Inter Milan crashed to a shock 2-0 defeat at the hands of Chievo on Sunday in the biggest upset of the opening weekend of the new Serie A campaign.
Two second-half strikes by Chievo’s Slovenian winger Valter Birsa made it a night to forget for Inter’s new boss Frank de Boer, installed by the club’s Chinese owners after they fell out with De Boer’s predecessor Roberto Mancini.
Overall it was a positive weekend for champions Juventus, who beat Fiorentina 2-1 on Saturday and were then able to watch some of their major rivals struggle 24 hours later.
Napoli, second to Juve last season, had to come from two goals down to earn a point at Serie A newcomers Pescara while AC Milan needed a last-minute penalty save to hang on for a 3-2 win over Torino.
Roma top the first table of the season thanks to their 4-0 win over Udinese, which made them the only club to indicate they might prevent Juventus claiming a record sixth consecutive Italian title.
Still reeling from the loss of 36-goal striker Gonzalo Higuain to Juventus, Napoli looked out of sorts as Ahmad Benali and Gianluca Caprari gave newly promoted Pescara a two-goal lead at the interval.
Belgian winger Dries Mertens rescued a point for the visitors with two well-taken goals in the space of three minutes around the hour mark.
Colombian striker Carlos Bacca struck a hat-trick as AC Milan began a new era under Chinese owenership with a nervy win over Torino.
It took an injury-time penalty save by 17-year-old goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma to secure the three points for Vincenzo Montella’s side after Torino mounted a stoppage-time fightback.
Bacca, a target for West Ham United who Milan are reportedly willing to sell to fund a higher-profile acquisition, made his case for staying at the San Siro in emphatic fashion.
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