It was a good week in Serie A for the Milan sides, with Inter impressing in a 2-1 win against the reigning and 5-time consecutive Italian Champions, Juventus. Neighbours, AC Milan got a vital win against Sampdoria as well.
Also Read: Allegri blasts 'complacent' Juve after defeat at Inter
Napoli won comfortably against Bologna at the Stadio San Paolo and now sit at the summit, while Roma went down away to Fiorentina. We take a look at the main talking points below
1. Inter still less than the sum of their parts, but Juve win could be springboard
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It was immensely refreshing to see the San Siro roar to life when Mauro Icardi equalized against Juventus, and Ivan Perisic then sent the Nerazzurri fans into delirium not too long after. The San Siro is a cathedral of football and it’s been disappointing to see teams of the pedigree and class of Inter and Milan perform awfully there for the last few years.
But Inter have accumulated a roster of some excellent players under their new management, and if they’re allowed a cohesive atmosphere to grow will most certainly grow into an excellent team. Frank De Boer realized very quickly that the Italian media aren’t going to give him any time to settle and even the fans expect immediate results.
His delight with the 2-1 victory over Juventus showed how much this win meant to him, and how much it’ll mean to catapult his players’ confidence for the next few games at the very least.
#2. Arek Milik scoring goals for fun
“Higuain who?” is what Napoli fans will want to shout in your face after Arek Milik’s recent goalscoring exploits. He’s hit the ground running in Naples, and already has 6 goals in 5 games in all competitions.
The Poland striker had a decent time at Euro 2016 and has been one of most promising forwards in Europe for a while but even the players biggest admirers wouldn’t have imagined he would make such a blistering start.
He’s making scoring goals look remarkably easy at the moment, even though his manager Maurizio Sarri is trying his best to underplay his form and ask everyone to give him time to reach his peak.
What has to also be admired is the way Sarri gets this Napoli team to play, with runners from midfield and the wing, and his side making sure to create multiple goalscoring chances during the course of a match. It’s been a delight to watch so far.
#3. Sassuolo, the beacon of Italian football
Sassuolo are at the moment level with Juventus with 3 wins from 4 games in Serie A. They’re also just coming off the back off a splendid 3-0 home win against Athletic Bilbao in the Europa League.
The way they’ve been juggling their Serie A and Europa League commitments has been an absolute joy to watch so far. For a club that was down in the lower rungs of Italian football just a few years ago, their recent success has illustrated how they are amongst some of the best run clubs in world football.
Eusebio Di Francesco is a brilliant young manager as well, and makes his team practice their movements in training so well that they move like a synchronized unit on the field and have made up for the absences of Nicola Sansone (sold to Villareal) and Sime Vrsaljko (sold to Atletico Madrid) without too many problems.
Their Italian identity, fluid and cohesive footballing style and consistency have truly made them a beacon of Italian football.
#4. Milan win but still lack cohesiveness
Vincenzo Montella was another manager feeling the pressure at AC Milan after a home loss against Udinese. While we pointed out last week how the club has not delivered the players he needs, the fact is that now the season has started and he needs to make the most of the players at his disposal.
Montella doesn’t have a lot of time to find his best 11 and needs to find a cohesiveness in midfield ASAP. The former Fiorentina and Sampdoria manager has several decisions to make; whether to trust the young Manuel Locatelli with considerable game time, whether to bench Riccardo Montolivo. and where to fit in Jose Sosa, the midfielder he asked the club to sign from Besiktas for a noteworthy fee.
The attributes of this roster aren’t ideal, but L’Aeroplanino must find a trio that can function successfully to have any chance of the Rossoneri challenging for the European places.
#5. Should Roma have signed another forward?
Another match, and another crucial game in which Roma missed chance after chance only to concede later in the game and give up all 3 points. Roma fans will have been left immensely frustrated after last night's match.
Fiorentina are a very difficult side to play against, But Roma should have taken the lead in Florence. Edin Dzeko started off his pre-season very well this year and Luciano Spalletti seemed confident he could have a great season. His wastefulness in some critical matches could go on to haunt the Italian manager, though, and it was no different yesterday.
While Mauro Icardi bangs in the goals for Inter, Carlos Bacca for Milan, Dybala and Higuain for Juventus and even Nikola Kalinic for Fiorentina, Dzeko isn’t being able to shoulder the burden for the Giallorossi. 9 goals in 33 Serie A games is simply not good enough.
