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Genoa kicked off the 2010/11 Serie A season with a 1-0 win at Udinese thanks to a late goal from Giandomenico Mesto. The visitors - who had spent the most money in the transfer market this summer, practically constructing a new team - made the best of starts to the season with a rare away win at the Stadio Friuli.
The only goal of the game came towards the end of a tight encounter with substitute Mesto taking the Rossoblu provisionally to the top of the table.
After a hot and sunny day in the Friuli-Venezia-Giulia region, the heavens opened an hour before kick-off and the rain seemed to dampen the anticipation of a new season of football in Italy.
Neither side was able to entertain the fans in the first half, with the only real chance falling to Genoa striker Giuseppe Sculli in the 24th minute.
His header was saved on the line by Samir Handanovic before Gokhan Inler cleared the danger ahead of the Genoa striker.
The first half ended on a worrying note for the away side when Luca Toni, one of their many new arrivals this summer, limped off with a thigh strain to be replaced by Raffaele Palladino.
Genoa's new goalkeeper Eduardo came into his own in the second half, showing courage and alertness to thwart any danger the home side could create.
The game appeared to be heading for a stalemate until a moment of magic from Mesto broke the deadlock in the 81st minute.
Omar Milanetto's cross from the right was nodded down by Dario Dainelli and an acrobatic overhead kick from Mesto beat Handanovic and sank Udinese as Genoa took all three points.
AS Roma 0-0 Cesena
Title-challengers Roma were held to a goalless draw at home in their Serie A opener by newly promoted Cesena this evening. Cesena veteran goalkeeper Francesco Antonioli came off his line to deny Matteo Brighi a late winner for Roma.
With star signing Adriano out injured, Roma coach Claudio Ranieri kept faith with the attacking pair of Mirko Vucinic and Francesco Totti, two players that led the club to a runners-up finish in Serie A last season.
Vucinic should have given the Romans an early lead but his header from Daniele De Rossi's cross went wide.
Cesena, who tried to play on the counter-attack from the start, almost went ahead in the 20th minute.
Emanuele Giaccherini served Yuto Nagatomo following a fast break and the latter struck just wide of the far post.
Roma should have gone into the interval with a 1-0 lead but Totti's right-footed strike from the edge of the area sailed past the post.
Cesena started brightly in the second half and almost broke the deadlock shortly after the hour mark.
Roma goalkeeper Julio Sergio was forced to fully stretch to clear Luca Ceccarelli's 15-yard strike towards the far post.
At the other end, Vucinic latched onto De Rossi's cross but his header went just over the bar.
With 10 minutes remaining, Totti almost handed Roma three points.
The captain attempted to nod in substitute Rodrigo Taddei's cross but his effort was off target as Roma settled for a point.
Bari 1-0 Juventus
Bari shocked Juventus at the start of the Serie A season with a 1-0 win at the Stadio San Nicola today. A stunning goal from Massimo Donati just before the interval was enough to decide the game in Bari's favour and see the Bianconeri, who came into the season with high hopes and expectations, suffer their first setback.
The hosts deserved their win for the courage and conviction they showed in front of almost 50,000 fans.
Abdelkader Ghezzal had the first chance for Bari in the 22nd minute when he beat the offside trap to bear down on Marco Storari, but his attempted shot through the Juventus goalkeeper's legs was deflected just inches wide.
Juve's best chance fell to Felipe Melo, whose shot from distance was pushed wide by Jean-Francois Gillet.
Donati then decided the outcome with a shot worthy of winning any game.
The former Celtic midfielder turned inside Claudio Marchisio and sent his shot in off the inside of the left-hand post from just outside the penalty area in the 43rd minute.
Paulo Barreto had the chance to make it two in the 63rd minute when he rounded Storari, but Giorgio Chiellini covered to block his angled shot behind for a corner.
Chiellini probably should have equalised with the last touch of the game when he was left alone in front of Gillet's goal to meet Alessandro Del Piero's free-kick, but he sent the ball over the top of the bar from eight yards out.
The final whistle followed moments later as Bari celebrated a major scalp on the opening day of the 2010/11 season.
Parma 2-0 Brescia
Brescia endured a disappointing return to Serie A as Parma started the new season with an impressive win at the Ennio Tardini stadium. First half goals from Valeri Bojinov and Stefano Morrone ensured the Gialloblu kicked off the 2010-11 campaign on the right foot.
Parma hit the ground running and took the lead inside 10 minutes.
New signing Sebastian Giovinco fed Bojinov inside the area and his right-footed strike beat Brescia goalkeeper Matteo Sereni.
On the half hour mark, Alessandro Diamanti should have done better for Brescia but the former West Ham player fired wide from a good position.
At the other end, Giovinco almost made it 2-0 but his 12-yard effort was saved by Sereni.
Soon after and Sereni was called on again to make a save from Cristian Zaccardo's bullet strike from distance.
Parma doubled their lead on the stroke of half-time.
Alessandro Lucarelli headed the ball towards the six-yard box where Morrone made no mistake from close range and struck it past the keeper.
The visitors should have reduced the arrears early in the second half but Parma goalkeeper Antonio Mirante made a crucial save from Andrea Caracciolo's eight-yard strike.
Giovinco was unlucky not to add his second of the evening before the hour mark as his powerful shot from outside the area struck the bar with Sereni already beaten.
Brescia never gave up hope and Eder nearly handed the visitors a consolation goal with one minute left to play.
His powerful header from a corner struck the post as Parma claimed all three points.
Chievo 2-1 Catania
Sergio Pellissier converted an 84th-minute winner as Chievo got their Serie A season off to a perfect start at the expense of Catania. Belgian striker Davide Moscardelli put the home side in front after quarter of an hour but Catania's Adrian Ricchiuti drew the scores level inside seven minutes.
That looked to be the end of the scoring until Pellissier won and converted the late spot-kick.
Catania's offside trap caught Chievo out several times early on but their defensive effort was undermined when some slack work at the back allowed him to slip in for his first goal in the top flight.
The equaliser was a surprise when it came, Ricchiuti producing a fine lob that gave home goalkeeper Stefano Sorrentino no chance.
Chievo could have re-established the lead in the 38th minute, Mariano Andujar clawing Bostjan Cesar's shot away from goal after some initial hesitancy.
Luciano then produced a superb run, taking the ball past a handful of opposition players before losing control just before getting his shot away.
The alert Andujar was forced into another save when Simone Bentivoglio found space to shoot moments into the second half.
Pellissier had half chances in the 70th and 74th minutes, just failing to make contact with the first and sending the second wide of the post.
He made amends six minutes from time, drawing a foul from Pablo Alvarez and slotting home the resulting penalty to win it for the hosts
Fiorentina 1-1 Napoli
The honours were shared at the Stadio Artemio Franchi in an eventful game which saw both sides end the match with 10 men as they started their Serie A season. Edison Cavani gave the hosts an early lead with a disputed goal with Gaetano D'Agostino levelling with a fine strike shortly after half-time before Fiorentina winger Juan Manuel Vargas and Napoli midfielder Manuele Blasi were both sent off in separate incidents.
Only seven minutes had elapsed when Cavani was adjudged to have headed home Andrea Dossena's cross from close range but TV replays were inconclusive as to whether the ball had gone over the line.
Fiorentina almost doubled their lead when Albert Gilardino's effort was well saved by Morgan de Sanctis before Vargas' 20-yard shot was kept out by the keeper.
It was all the Turin side with Marco Marchioni hitting a spectacular half-volley which was caught by De Sanctis but Napoli almost pulled level when Ezequiel Lavezzi hit the bar from about 30 yards and on the stroke of half-time, Marek Hamsik was thwarted by home keeper Sebastien Frey.
However, the visitors were level four minutes after the break when D'Agostino fired low into the left-hand corner from about 25 yards before Walter Gargano was narrowly wide with a free-kick from the edge of the Fiorentina area.
Napoli were once again grateful to De Sanctis who saved from Gilardino who had been left unmarked in the area.
The hosts were then reduced to 10 men with just under 25 minutes left when Vargas was sent off for headbutting Hugo Campagnaro.
Six minutes later and he was joined by Napoli's Blasi for a second yellow card.
Christian Maggio put a header over the bar but there was no further score.
Sampdoria 2-0 Lazio
Sampdoria claimed their first win in a Serie A opener at the Luigi Ferraris stadium since 1997 by beating Lazio tonight. Samp striker Antonio Cassano opened the scoring from the penalty spot on the hour mark after Stephan Lichtsteiner had brought down Daniele Dessena inside the area.
Cassano coolly struck towards the left corner and Lazio goalkeeper Fernando Muslera was unable to get a hand to the effort.
The hosts doubled their lead 11 minutes later with a splendid Stefano Guberti lob.
It was the visitors, however, that enjoyed a better start.
In the 10th minute, Sergio Floccari's header from Mauro Zarate's cross forced Sampdoria goalkeeper Gianluca Curci to dive to his right to clear.
Midway through the first half, new summer signing Hernanes' 25-yard shot went just wide of the far post.
At the other end, Muslera did well to come off his line and anticipate an unmarked Cassano, who was ready to fire home.
Before the break, Curci was forced to fully stretch to clear Hernanes' dangerous free-kick.
Samp showed more determination after the break and almost broke the deadlock in the 55th minute.
Guberti fed Cassano inside the area and his diagonal strike went just wide of the far post.
After Cassano put Samp ahead from the penalty spot, Lazio coach Eddy Reja argued with the referee and was handed his marching orders for dissent.
Shortly after, Muslera palmed away Angelo Palombo's bullet strike as Samp looked to put the game beyond Lazio's reach.
The hosts got their second with 19 minutes to go.
Guberti saw Muslera out of position and lobbed the ball over the Lazio keeper.
Samp held on to keep a clean sheet.
AC Milan 4-0 Lecce
Alexandre Pato sounded a warning to Zlatan Ibrahimovic that he does not intend to give up his place at AC Milan without a fight by scoring twice as AC Milan opened their Serie A account with an impressive opening-weekend win over Lecce. With Ibrahimovic joining the Rossoneri from Barcelona on an initial loan deal which will become permanent next summer, the pressure was on the young Brazilian and Pato responded with two goals inside the opening 29 minutes as Massimiliano Allegri's first game in charge ended in a comprehensive victory.
Thiago Silva also scored in between Pato's strikes as newly-promoted Lecce endured a tricky return to the top flight.
Veteran striker Filippo Inzaghi grabbed a late fourth to complete the win and send Milan - albeit after just one game - to the top of the table.
The onslaught started early with Brazilian centre-half Thiago Silva smashing in a 35-yard drive which Antonio Rosati in the Lecce goal did superbly well to tip over for a corner.
Rosati was powerless to keep out Pato four minutes later, however, the 20-year-old converting Massimo Ambrosini's pass.
It was 2-0 after 23 minutes as Thiago Silva fired home after a goalmouth scramble.
There was no let-up for poor Lecce with Pato scoring his second of the night in the 29th minute, beating the offside trap to run on to countryman Ronaldinho's pass before rounding the goalkeeper and slotting into an empty net.
Ronaldinho looked full of confidence and his impudent effort from the halfway line landed just wide.
Clarence Seedorf almost made it 4-0 before the break but the veteran Dutchman's volley clipped the post and went wide.
Ibrahimovic was presented to the San Siro crowd at half-time and the Swede will have been impressed with what he saw on the pitch as Milan continued to press.
Daniele Corvia threatened briefly for Lecce before Milan got back on top.
Marco Borriello had the ball in the net but saw his effort controversially disallowed for offside while Inzaghi hit the post minutes after his introduction.
The outstanding Pato was then denied by Rosati, as was Inzaghi six minutes before the end.
Inzaghi did find the back of the net with time almost up when, following some fine work by Gennaro Gattuso, he prodded past Rosati to complete a good night's work for Allegri.
Palermo 0-0 Cagliari
Palermo and Cagliari earned a point each in an entertaining 0-0 draw at the Stadio Renzo Barbera tonight. Although there were no goals in the game, there was plenty to keep over 25,000 fans entertained with the two goalkeepers earning credit for securing a stalemate.
The home side came closest to breaking the deadlock with two shots from distance while two headers from Nene were the best the visitors could muster.
Cagliari made it evident that they had not arrived in Sicilia just to make up the numbers on Pierpaolo Bisoli's debut on the Rossoblu bench as Andrea Lazzari tested Salvatore Sirigu with a shot from outside the penalty area in the second minute.
It was a sign of things to come that the Italy international pushed the shot away from danger.
Nene had the next two chances for the visitors with two stooping headers both missing the same right-hand post by a matter of inches.
Massimo Maccarone was the first to test Michael Agazzi with a shot from outside the penalty area in the 23rd minute, but the Cagliari custodian saved well.
It was the same story in the second half with Agazzi pushing another distance effort, this time from Abel Hernandez, away from danger.
Nene was the next to try his luck, but Sirigu was equal to the effort before Agazzi had the final word with an instinctive save from Federico Balzaretti in the 83rd minute.
Both sides left the field to applause from the fans even if the majority left the stadium disappointed with Palermo's failure to start the season with a win on home soil.
Bologna 0-0 Inter
Rafael Benitez suffered a disappointing debut on the Inter bench in Serie A as his side were held to a 0-0 draw by Bologna on Monday night.
The Nerazzurri only woke up during the final 15 minutes of a game that they also risked losing at the Stadio Dall'Ara, but they were unable to find a winning goal.
The result leaves them two points behind city rivals AC Milan, who thrashed Lecce 4-0 on Sunday to set the pace at the top of the table after the opening round of league matches.
Bologna dropped a bombshell on the eve of the match by sacking their coach Franco Colomba and replacing him for this game with Paolo Magnani, who was in charge of the club's youth team until less than 24 hours before kick-off.
Although Magnani is unlikely to keep the role on a permanent basis, he can be satisfied with his only match in Serie A.
His side started brightly and almost went ahead in the 14th minute when a defensive mix-up between Lucio and Julio Cesar, who were not on the same wavelength, saw the ball for Henry Gimenez, who lifted his shot over the crossbar from the edge of the area with an open goal to aim at.
Daniele Portanova should have done better with a free header from a corner in the 20th minute but he sent the ball straight at Julio Cesar from six yards out.
Gimenez missed the home side's next chance in the 41st minute when he shot wide after being found by Marco Di Vaio on the edge of the area.
Inter had lacked ideas in the first half and Benitez decided to hand Brazilian forward Coutinho his debut midway through the second half.
There was suddenly more life to the Nerazzurri's game and Wesley Sneijder forced an excellent save out of Emiliano Viviano from a direct free-kick in the 73rd minute.
The Italy international goalkeeper made a reflex save to deny Samuel Eto'o moments later as Inter raised the tempo in search of a winning goal.
Eto'o missed another excellent chance in the 76th minute when he delayed too long in a central position and Miguel Britos recovered to clear the last moment of danger for the Bologna defence.
It will be a disappointing result for Benitez, with the team having suffered a 2-0 defeat to Atletico Madrid in the UEFA Super Cup on Friday.
heard the caretaker manager of bologna had a sub called up, studs checked, ready to go on and the captain of the team came over to him and told him it wasnt happening, and the sub had to sit back down again?