Serie A, Week 1: No real surprises in the first round

The 2014-2015 Serie A season started out with Juventus sending a message to the rest of the league. The Old Lady may have only beaten Chievo 1-0 (and that goal was an own goal by the Flying Donkeys) but they thoroughly dominated the match. It likely helped that Massimiliano Allegri elected not to tinker much with Antonio Conte’s 3-5-2 formation, although injuries played a role in his player selection. Youngster Kingsley Coman was extremely impressive in his debut, and the rest of the squad showed they have the talent to overcome this summer’s chaos.

Saturday’s marquee match brought Fiorentina to the Stadio Olimpico, where they did their best to use the first half to convince everyone that they’re not aiming for a Champions League spot -- that, or Vincenzo Montella wanted to make it clear to the viola owners that another midfielder was necessary. Whatever the reason, Roma ran circles around the visitors, and it was no surprised when Radja Nainggolan gave them the lead. Fiorentina snapped back into action in the second half, exposing the fact that the giallorossi do indeed have weaknesses, but a late goal from Gervinho ensured a 2-0 win for Roma.

At the halftime whistle, Honda’s opener was Milan’s only shot on target of the entire match. Lazio, too, had hit the target just once, when Candreva’s effort from the edge of the box was comfortably caught by rossoneri debutant Diego López. It wasn’t the most riveting start to the new season.

The visitors’ evening went from bad to worse within 10 minutes, when Ménez was bundled over in the penalty area by defender Stefan de Vrij, and the referee pointed to the spot. The fouled Frenchman promptly dispatched the spot-kick, seemingly wrapping up the points for the rossoneri.

Stephan El Shaarawy broke into the Milan first team with an outstanding season two years ago, netting 16 goals in 37 games and generally carrying a pretty poor team on his teenage shoulders. It’s no coincidence that during his injury-plagued 2013-14 season -- in which he made just a single league start -- the rossoneri nosedived. However, now he’s back, and hopefully at his best. With him in the side, Milan are infinitely better off.

Key matchup - Stephan El Shaarawy vs. Dušan Basta

It’s fair to say this trip to Genoa will be a difficult one for Napoli. Not so much because of the quality that the grifone possess, but due to the disappointment of getting kicked out of Champions League. Napoli are unquestionably the stronger squad, even if they were unable to do much to strengthen their squad over the summer, but the azzurri are facing a mental challenge more than anything. They’ll need inspiration following their disappointing loss to Athletic Bilbao, or their hope of the scudetto may vanish after just one match.

Genoa, on the other hand, were plenty active in the transfer market. Gian Piero Gasperini has added players he hopes will be more suitable for his famous 3-4-3 formation, players that just might be able to score some goals. But it may take time for the squad to gel, time that Gasperini may not have if he wants to avoid Genoa struggling once more with a relegation battle.

So, then, it came as little surprise when Roma were the ones who took the lead. Josh Brillante, making his first Serie A appearance for Fiorentina, gave the ball away, setting Nainggolan free to run at the defense. The viola obligingly parted, but Neto came up with a fantastic save off a shot from Gervinho. However, the ball fell once more to Nainggolan, who had no trouble sinking in the rebound.

The pressure paid off in the form of a late goal, with Gervinho making amends for his earlier miss. The Ivorian caught the Fiorentina defense napping -- likely because the whistle was about to blow -- then dribbled around Neto to score his side’s second.

Juventus began the new Serie A season by demonstrating that, despite a change in coach, they’re still heavy favorites to lift the scudetto. The 1-0 scoreline suggests a close game, but Chievo can thank the woodwork for that, as the visitors were dominant and could well have scored four or five.

Juve continued piling on the pressure, creating many chances, but failed to convert any of them. The ruling champions hit the woodwork no less then three times, and the Flying Donkeys can thank Lady Luck for still being in the game by at halftime.

Miralem Pjanić vs. Fiorentina’s deepest midfielder - One of the most notable features of Montella’s team is the lack of any true defensive midfielders. His preferred trio of David Pizarro, Borja Valero and Alberto Aquilani are all playmakers who prefer to avoid any defensive work at all. That can sometimes leave pockets of space between their midfield and defense, which Roma’s Bosnian midfield star Miralem Pjanić will no doubt be looking to take full advantage of.

Mario Gómez vs. the Roma center backs - Former Bayern Munich striker Gómez has now been at Fiorentina for a year, though the 29-year-old has made just five starts and scored three goals. Hopefully the injury problems that have dogged him since his move to Florence are now behind him, and he can set about wreaking havoc in the Roma defense on Saturday. With Kostas Manolas and Davide Astori having had very little time to train together as a defensive pair, it wouldn’t be at all surprising to see the German international get on the scoresheet.

Welcome back, calcio! Yes, that’s right, Serie A is finally ready to begin, ending the long, cold, dark summer months that have been upon us. Changes abound, of course, but what’s most significant about the 2014-2015 season is the hope that’s permeating both the clubs and the fans.

You see, Antonio Conte is no longer in charge of Juventus. Managerial shifts happen regularly, particularly in Italian football, but this one is significant, as it was Conte that shaped the bianconeri squad and sent them on their way to three consecutive league titles.