone. He spent most of his night chasing down the Juve midfield and not allowing them a moment of rest, and failed to worry the defence of the Scudetto holders too often. That was, however, until he grabbed the decisive goal late on to steal all three points for his side.
Ricardo Kishna – Lazio
The Dutch forward no doubt made a lasting first impression on the Lazio supporters as he got off the mark just over 20 minutes into his first start for the club. His performance continued at an impressive level for the remainder of the game, despite not being able to add any more goals. It would appear that the Biancocelesti might have unearthed another star.
