Four Serie A matches took place on Sunday, though connoisseurs of action-packed football would rather forget this uneventful day. Except for Salernitana’s dominant performance against Sampdoria, the three remaining fixtures failed to live up to expectations.
Let’s take a look at everything that happened in Serie A today.
Salernitana Put Sampdoria to the Sword
After going winless in their opening two Serie A matches (D1, L1), Salernitana utterly outclassed Sampdoria at home, claiming an overwhelming 4-0 victory.
Summer signing Boulaye Dia opened the scoring only seven minutes into his maiden Serie A start, slotting home a point-blank tap-in to put the Granata in front.
He then provided a sublime assist from the left wing for Federico Bonazzoli’s stellar finish past Sampdoria keeper Emil Audero, with Davide Nicola’s side doubling their lead within 16 minutes.
Another summer acquisition Tonny Vilhena killed the game off five minutes from the restart, putting Salernitana’s third on the board with a delightful close-range finish.
Former Bodo/Glimt star man Erik Botheim put his stamp on the home side’s emphatic triumph with his first goal in Serie A in the 76th minute.
While Salernitana got off the mark on Sunday, Sampdoria remain the only team in Italy’s top flight yet to find the back of the net this term as head coach Marco Giampaolo faces a potential sack.
Atalanta Squeeze Past Verona in Low-Scoring Thriller
Atalanta maintained their unbeaten start to the 2022/23 Serie A season as they came out 1-0 victors at Hellas Verona, courtesy of Teun Koopmeiners’ sensational second-half strike.
Following a hard-fought 1-1 home draw with defending champions Milan, Gian Piero Gasperini’s side headed to Marc’Antonio Bentegodi looking to solidify their position in the European qualification race.
Meanwhile, after losing 5-2 to Napoli on the opening weekend, the Gialloblu were keen to give the home supporters something to cheer about and potentially pick up their first league win of the new season.
Though they cannot be accused of a lack of trying, Gabriele Cioffi’s men struggled to find the final product despite fielding both center-forwards Kevin Lasagna and Thomas Henry.
On the other hand, Atalanta looked threatening when moving forward, with Ademola Lookman and Ruslan Malinovskyi combining well up front with Duvan Zapata.
However, an evenly-contested first half suggested the share of the spoils could be on the cards. That’s until Koopmeiners decided otherwise.
The Dutch midfielder carried the ball from the middle of the pitch and unleashed a thundering long-range effort into the bottom left corner of Lorenzo Montipó’s goal to determine the winner in the 50th minute.
Verona pushed bodies forward in a desperate attempt to get an equalizer, leaving plenty of spaces behind. Yet, Atalanta failed to convert several clear-cut chances to seal their win earlier.
Fiorentina and Napoli Produce Tepid Scoreless Draw
Would you believe it? For the third time running, Vincenzo Italiano’s Fiorentina have failed to score or concede as they held Napoli to a goalless stalemate at the Stadio Artemio Franchi.
You’d have to go back to February 2019 to find the last scoreless encounter between these two sides in Serie A.
Indeed, both last season’s league showdowns between La Viola and the Partenopei featured 3+ goals and both teams on the scoresheet, suggesting today’s fixture could be the one to remember.
But a conservative approach from both managers turned this match-up into a chess game, with each side struggling for goalscoring opportunities.
Napoli thought they had the deadlock-breaker in hand when Victor Osimhen smashed the ball into the back of the net on the stroke of halftime, only to see his celebrations cut short by the linesman’s flag.
Ex-Sassuolo Giacomo Raspadori came close to scoring on his Partenopei debut in the 83rd minute, latching on to a pass on the edge of the box and turning it towards the bottom left corner.
Atalanta loanee Pierluigi Gollini came up huge to deny the young Italian with a fabulous save, preserving a point for Fiorentina.
Italiano’s men have yet to lose a league outing this season (W1, D2), while Sunday’s draw means no side has won all three opening Serie A matches.
Despite being held goalless for the first time this term, Napoli are still top of the table, courtesy of a superior goal difference to the closest followers.
Lecce Hit Back to Win Their First Serie A Point This Season
After back-to-back single-goal margin defeats to Inter and Sassuolo, Lecce welcomed fellow bottom-half strugglers Empoli to the Stadio Via del Mare.
Both sides entered this round seeking their first win of the season. But a 1-1 stalemate means they had to settle for a meaningless share of the spoils.
Empoli, who failed to get on the scoresheet in the opening two matchdays, drew first blood through Fabiano Parisi midway through the first half.
The attacking-minded left-back saw his deflected effort bounce over the helpless Wladimiro Falcone for the visitors’ lead.
Despite falling behind early in the game, Lecce looked unfazed and managed to strike back late in the first half as Lameck Banda found Gabriel Strefezza on the edge of the box, whose stunning shot ended up in the top corner.
Assan Ceesay thought he completed the turnaround ten minutes from time, but it was wickedly pulled back for offside.
Both teams will have to do better if they are to find a way out of the bottom half of the Serie A standings.