On the first day of Serie A matches between Roma and Napoli clubs, there was a direct battle for second place. The match started evenly and the favorites, the capital footballers, did not show superiority despite playing at home. On the contrary, in the middle of the first half, Marek Hamšík made a precise pass to Dries Mertens, and the Belgian expertly passed the "giallorossi" goalkeeper. After conceding a goal, Roma's attacks intensified, but the hosts failed to equalize the score. At the beginning of the second half, the same Mertens punished them again, this time assisted by Lorenzo Insigne. Luciano Spalletti's players then put even more pressure forward, and Kevin Strootman eventually managed to reduce the deficit. However, he scored too late for "giallorossi" to equalize. So, after winning, Napoli footballers approached their rivals by two points until this evening. In a later clash, Genoa's Sampdoria made Pescara surrender by eleven. The winners were led forward by Bruno Fernandes, who scored a goal and made two assists. Late in the evening, Milan hosted the Chievo footballers from Verona, whom they found it difficult to defeat. Although Carlos Bacca led the hosts forward in the middle of the first half, in the 43rd minute, before Serge Gakpe, Mattia De Sciglio committed a foul, and Jonathan De Guzman converted the penalty kick. Just a few minutes later, Carlos Bacca stood at the penalty spot, but his shot was imprecise and the first half ended in a draw. After the break, Bacca rose to the occasion, scoring in the 70th minute, and finally, when the Colombian was replaced, Gianluca Lapadula converted another penalty kick for the "rossoneri." The match ended with a score of 3-1, and Milan, who achieved three points, temporarily climbed to fifth place. Results: Roma 1 - 2 Napoli [0-1] 26' Dries Mertens [0-2] 50' Dries Mertens [1-2] 89' Kevin Strootman Sampdoria 3 - 1 Pescara [1-0] 18' Bruno Fernandes [1-1] 32' Alberto Cerri [2-1] 58' Fabio Quagliarella [3-1] 68' Patrik Shick Milan 3 - 1 Chievo [1-0] 24' Carlos Bacca [1-1] 43' Jonathan De Guzman (from penalty kick) 45' Carlos Bacca (Milan) missed a penalty kick [2-1] 70' Carlos Bacca [3-1] 82' Gianluca Lapadula (from penalty kick)
