With only a few days separating us from the summer transfer market’s deadline day, the action on the pitch suggests that some of the big boys might still need reinforcements, as Lazio, Roma, Milan and Atalanta all suffered unexpected defeats on the second weekend of the season. On the contrary, defending champions Inter placed themselves in the winning column, while Napoli bounced back with a splendid display at home, and Juventus continue to enjoy life (and football) under Thiago Motta’s guidance. So let’s recap the most compelling events from the weekend by identifying the Tops and Flops of Serie A Round 2.
Top (Player): Khvicha Kvaratskehlia
While Victor Osimhen has already packed his bags, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia has now become the ultimate attraction at Napoli. And based on his most recent outing, he’s certainly determined to rise to the occasion and lead a Partenopei revival.
Following last week’s humbling defeat in Verona, Antonio Conte finally found a reason to smile, as the Georgian’s “Kvaradona” version took center stage against a Bologna side that had no clue on how to stop the flying winger.
The 23-year-old picked up Giovanni Di Lorenzo’s run towards the box with an outrageous curler that allowed the captain to break the deadlock. Kvara then scored the second himself with a daring run – and a slight deflection – while also playing a role in the third goal.
It’s safe to say that Napoli’s resurrection hopes mostly rest on the Georgian’s shoulders.
Flop (Player): Matias Soulé & Leandro Paredes
On Sunday evening, the Stadio Olimpico was initially in a celebratory mood. It wasn’t only Roma’s first home outing of the season, but Paulo Dybala was among the boys after turning down a lucrative offer from Saudi Arabia.
But sadly for La Joya, the occasion was ruined by an anti-climactic defeat at the hands of Empoli who earned their first-ever Serie A win over the Giallorossi in the Eternal City. The former Juventus star had a decent display, but he won’t thank his two Argentinian compatriots who were all over the place.
The young Matias Soulé failed to make the required impact in the final third and also lost track of Emannuel Gyasi’s run on the opening goal. Meanwhile, Leandro Paredes completely lost his head after being dispossessed, so he ended up tackling Sebastiano Esposito inside the box to gift Empoli a spot kick that ultimately proved decisive.
Top (Manager): Fabio Pecchia
Parma marked their return to the Ennio Tardini with a splendid display against Milan on Saturday night. The Crociati pounced on their guests’ shortcomings at the back, displaying courage, stamina, technique and some brilliant combinations. All in all, Fabio Pecchia’s touch was plain to see.
The 51-year-old was even brilliant in his substitutions, as illustrated by Matteo Cancellieri and Pontus Almqvist who came off the bench to combine for the winner on a night that neither side will soon forget.
Flop (Manager): Paulo Fonseca
While Pecchia seemed confident and in control, Paulo Fonseca has yet to hold a grasp on this Milan side. Despite his two-year stint at Roma, the Portuguese seems to be a complete stranger to Italian football, allowing himself to be outfoxed by two relatively unsung tacticians in his first two Serie A outings.
Fonseca has been working on improving the Rossoneri‘s rhythm – and rightly so following last season’s lackluster displays – but feeble defensive systems do not go unpunished in Calcio.
Pre-season hype now feels like a distant memory.
Top (Team): Juventus
Even though we’re only two rounds into the new campaign, Juventus fans are already in Disney Land. Now certainly winning back-to-back matches by three unanswered goals helped raise the morale, but it’s the team’s overall approach that has fascinated the Bianconeri faithful.
Gone are the days of the Corto Muso, when the team would spend the majority of the match defending a slim lead. With Motta in charge, Juventus are urged to play progressive football from the first whistle to the last.
And the scary part is that they took the pitch against Verona with a starting lineup that is from the finished article, as Nico Gonzalez, Francisco Conceicao and Teun Koopmeiners are all set to join the party.
Flop (Team): Bologna
Losing their inspirational leader Thiago Motta was never going to be an easy pill to swallow for Bologna. Moreover, they relinquished the services of Joshua Zirkzee and Riccardo Calafiori in return for Premier League cash, while Lewis Ferguson remains on the sidelines due to an ACL injury.
However, we were still expecting a bit more fight from this Rossoblu side that now looks blank and uninspired, as portrayed by their no-show at the Maradona Stadium on Sunday. Vincenzo Italiano has much work on his hands, especially with the Champions League just around the corner.
Top (Match): Torino vs Atalanta
While it wasn’t really a goal-fest, Torino and Atalanta put on a show this weekend. The home crowd gathered at the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino enjoyed some back-and-forth action with their team prevailing in the end.
Che Adams made quite an impression on his full debut, producing a goal and an assist to earn his side a 2-1 win.
However, this victory would have been impossible without some usual heroics from Vanja Milinkovic-Savic who produced a host of decisive saves, but most importantly, thwarted Mario Pasalic’s last-gasp penalty kick to preserve the slim lead.
Top (Goalkeeper): Vanja Milinkovic-Savic
A superb save from the spot in injury time should be enough to warrant the Serbian some recognition.
Top (Debut): Nicolò Savona
While Adams and Andrea Pinamonti would have been worthy selections, Nicolò Savona gets the nod since his introduction and his goal were both unexpected. Even some of the staunchest Juventus fans had never heard of the 21-year-old right-back before the start of the season.
But after an impressive cameo against Como last week, Motta selected Savona as a starter in Verona, and the latter repaid his trust with a solid display highlighted by a wonderful finish through a lobbed header.
Top (Super-Subs): Matteo Cancellieri & Pontus Almqvist
Curiously, Napoli also had two substitutes combine for a goal (David Neres and Giovanni Simeone) but the win over Bologna was already a foregone conclusion at the time.
On the other hand, Cancellieri and Almqvist forged a famous winner that earned Parma their maiden win following their return to Serie A, and the fact that it came against Milan is the icing on the cake.
Flop (Not-So-Super-Sub): Alberto Cerri
Alberto Cerri was never the most prolific of strikers, but Como fans would still have expected him to bury at least one of the two clear-cut chances that came his way later in the match against Cagliari. Instead, the Italian fluffed them wide, much to the dismay of Cesc Fabregas who perhaps regretted this substitution.
Top (Assist): Khvicha Kvaratskhelia
Calling this curling, perfectly-timed cross an assist doesn’t give it justice. This was a true piece of art. Had it been a painting, it would have been worthy of the Louvre Museum.
Top (Goal): Florian Thauvin
In earnest, Florian Thauvin has a solid case for being the best Serie A player in Round 2 after leading Udinese towards a surprising 2-1 win over their guests Lazio. The captain’s astonishing assist to Lorenzo Lucca was also worthy of the top spot. Nevertheless, the Frenchman was pipped by Kvaratskhelia’s exploits in both categories.
And yet, Thauvin cannot be denied for the Top goal of the weekend. The former Newcastle man dispossessed Matteo Guendouzi before going straight at the Biancocelesti defenses who didn’t know how to react to his daring run, and then beating Ivan Provedel with a cool finish.
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