Serie A Team of Week 1
Juventus and Roma picked up where they left off, Milan were surprisingly effective in their first competitive game under Pippo Inzaghi, Inter stuttered to a draw away to Torino, Napoli laboured to a win away against Genoa and Antonio Di Natale continued to score for fun.
Serie A is back, finally, and if the first week is anything to go by, we're in for a great season. There were plenty of talking points and a few impressive debuts up and down the peninsula.
Here's our team of the week for the opening round of Italy's top flight.
Diego Lopez
1 of 11
Roma's Morgan De Sanctis probably had a better all-round game and Inter's Samir Handanovic pulled out all the stops to save a spot-kick and keep his side in the game against Torino, but the plaudits have to go to Milan's Diego Lopez, because any 'keeper who saves a penalty on his debut deserves plenty of praise.
The former Real Madrid stopper made some fine saves during the Rossoneri's season opener with Lazio at the San Siro, and though it's too early to make a proper prognosis, he looks like a fine upgrade between the posts for Pippo Inzaghi's side.
Even with the arrival of Keylor Navas, Madrid's decision to let the 32-year-old leave for Serie A raised plenty of eyebrows because, while Iker Casillas is the club captain and a legend at the Bernabeu, Lopez has been the more reliable of the two for some time now. Milanisti will be hoping that Real's loss is their gain.
Lorenzo De Silvestri
2 of 11
Sampdoria did well to escape Sicily with a point. Palermo is never an easy place to go, even if the Rosanero have only just returned to Serie A.
A 1-1 draw would have seemed unlikely for the visitors after the first half, when Samp were a goal behind and Vasco Regini was sent off for a hand ball.
Nevertheless, Regini's colleagues in Samp's back line did well to hold on before combining brilliantly for the equaliser at the death.
Lorenzo De Silvestri was solid on the right, and provided the assist for Daniele Gastaldello's left-footed shot in the 92nd minute.
Daniele Gastaldello
3 of 11
Down to 10 men, Sampdoria showed admirable self-belief in Palermo, and an injury-time equaliser was just reward for Daniele Gastaldello, who'd been excellent throughout the game.
The 31-year-old centre-back rescued a valuable point for the Blucerchiati with his goal, but in general it was a man-of-the-match performance from the Veneto native. His passing was excellent, he was dominant in the air and he had three shots on target. Not bad for a defender.
Rafael Marquez
4 of 11
At 35, Rafael Marquez isn't going to be a long-term fixture in Serie A, but if he continues to play like he did in his opening game for Verona against Atalanta, he could still make a big impression on Italian football.
The evergreen Mexico international put in a man-of-the-match performance on his debut, continuing the fine form he showed at the World Cup.
With bags of experience from his days at Monaco, Barcelona, New York Red Bulls and Club Leon, Marquez was a sensible acquisition for Verona, who last year gambled on Luca Toni, despite his age, and saw it pay dividends.
Matteo Darmian
5 of 11
It was a solid, rather than spectacular week for Serie A's left-backs. Torino's Matteo Darmian put in a fine display against Inter in Turin, continuing to show the kind of dependable ability that should make him a firm fixture in Antonio Conte's Italy squad.
The 24-year-old was involved in both attack and defence, and though Toro couldn't unlock the Nerazzurri on the night, Darmian's performance means he should continue to be integral to Giampiero Ventura's plans moving forward.
Kingsley Coman
6 of 11
Could Juventus have done it again? The Bianconeri snapped up 18-year-old Kingsley Coman from Paris Saint-Germain after the French midfielder's contract expired, in a deal echoing their brilliant move to bring Paul Pogba to Turin from Manchester United in 2012.
Coman impressed on his debut, showing plenty of pace, technique and passing ability and linking well with Carlos Tevez. He had a number of shots on target and came close to scoring with a curling long-range attempt and a header in the box.
Radja Nainggolan
7 of 11
Undoubtedly the best performer in Serie A this week, Roma's Radja Nainggolan was on fire against Fiorentina.
The Belgian provided the initial assist for Gervinho's blocked shot in the first half, before pouncing on the rebound to finish the job himself and put the Giallorossi 1-0 up against their Tuscan opponents after 28 minutes .
That goal was impressive enough, but the 26-year-old continued piling the pressure on the Viola both going forward and defending, making a number of key tackles and generally being unstoppable in the centre.
The icing on the cake came in stoppage time, when he sent an inspired through ball between two Fiorentina defenders to set Gervinho up for the Lupi's second of the night.
If he keeps this up, Kevin Strootman will have some difficulty breaking back into the starting XI when he returns from injury.
Miralem Pjanic
8 of 11
Roma's magical midfielder Miralem Pjanic wasn't quite as impressive as Nainggolan against Fiorentina, but he still managed several moments of individual brilliance and was generally an integral part of the Giallorossi's attack.
The Bosnian is exquisite with the ball and his distribution is second to none, but in recent seasons he's also added a physicality to his game as he's developed as a player and now possesses both power and pace, which he combines with his natural control to great effect.
Daniele De Rossi is responsible for much of Pjanic's success, of course. The Roman tends to be a less obvious performer, but his energetic dependability is the foundation upon which his more creative teammates build their best work.
Stephan El Shaarawy
9 of 11
It was a toss-up between Stephan El Shaarawy and his new teammate Jeremy Menez for this position, but the Italian winger pips the Frenchman because of the fact that, after a miserable season last year, it's great to see Il Faraone scampering down the wing for Milan once again.
El Shaarawy has been under pressure to perform for some time now, having fell to the wayside with injury and a lack of confidence after the stellar start to the season he had in 2012-13. If Pippo Inzaghi has succeeded in reigniting the the 21-year-old, Milan will be a lot more dangerous than originally predicted.
The Rossoneri's attack was interesting against Lazio because it lacked a recognised centre-forward. That didn't stop the trio of El Shaarawy, Keisuke Honda and Menez from terrorising the Romans' defence, however, and it certainly didn't look like Mario Balotelli was missed at the San Siro.
Simone Zaza
10 of 11
It's been a big week for Sassuolo's Simone Zaza. He scored the goal of the round—a beautifully weighted volley at an incredibly difficult angle past the keeper—in the Neroverdi's tie with Cagliari and earned himself a call-up to Antonio Conte's new-look Italy squad.
The 23-year-old from Basilicata hasn't yet become a prolific scorer, but he has plenty of talent, is good in the air and with his feet and has been making steady progress. In the hope of him becoming a leading star in Serie A, Sassuolo spent €7.5 million on buying the other half of his playing rights from Juventus this summer—he's already repaying that faith.
Zaza's teammate Domenico Berardi, who is also likely to feature in Conte's long-term plans for Italy, put in a fine performance as well, and though the smallest side in Serie A couldn't grab a win in their season opener, with a duo like that up front, they should be OK for goals this term.
Antonio Di Natale
11 of 11
The more things change, the more they stay the same. Antonio Di Natale is back on top of the scoring charts in Serie A—for a week at least.
The 36-year-old bagged a brace against newly promoted Empoli—his 26th double in Serie A—to take his league total to 195, sixth in the all-time ranking and just 10 short of the legendary Roberto Baggio.
Andrea Stramaccioni must be delighted that Toto made a U-turn on his decision to retire.
