Napoli Player Ratings vs Juventus

Serie A’s marquee matchup of round 2 lived up, then exceeded, all hype and expectations as Juventus and Napoli played to a theatric 4-3 result, with the Bianconeri managing to come out on top after squandering a three-goal lead in the second half.

Here are the player ratings for Carlo Ancelotti’s Partenopei on the night in Turin. Continue reading

Juventus Top Performers – Round Two vs Napoli

Juventus threw away a stellar performance with a 15-minute black-out that allowed Napoli to mount an improbable three-goal comeback, but an ill-fated Kalidou Koulibaly touch still gifted them of the first major victory of the season.

Danilo (2 points): how about that for an introduction for the newcomer, who was thrown into the fire due to an injury to Mattia De Sciglio and scored on his second touch after initiating a killer counter and keeping up with Douglas Costa. He had a solid game throughout, making his presence known in both phases and displaying an impressive physical condition. Continue reading

AC Milan 1-0 Brescia: Rossoneri get the job done despite flat performance

AC Milan clinched their first three points of the season, beating Brescia by one goal to nil in front of the home crowd at San Siro. However, the victory was far from convincing, although one can hope that they are on the right track. 

Giampaolo’s men took the lead early through Calhanoglu, who after 12 minutes of play headed it in at the back post. Suso was responsible for the assist as he made his way past the opponent before sending in a beautiful cross with his right foot. Continue reading

Paratici rules out Dybala leaving and addresses Chiellini injury

Juventus CFO Fabio Paratici formally took Paulo Dybala out of the market for the first time: “I rule out his departure in a definitive way. His picture with Giorgio Chiellini demonstrates how tight this group is. The transfer market is not only made of planning, but also of opportunities and some unexpected events, like Giorgio Chiellini’s one. The ongoing games can lead to some trepidation but we are very serene. If there were any, we could take advantage of some bargains in the time left, otherwise we will stay as is.” Continue reading

Serie A Transfer Market Weekly Recap

Little time left in the window and the clubs are putting the finishing touches on the rosters and getting rid of surplus players. The biggest move of the week was once again made by Inter, which signed Alexis Sanchez on loan from Manchester United and also acquired Cristiano Biraghi from Fiorentina in a swap with Dalbert. The Red Devils sent also Chris Smalling to Roma, who temporarily leaves Old Trafford after eight seasons and was regular in the last three. His experience will give him an edge over the younger options, but it would not particularly surprising to see Federico Fazio lose the starting job at some point. Continue reading

AC Milan vs. Brescia: Team news, stats and prediction

Following the disappointing defeat in the first round, losing by the odd goal away at Udinese, AC Milan will be looking to get back on the right track this evening. At San Siro, the Rossoneri will host the newly-promoted side Brescia. 

The season certainly didn’t get off to the start that Giampaolo’s men would have hoped for, not only result-wise but also based on the performance. Against Udinese, the Rossoneri failed to register a single shot on target, which really speaks for itself. The home side deservedly clinched the three points and Milan were forced back to the drawing board.  Continue reading

Five keys to Juventus vs Napoli

This weekend of the 2019/20 Serie A season is one of the more anticipated rounds, with it having been circled on the calendar ever since it came out last month.

Saturday evening sees two of the league‘s main title contenders pitted against one another at Juventus Stadium in Turin as Maurizio Sarri’s Juventus play host to Carlo Ancelotti’s Napoli. Though the attention and buzz surrounding this fixture stems from Sarri’s first match against his former club, his status for the bench remains unclear at the moment. In any case, this clash promises to deliver plenty of excitement, tension and drama.

Here are five key elements which could determine the outcome of this round 2 encounter. Continue reading

Martusciello discusess Higuain and Dybala in pre-game presser

Giovanni Martusciello filled for Maurizio Sarri in the pre-game presser: “He si recovering nicely, he has been present at the facility despite not partaking directly to the training sessions. He is fine, he has to pass some tests this afternoon that will determine whether he can be on the bench tomorrow.”

On the Champions League group: “It is clearly demanding, but so is for the others. We just need to work on those things that are not going well so we can tackle it in the best possible way. We are Juventus, so nothing can be too difficult for us.” Continue reading

Serie A Probable Lineups – Round Two

Bologna-SPAL

Bologna: 4-2-3-1 Skorupski; Tomiyasu, Danilo, Denswil, Dijks; Poli, Medel; Orsolini, Soriano, Sansone; Destro.

Potential lineup changes: Dzemaili for Medel, Palacio for Destro.

 

SPAL: 3-5-2 Berisha; Cionek, Vicari, Felipe; D’Alessandro, Valoti, Missiroli, Kurtic, Igor; Petagna, Di Francesco. Continue reading

They say form goes out the window at the Rome Derby – and recent history backs up the cliché

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We’re not used to this. The Derby della Capitale, Italy’s most ferocious rivalry, is just two days away . And we’re still in August.

This is the fixture that can define a season for Lazio and Roma, the game that fans traditionally spend months mentally preparing for at the dawn of a new season.

Not this time, as Lega Serie A decided to shake things up by scheduling the capital clash in the second week of the season, the first time it will ever take place so early.

Given the timing of the game, all the hard evidence we have to go on so far is the opening weekend of fixtures, which ended in contrasting emotions for the two clubs. Continue reading