We're only four games into the season, but at least it looks like we may get something of a scudetto scrap in Serie A this season. Juventus and AS Roma both picked up wins in round four, to stay tied at the top on a perfect 12 points. However, there was more misery for Napoli and AC Milan, who both dropped points to newly-promoted sides. Here's a full recap of Italy's week four.
Serie A scores, Week 4: Juventus and Roma stay tied at the top
Juventus and Roma both picked up wins in Serie A’s midweek round, though there was more disappointment for Milan and Napoli.
Marco Luzzani
Empoli 2-2 AC Milan / Full match report here
AC Milan made a woeful start to their game away at newly-promoted Empoli, and found themselves deservedly two goals down after just 21 minutes. However, Fernando Torres offered them a lifeline by netting his first ever Serie A goal on the stroke of halftime, before Keisuke Honda leveled the scoring in the second half. Empoli clung on for a draw, despite having midfielder Mirko Valdifiori sent off in the last few minutes.
Torino came from behind to win this bottom-of-the-table clash courtesy of goals from Kamil Glik and Fabio Quagliarella. The defeat leaves their Sardinian hosts rooted to the foot of the table, and the pressure is already mounting on coach Zdeněk Zeman.
Fiorentina 0-0 Sassuolo
Sassuolo may well have the second-leakiest defence in Serie A, but it was good enough to hold off a Fiorentina side without both Giuseppe Rossi and Mario Gómez. The viola have still won only once this season.
Hellas Verona 2-2 Genoa
These sides have both started the season in promising fashion, and fittingly, their meeting ended all square at the Bentegodi. Genoa went two goals ahead courtesy of an Alessandro Matri brace, though replies from Panagiotis Tachtsidis and Artur Ioniță in the second half meant the grifone had to share the spoils.
Inter Milan 2-0 Atalanta
Maybe Inter's frustrating draw against Palermo on the weekend was just a blip, after all. They replied with a comfortable victory over mid-table Atalanta, with goals from Pablo Osvaldo and Hernanes sealing all three points.
Juventus 3-0 Cesena / Full match report here
There were no surprises to be had in Turin, where Juventus thrashed newly-promoted Cesena 3-0. They dominated the game from start to finish, with Arturo Vidal marking his return from injury with a brace before Stephan Lichtsteiner iced the cake with a third goal.
Napoli 3-3 Palermo
In what was undoubtedly the game of the round, Napoli dropped yet more points. They went two goals up over Palermo inside 11 minutes, only for Palermo to pull themselves level midway through the opening half. Napoli edged ahead again, though the Sicilians’ wonderkid Andrea Belotti netted his second goal of the evening just past the hour to earn his side a point. Phew.
Parma 1-2 AS Roma / Full match report here
Parma were typically stubborn at home to Roma, and pulled level through Paolo De Ceglie early in the second half after Adem Ljajić had fired Roma ahead in the first. However, they suffered last-gasp heartbreak with Miralem Pjanić scoring an 88th minute free-kick to ensure the giallorossi stayed tied with Juventus at the top of the table.
Sampdoria 2-1 Chievo Verona
Sampdoria's surge under Siniša Mihajlović continued as they downed Chievo 2-1 at the Marassi to go level on points with Inter. Daniele Gastaldello and Alessio Romagnoli scored their goals, with Alberto Paloschi netting nothing more than a consolation for the Venetian visitors at the death.
Udinese continued their bright start under young coach Andrea Stramaccioni. An early goal from summer signing Cyril Théréau was all they needed to pick up all three points away at a lacklustre Lazio, moving the zebrette up to third in the table. Lazio, meanwhile, have picked up just three points from their first four games under Stefano Pioli.
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