Fabrizio Miccoli scored twice on Saturday to propel Palermo past Roma 3-1 at home, while champions Inter won its first game of the season and took temporary control of first place following a 2-1 victory over Catania. Roma had taken the lead after just eight minutes when newcomer Julio Baptista tapped a pass from Stefano Okaka into the net for his first goal in Serie A.
Miccoli brought Palermo level in the 20th minute on a potent shot that landed in the upper corner of the net. He then doubled the score in the 57th minute after beating Roma goalkeeper Alexander Doni on a breakaway. Edison Cavani secured the win for Palermo in the 73rd minute after missing a number of chances and having a goal disallowed for being offside.
Without regulars Simone Perrotta, Juan, Philippe Mexes, Mirko Vucinic and captain Francesco Totti, Roma’s injury woes worsened when Italy midfielder Daniele De Rossi came off before half time after suffering a neck injury before halftime and was forced to leave the game early. Roma coach Luciano Spalletti had said all week that he preferred to save Totti for Roma’s Champions League opener on Tuesday against Romanian side CFR Cluj.
Roma are reeling after losing its first game of the season after just two league games. Roma had a lousy summer transfer season, despite picking up Baptista from Real Madrid. The club lost Brazilian striker Mancini to Inter and shipped off a promising defender like Marco Andreolli. The 22-year-old Andreolli, who played for Italy U-21 squad last year, could have come in handy against Palermo, but he was too busy scoring for his new team Sassuolo, who plays in the second-tier Serie B, just hours earlier.
In Saturdayâs nightcap in Milan, Ricardo Quaresma, Interâs new signing who made his Serie A debut against Catania, was unstoppable all game. As for Catania — coached by former Italy and Inter goalkeeper Walter Zenga — had never beaten Inter at the San Siro Stadium.
Though Catania was outclassed by Inter, the Sicilians were unlucky, losing in the end on two own goals. Catania had looked good in the first half with a 4-3-3 formation, doing a fair bit of attacking and rewarded with a goal in the 42nd minute when Giovanni Tedesco chipped the ball in the penalty area towards Gianvito Plasmati, who beat Marco Materazzi in the air and headed the ball into the net.
Inter wasted no time tying the score. Only a minute after going behind, Quaresma had space to cross the ball in from the right side, sending a pass that was deflected off defender Cristian Silvestri that beat Catania goalkeeper Albano Bizzarri.
The fireworks did not end there. A minute before half-time, Sulley Muntari slapped Tedesco in the face and was immediately red carded by the referee. Though Tedesco exaggerated the foul, Muntari did make contact with the Catania playersâ face and was rightly sent off.
For the second half, Inter coach Jose Mourinho opted to insert captain Javier Zanetti for Luis Figo, who did little in the first half. Zanetti moved to the center of midfield, while Mario Balotelli moved to the right wing.
Just three minutes into the second period, Inter took the lead on a bizarre goal. Maicon played in a very long throw in which was met by Christian Terlizziâs head, and deflected past a few defenders before narrowly crossing the line, at least according to the linesman. It appeared that Bizzarri had managed to palm the ball away in time, but the goal was given and Inter took the lead for good. TV instant replays shown on RAI International did little to clarify whether the ball had crossed the line.
