The opening round in the Italian league will close tonight (Monday) with two games. First, Napoli opened the season with a huge 2:5 away win over Verona, and later Juventus will host Sassuolo (9:45 p.m., Sport2) for their opening match.
Verona – Napoli 5:2
Luciano Spalletti’s team entered a new era this summer. Without Lorenzo Insigne, Dries Martens and Kalidou Koulibaly, who left the club, in southern Italy there was concern about the future, but according to the opening round, it seems that the existing squad, or at least the offensive part of it, is no less threatening and dangerous than before.
Verona took the lead in the 29th minute with a goal by Kevin Lasania, but the visitors came back eight minutes later with a goal by their most intriguing acquisition of the summer. Habicha Kabrazdalia, who came from Kazan and is defined by many as the prodigy from Georgia, was honored with Napoli’s first goal of the season and even saw Victor Osiman convert the result just before the halftime whistle.
Thomas Henry equalized to 2:2 in the 48th minute, but since then Napoli opened fire and never looked back. Kabrazdalia set up for Piotr Zhelinsky who made it 2:3 in the 55th minute, Stanislav Lobotka doubled the advantage in the 65th minute. Matteo Politano turned the host’s loss into a defeat when he sealed the game’s result in the 79th minute.
Juventus – Sassuolo (21:45, Sport2)
The old lady went through a bad preparation period when in her last two games she was beaten 6:0 by both Madrid teams (2:0 from Real and another 4:0 from Atlético in what was the general return for the league). Now, with a long absentee list headed by flashy and returning acquisition Paul Pogba, Juventus will be hoping to open the 2022/23 Serie A season with a smile. Even Moises Can, who carries yellow cards from the previous season, will not be available to Massimiliano Allegri.
On the other hand, the guest who sold two of their biggest stars in the summer – Gianluca Scamacca to West Ham for 36 million euros, and Jeremy Boga to Atalanta for 22 million euros will present their acquired players and hope to achieve a victory over Juventus after two consecutive losses against them (one in the league and one in the cup).
The results of the first round matches in Serie A:
Lecce – Inter 2:1
Monza – Turin 2:1
Milan – Udinese 2:4
Sampdoria – Atalanta 2:0
Lazio – Bologna 1:2
Salerno – Rome 1:0
Spezia – Empoli 0:1
Fiorentina – Cremona 2:3