Serie A big spenders finding it tough in 2018-19

nainggolan

After two weeks of action in Serie A, the table is already taking on a familiar look, with Juventus and Napoli sitting in first and second place respectively.

However there is a surprise that the sides that were expected to chase them this season, have started the season poorly, despite major summer transfer investments.

Roma, Lazio and Inter finished third to fifth in 2017-18, however the only one of them to win a game so far this season is Roma – thanks to a last minute goal away at Torino from Edin Dzeko, to seal a 1-0 victory.

Lazio have suffered morale damaging losses to the the ‘Big Two’ of Juventus and Napoli, while Inter lost to Sassuolo and drew with Torino.

These results have not only disrupted what had been labelled as potentially one of the most open Serie A seasons for years, due to the reemergence of the sides from Rome and Milan, but placed pressure on the managers involved due to their big spending.

Simone Inzaghi has performed brilliantly in two seasons at the helm with Lazio, finishing fifth and fourth respectively ahead of 2018-19.

However this season was his first real opportunity to push on and potentially challenge for a Serie A title, and he broke the €40m mark for the first time as manager to bring in Joaquin Correa, Valon Berisha and Francesco Acerbi.

So far Acerbi has been part of a back four that has conceded four goals in his first two games, with Correa restricted to substitute appearances, as Inzaghi looks to balance his squad.

Inter have spent in excess of €70m this summer, with Luciano Spalletti spending half of that just to bring in midfielder Radja Nainggolan from rivals Roma, alongside loan fees for Keita Balde and Sime Vrsaljko from Monaco and Atletico Madrid respecively.

However they have suffered similar struggles to Lazio in the opening weeks of the new season, with Nainggolan yet to start a game and neither Balde nor Vrsaljko completing 90 minutes.

Roma have not struggled as much, and their new man Javier Pastore has started the season well, scoring the opening goal in their draw with Atalanta.

However there is a real feeling of underwhelming from the chasing pack so far in 2018-19, and they will all be mindful that when Juventus and Napoli smell weakness from the rest, they tend to accelerate away at speed.

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