Serie A
The Belotti-Candreva duel produced no winner, three points with De Kettelar for Atalanta
Roma faltered in the opening game of Serie A, parting ways with Salernitana in a 2-2 draw. The game developed into a personal duel between Belotti and Candreva. De Kettelar’s goal in Atalanta’s away win over Sassuolo.
The first game of the season for Roma saw Jose Mourinho from the stands as he was suspended (Roma legend Bruno Conti was on the bench) and proved very difficult for last year’s Europa League finalists.
And that’s because Salernitana looked very competitive and almost got the three points for the win while the hosts had to sweat to dodge the kazoo and grab the one point.
The protagonists of the game were Andrea Belotti and Antonio Cantreva. The former put Wolves ahead in the 17th minute with a powerful shot and saved the game in the 82nd with a header from a corner kick, while the latter equalized in the 36th with an elusive shot and the turnaround for team scored in the 49th minute. Paulo Souza completed a stunning shot with a masterful left-footed volley from just outside the box.
Notably, Belotti has not netted in a Serie A game since May 2022 (Torino – Empoli), ending a negative streak of 34 league games in which he was goalless, with Candreva, on the other hand, scoring for the goal fourth time in his career he scored two goals in a league game.
As for the other afternoon game of the day, Atalanta began their league duty with an away win, defeating Sassuolo in a game that bore the stamp of Charles De Quetelaar. The Belgium midfielder, on loan from Milan, came on as a substitute in the 46th minute and headed in after a try that was blocked at the post in the 84th minute, but Zortea came on in added time to give Dea the win seal.
Impressively, after 33 games and 22 final tries in the competition, De Kettelar scored for the first time in the league.
The results of the 1st round
- Frosinone – Naples 1-3 (7′ Penalty. Harui / 24′ Politano, 42′, 79′ Osimen)
- Empoli-Verona 0-1 (75′ Bonaccioli)
- Genoa – Florence 1-4 (58′ Biraski / 5′ Biraghi, 11′ Bonaventura, 40′ Gonzalez, 56′ Madragora)
- Inter-Monza 2-0 (8′, 76′ Martines)
- Roma-Salernitana 2-2 (17′ 82′ Belotti / 36′ 49′ Candreva)
- Sassuolo – Atalanta 0-2 (84′ De Kettelar, 90+3′ Zortea)
- 20/8 21:45 Lecce – Lazio
- 20/8 21:45 Udinese – Juventus
- 21.8. 19:30 o’clock Turin – Cagliari
- 21.8. 21:45 Bologna – Milan
The highlights
Empoli-Verona 0-1
Frosinone – Napoli 1-3
Genoa – Fiorentina 1-4
Inter 2-0 Monza
The program of the 2nd game day
- 26.8. 19:30 o’clock Frosinon – Atalanta
- 26.8. 19:30 o’clock Monza-Empoli
- 26.8. 21:45 Verona – Rome
- 26.8. 21:45 Milan – Turin
- 27.8. 19:30 o’clock Florence – Lecce
- 27.8. 19:30 o’clock Juventus-Bologna
- 27.8. 21:45 Lazio – Genoa
- 27.8. 21:45 Naples – Sassuolo
- 28.8. 19:30 o’clock Salernitana-Udinese
- 28.8. 21:45 Cagliari-Inter
Source: sport 24
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