2023 in Serie A started immediately with some notable surprises for Italian football fans. If some teams started the New Year and the second part of the season exactly as they finished the first, others have taken a heavy step back. Let’s see what happened in Serie A after returning from the break for the World Cup…
Surprise of the week – Lecce beat Lazio 2-1
There is no doubt: this is the most surprising match of the first group of Serie A games. Maurizio Sarri’s team had started the match in the best possible way, taking the lead after less than a quarter of an hour with a goal by the usual Ciro Immobile.
The Biancocelesti captain returned and immediately started doing what he does best and like few others. A long vertical ball from Nicolo Casale and a right-footed shot to beat Lecce’s goalkeeper. The real key for Lecce was Federico Di Francesco’s entry: first a chance to score, then his left foot saved by Ivan Provedel gave rise to the equaliser for the Salentini, scored by Gabriel Strefezza and again, towards the end of the match, his assist with a left-footed volley led to Lorenzo Colombo’s goal, a talented young striker from Lecce, who fixed the result at 2-1.
A surprising result, but absolutely deserved, with Sarri’s Lazio almost unrecognizable and far from their own standards of play. The first surprise of the year is served.
Match of the week – Inter beat Napoli 1-0
This was the big match of the round, the first in the standings, the unbeaten Napoli of Luciano Spalletti, a steamroller team in the first part of the season, against Inter, a side that started the championship with the aim of winning again the Scudetto and who wanted to reduce the distance from first place.
A tense match from the first moments, but the opportunities weren’t many. It was unlocked by Edin Dzeko in the second half, at the end of a wonderful Nerazzurri play. Henrikh Mkhitaryan took the wheel of the team and made it work: an opening pass on the left wing, Fede Dimarco stops the ball and crosses perfectly into the box where the Bosnian arrives and heads into the net, freezing Spalletti and his team. A beautiful action, substantially with four touches of the ball, stopped the run of Napoli that seemed unstoppable and relaunched the ambitions of Inter.
In the final stages of the match Spalletti introduced all the forwards, having replaced a disappointing Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (and this was breaking news), desperately trying to score an equalizer: nothing worked, Inter won and the season is on again. Thanks to Simone Inzaghi and the usual Dzeko.
Individual performances of the week – Pellegrini and Milik
It’s certainly not great news, because we’re talking about two top players, but 2023 started with the plays and talent of Lorenzo Pellegrini and Arkadiusz Milik.
The Roman was the Giallorossi’s match winner in the home match against Bologna, scoring the penalty that opened and closed the match at the same time, a penalty earned by the fresh World Champion Paulo Dybala, who lit up the game for his team mates, especially when in the second half he produced a wasted chance by Nicolò Zaniolo with a classy play.
Jose Mourinho can smile, even if he wasn’t on the bench (and he won’t there either against Milan at the San Siro stadium due to a red card). But Salvatore Foti, the second coach, was there. Now, however, the team must play better and create more chances.
Polish forward Milik was the hero of the evening for Juventus: his free-kick in the 91st minute of the match decided the game against Cremonese. A perfect and venomous shot, difficult to block for Marco Carnesecchi, who in fact had to surrender. The ball hits the post and ends up in the net.
Max Allegri can breathe a sigh of relief: the match didn’t throw up a surprise (Cremonese hit the post twice) and starting the year with a draw would have been a problem, above all because the atmosphere around him has been heavy since the beginning of the season. Three important points.
Player of the week – Rafael Leao
Here, he is one of those who started 2023 exactly as he finished 2022. Rafael Leao is on fire. Among the most active and in form of Milan, right from the first moments of the match against Salernitana (won by the Rossoneri 1-2) he put himself in the lead with runs and incredible 1vs1’s.
He scored the first goal of the match, the one that gave the Rossoneri the lead: a perfect pass from Sandro Tonali for the Portuguese who sprints behind the defense, beats Guillermo Ochoa and puts the ball into the net from a tight angle.
The doubling of Milan’s lead will also arrive shortly after, scored by Sandro Tonali, but Leao was the extra man for Milan, almost unstoppable. And in the 90th minute he beat a direct opponent with a nutmeg thanks to a heel strike, despite being tired. He is undoubtedly the top player of Milan: Stefano Pioli can count on Leao for the run-up to the Scudetto.
