"Serie A" starts - "Milan" victory and surprises © EuroFootball.com

On Sunday, September 10, the remaining 1st round matches were played in the strongest league in Italy. The victory was celebrated by one of the championship favorites "Milan", "Palermo" defeated their opponents in a seven-goal thriller, "Atalanta" and "Messina" also proved their superiority against their opponents, "Catania" celebrated unexpected victories away, as did "Siena" and "Empoli". The most attention-grabbing match on Sunday saw "Milan" defeat their opponents from the capital, "Lazio", at home with a score of 2-1. Both teams needed points in these matches, as both clubs started the championship with a deficit due to a match-fixing scandal. In the 26th minute, Brazilian Kaka successfully passed the ball to his teammate Filippo Inzaghi, who beat "Lazio" goalkeeper Angelo Peruzzi with a precise shot and put his team ahead. The same situation repeated at the end of the first half, but this time the goal was disallowed due to a controversial offside call by the referee. In the 60th minute of the match, Ricardo Oliveira made his debut for "Milan" in official matches and soon proved that the club's management did not make a mistake by paying him £10 million. Just ten minutes after his debut, the former "Valencia" player doubled the lead with a header. However, "Lazio" regained hope of earning points in the match when Tommaso Rocchi, beating the offside trap, passed the ball to "Lazio" newcomer S. Makinwai, who also marked his debut with a goal. Nevertheless, "Lazio" failed to equalize the score in the remaining time, and the club remains with an 11-point deficit in the table, while "Milan" reduced theirs to five. In probably the most stubborn matches of the round, "Palermo" defeated "Reggina" with a score of 4-3 in a seven-goal extravaganza in a home match. Although the hosts led 3-0 as early as the 27th minute, such a result caused the "Palermo" players to relax too much, and by the 55th minute, the score was already 3-2. However, Amauri saved the Sicilian team by scoring the fourth club goal. However, even then "Reggina" did not intend to give up, and in the 79th minute, Rolando Bianchi scored his and the team's third goal. However, "Reggina" players lacked the strength to score another goal, and they had to leave the field without earning a single point. In other matches, "Atalanta" made a resounding return to "Serie A", convincingly defeating "Ascoli", who debuted in the league last season, at home by 3-1. Towards the end of the first half, the hosts led 3-0, mostly thanks to Nicola Ventola. The former "Inter" player scored two goals, securing his team's victory. In the second half, "Ascoli" managed to score a consolation goal, but they failed to get more from this match. The strongest league's remaining team, "Messina", celebrated an unexpected victory at home with a minimal score 1-0 over one of the biggest disappointments of last season, "Udinese". The three points were decided by Marco Zanchi's headed goal in the 74th minute. The "Sampdoria" players, who had a tragic last season, seem to have more difficulties this season as well. In their first match, they lost at home 1-2 to the "Empoli" team. Moreover, the Genoa club finished the match with nine men. Although the hosts led 1-0 after a goal by Emiliano Bonazzoli in the 9th minute, they lost their advantage just 15 minutes later, and at the start of the second half, "Sampdoria" defender Giulio Falcone was sent off after a foul in the penalty area, leading to a penalty kick for "Empoli", which was converted by Luca Saudati. Furthermore, two minutes before the end, another player from the Genoa club received a red card, and the club ended their first season match with nine men. The biggest surprise was experienced by last season's high flyers "Chievo", who lost at home 1-2 to the "Siena" team. The Verona club led from the 30th minute, but they allowed two goals in the last 15 minutes of the match and spoiled the celebration at the "Bentegodi" stadium for the gathered fans. Meanwhile, in other matches, the league debutant "Catania" surprised the experts by defeating the league veteran "Cagliari" away with a score of 1-0, showing their opponents that they will not give up without a fight this season. The "Torino" club was saved from defeat at home to the "Parma" team by a last-minute goal by Roberto Stellone. Alberto Zaccheroni's side struggled from the 55th minute, but a resilient forward saved the season after a disappointing start, with the match ending in a 1-1 draw. Sunday's match results: "Milan" 2 – 1 "Lazio" 26` [1 – 0] Filippo Inzaghi 70` [2 – 0] Ricardo Oliveira 73` [2 – 1] Stephan Ayodele Makinwa "Palermo" 4 – 3 "Reggina" 11` [1 – 0] Mark Bresciano 17` [2 – 0] Giuseppe Biava 27` [3 – 0] Eugenio Corini (p) 42` [3 – 1] Rolando Bianchi 55` [3 – 2] Rolando Bianchi 67` [4 – 2] Amauri 79` [4 – 3] Rolando Bianchi (p) 72` Salvatore Aronica sent off ("Reggina") "Atalanta" 3 – 1 "Ascoli" 32` [1 – 0] Ricardo Zampagna 38` [2 – 0] Nicola Ventola 44` [3 – 0] Nicola Ventola 59` [3 – 1] Sasa Bjelanovic "Messina" 1 – 0 "Udinese" 74` [1 – 0] Marco Zanchi "Sampdoria" 1 – 2 "Empoli" 9` [1 – 0] Emiliano Bonazzoli 26` [1 – 1] Antonio Busce 51` [1 – 2] Luca Saudati (p) 51` Giulio Falcone sent off ("Sampdoria") 88` Gennaro Del Vecchio sent off ("Sampdoria") "Chievo" 1 – 2 "Siena" 30` [1 – 0] Sergio Pellissier 74` [1 – 1] Ezio Brevi 89` [1 – 2] Enrico Chiesa 90` Matteo Brighi sent off ("Chievo") "Cagliari" 0 – 1 "Catania" 55` [0 – 1] Giorgio Corona 90` Daniele Conti sent off ("Cagliari") "Torino" 1 - 1 "Parma" 55` [0 - 1] Igor Budan 89` [1 - 1] Roberto Stellone