Five talking points from Serie A

Milan (AFP) – Seven-time reigning champions Juventus beat Lazio 2-0 and last season’s runners-up Napoli came from two goals down to edge AC Milan 3-2 as the Italian league favourites both continued their perfect start to the season with a maximum six points after two games.

Here are five talking points from the Italian Serie A league this weekend:

– Ronaldo close range miss –

Cristiano Ronaldo showed his frustration as he missed a chance to score his first goal for Juventus on his debut at Turin’s Allianz Stadium.

The former Real Madrid superstar looked certain to open his Serie A account in the 75th minute when a cross came from fellow Portuguese Joao Cancelo and the 33-year-old had the whole goal to aim for.

But the ball bounced off Ronaldo’s feet with Croatian Mario Mandzukic just behind to tap into an empty net, to give the champions a 2-0 win after Miralem Pjanic had also scored.

Ronaldo threw his hands in the air in disbelief, before turning to Mandzukic to celebrate.

“Everyone is waiting for his goal, but I’m happy with what he did and how he is settling in because he is a very humble lad,” said coach Massimiliano Allegri.

– Milan clubs suffer meltdowns –

Both Milan clubs have made stuttering starts to the season despite being active on the transfer market this summer. Each threw away two-goal leads at the weekend.

Gennaro Gattuso’s AC Milan lost 3-2 to Napoli, coached by his former boss Carlo Ancelotti, in their season opener and Inter were  2-2 by Torino in the San Siro, leaving Luciano Spalletti’s side with just one point from two games.

Goals from Torino’s Andrea Belotti and Soualiho Meite cancelled out first-half strikes from Inter’s Croatian World Cup finalist Ivan Perisic and Stefan De Vrij.

“These moments have characterised Inter in recent years,” said Spalletti, whose side have returned to the Champions League this season.

“We are a team that should be fighting at the top together with four or five other sides. However, to remain at a certain level then we have to build a specific type of mentality.”

Milan, meanwhile, whose first game against Genoa was postponed, remain without a point and are off the foot of the table only on goal difference. 

– Zielinski stars for Napoli –

Polish midfielder Piotr Zielinski scored twice before Dries Mertens came off the bench to grab the winner as Napoli rallied from 2-0 down to beat visiting AC Milan 3-2.

from World Soccer Talk https://ift.tt/2wsJ1fR