The second matchday of Serie A was exciting, that's pretty much the only way to describe it. It was full of upsets, goals, and action. At the top of the table you have Chievo in first place with six points, at the bottom you have Udinese last with zero points, and Roma second last with just one point. There have been so many unexpected results, and among all of them, the biggest shock has to be AC Milan and Roma losing. Now we'll have to see if the two title contenders can pick themselves up, or if Inter Milan will run away with the title yet again.
1. Bari played some fantastic football
This weekend we saw Bari play against Napoli, while the match ended 2-2, I saw some of the most amazing football I've seen in a long time. Bari are known to play very quick and attacking football, but when they went ahead against Napoli, they decided to play things a little differently. Bari decided to try an extreme possession game, they basically stretched their team across the entire field with the forwards pushing up, and had the defenders pass the ball around near the keeper. This forced Napoli into pressing high up the field into Bari's penalty area, stretching the field and opening up a wealth of space. From here, Bari had no trouble sending the ball up to their quick forwards and wingers which were extremely dangerous. Napoli couldn't touch the ball as Bari played this risky style, fighting their way to a fantastic 2-2 draw away at Naples. I'm really looking forward to seeing more of this from Bari.
2. All newly-promoted teams nab wins
In the second matchday of the Serie A, you find something relatively strange which rarely occurs, all newly-promoted teams winning. Probably the hardest win among the three is Cesena's, as they were able to defeat AC Milan 2-0. Brescia defeated Palermo 3-2, and Lecce were able to win against Fiorentina 1-0. Defeating Palermo, Fiorentina, or AC Milan is difficult for any team, not just if you're newly-promoted. While Cesena truly shocked AC Milan with quick counter-attacks, Brescia were winning 3-1 against Palermo at halftime with little trouble. Lecce on the other hand took advantage of a fairly disorganized Fiorentina led by Mihajlovic, who is leading the sack race. This feat won't be repeated next week since Lecce and Cesena will be playing each other, but Brescia will be looking to continue their good form when they play away against Chievo.
3. Plenty of goals were scored
While last matchday only 15 goals were scored, this matchday we saw 35 goals! The statistics speak wonders, and it's not like there were many one-way spankings, it was truly attacking football which provided six goal thrillers like the 3-3 between Juventus and Samporia. While some say that the Serie A is boring and full of scoreless draws, it seems like this weekend says otherwise.
4. Krasic makes a difference for Juventus
Juventus have spent quite a bit this transfer market, they've bought players like Quagliarella, Aquilani, Bonucci, and Motta, but the player which made the difference against Sampdoria was a small Serbian winger. It was Krasic who truly terrorized the Sampdoria defenders, providing assists and scoring chances. Krasic headed the ball down towards Marchisio to volley it for Juve's first goal, after that Krasic provided a deadly cross which Pepe finished off for Juve's second goal. Juventus fans are hoping that Milos will become the next Nedved, and considering the way he played against Sampdoria, he could very well become a very important player for Juventus.
5. What happened to Genoa?
Genoa were the transfer market kings this summer, they brought in players like Miguel Veloso, Luca Toni, and Rafinha, but they crumbled against Chievo this weekend. The match started well for the rossoblu, youngster Mattia Destro, who was playing instead of Luca Toni, scored in the 7th minute, putting Genoa ahead at the Stadio Ferraris. It was in the second half, when Gasperini decided to take off Ranocchia that things began to go wrong. Chievo scored three goals which overturned Genoa's lead, winning an important match which puts them first in the table with six points. But what happened to Genoa? The team crumbled, they were distracted and fearful, something which shouldn't happen in your home stadium. We'll have to see how Genoa do next week away against Parma, whether they can shape up, or if they'll crumble again.
What do you think about this weekend of Serie A? Notice anything I didn't? Share your thoughts below!
6 comments… read them below or add one
Agreed on the Bari point - for the second week in a row they looked like they could have scored 3 goals and won fairly comfortably. That is not an easy feat at Napoli. I think this team has the ability to play for a Europa spot if they continue to play like they currently are. Napoli, meanwhile, also looks like a quality club and Cavani really was a good pickup for them.
I came to your site from your post on theBari blog. Good analysis of our game. Its pretty rare a team strolls into San Paolo and controls the game. Bari’s strategy, and they employ this every game, is keep posession and play it through Gillet if you have to. Sometimes annoys, but effective.
FORZA BARI!!!
I’ll return the compliment - Mikey P and the Bari blog team do a great job covering the squad and I highly recommend the site for Bari specific team news.
And I agree that there possession game was masterful this weekend. As an Arsenal fan, I enjoyed seeing Gillet set the offense and hold possession looking for seams in the defense as well as the counter. I’d prefer Bari to grab another center back or scorer, but this team as is could make some noise.
Yes, I don’t watch too much Bari, but I’ve decided that I’ll try and catch a few more games of theirs. They were fantastic, and the risky way they played was wonderful. This weekend was almost a breath of fresh air for me, so much attacking play, and so many goals.
I think that Bari can easily aim for a Europa League spot, the way they’re playing they could try to win the Coppa Italia and bring in some more money for the club.
Thanks for the comments!
One note regarding Krasic: I think Juve will need him to play at his best and consistently because the others such as Simone Pepe and Davide Lanzafame are inconsistent and are not up to his level.
Niccolo,
I think keeping an eye on Milan will be interesting in terms how Ibra and Robinho will fit in. Robinho will not accept to sit on the bench for the duration of the season and now he gets the chance with Pato’s injury. As for Ibra, most know how he can be a difficult character to deal with.