In many ways the second weekend of Serie A could be seen as more of the same, but scratch below the surface and plenty has changed.
Just as in most rounds last season Juventus and Napoli both won, and so far they look the Scudetto pacesetters once again.
That’s only the case looking at binary results though, and already there’s plenty of intrigue in the Italian top flight.
Here’s what we learned from Week 2 of Serie A.
In many ways the second weekend of Serie A could be seen as more of the same, but scratch below the surface and plenty has changed.
Just as in most rounds last season Juventus and Napoli both won, and so far they look the Scudetto pacesetters once again.
That’s only the case looking at binary results though, and already there’s plenty of intrigue in the Italian top flight.
Here’s what we learned from Week 2 of Serie A.
Lazio lack balance
Lazio have been rightly lauded for keeping hold of both Ciro Immobile and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic this summer, and their attack remains one of the most dangerous in Serie A.
Take a look at their starting XI against Juventus though and it’s further back that they appear to have difficulties.
The starting back three of Wallace, Francesco Acerbi and Stefan Radu never looked equipped to deal with an attack boasting Federico Bernardeschi, Mario Mandzukic and Cristiano Ronaldo.
That defence looked shaky from the off, Sami Khedira hitting the post while unmarked in the box.
Both Ronaldo and Mandzukic were afforded far too much space for the killer second goal, and the Biancocelesti have now conceded five in two matches.
Lazio were the league’s top-scorers last season but conceded at least three goals more than anyone else in the top nine.
That more than anything, is what cost them a place in the Champions League, and Simone Inzaghi has to find a balance if they’re to avoid slipping backward this season.
Ancelotti makes his impact
Napoli had actually played well against Milan, despite being 2-0 down, but it was an innovation from Carlo Ancelotti which really changed the game in their favour.
Predecessor Maurizio Sarri was often criticised for his ‘plug and play’ substitutions, changing the personnel without changing the system.
Ancelotti did both, first moving Piotr Zielinski into a more advanced role and then sacrificing Marek Hamsik in midfield to get Dries Mertens onto the pitch to partner Arkadiusz Milik.
The results were there for all to see, with Zielinski scoring twice and Mertens grabbing a late winner.
Fiorentina start with a bang
There has been a lot of excitement about a young Viola team, and their season started a week late after the postponement against Sapmdoria.
Fiorentina absolutely raced out of the blocks though, thrashing Chievo 6-1 in a result which didn’t flatter them in the slightest.
Given it was the first match of the season for the Tuscan side we don’t have much context, but Chievo’s showing against Juventus would indicate they aren’t going to be regular whipping boys.
Much heralded signing Marko Pjaca only got 15 minutes at the end, and that should provide Fiorentina fans with plenty of cause for optimism.
Pressure creeping up at Inter
After their defeat to Sassuolo, Luciano Spalletti’s Inter side faced another of their bogey teams and this column warned that another negative result could raise the pressure on the team.
While the boiler isn’t about to blow at San Siro, the gauge is hovering firmly between green and orange after the Nerazzurri squandered a 2-0 lead against Torino.
Samir Handanovic went walkabout for Andrea Belotti’s goal, but the hosts were under pressure for much of the second half.
Next weekend’s trip to Bologna should represent a winnable fixture, but a failure to secure all three points would see Inter heading into the international break with a real air of negativity surrounding the squad.
Roma can score now
Last season Roma were very much the opposite of their city rivals – tight at the back, but laboured in front of goal.
It appeared last week that this season would be more of the same, as brilliant piece of invention from Edin Dzeko seeing them past Torino.
Last night though Monchi’s focus on improving the attack appeared to be justified, with the Giallorossi trading punches with Atalanta in a thrilling 3-3 draw.
Javier Pastore’s opener was an early goal of the season contender, and Coach Eusebio Di Francesco ended the match with five forwards on the field.
Time will tell if the three goals they conceded were an anomaly, but it appears last season’s glaring weakness has been addressed.