Edinson Cavani scored a hat-trick as Napoli swept aside Milan 3-1 last night at the San Paolo stadium to maintain their perfect record and join Udinese and Juventus at the top of the Serie A standings .
Milan, who were without several players including injured striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, could not have asked for a better start.
The defending champions took an early lead when Alberto Aquilani got his head on Antonio Cassano’s cross and beat Napoli goalkeeper Morgan De Sanctis.
Milan’s joy was shortlived as Napoli equalised two minutes later.
Christian Maggio headed a free-kick straight into the path of Cavani, who slotted the ball past Milan goalkeeper Christian Abbiati.
Napoli pressed forward and were rewarded in the 36th minute.
Walter Gargano was allowed to run half the length of the field and into the box before serving Cavani inside the area and his diagonal right-footed strike beat Abbiati.
Napoli made it 3-1 early in the second half. Milan’s defence failed to clear the ball inside the area leaving Cavani to fire past Abbiati.
Juventus maintained their perfect start to the season with a 1-0 win at Siena in a match that saw the Turin club’s new coach Antonio Conte get one over on the team he left in the summer.
Conte cut his teeth as an assistant coach at the Tuscan club and returned last year to lead them to promotion back into the top-flight.
However, his new-look Juve team – fresh from thumping Parma last week – spoiled Siena’s first home game of the campaign by running out 1-0 winners at the Artemio Franchi stadium, Alessandro Matri getting the game’s only goal nine minutes into the second-half.
Elsewhere, Udinese made it two wins from two as they got the better of Fiorentina at the Stadio Friuli.
Antonio Di Natale got the breakthrough for the hosts from the penalty spot eight minutes in before Mauricio Isla doubled the lead prior to the half-hour mark.
A disappointing result was compounded by what looked like a potentially serious knee injury to striker Alberto Gilardino. The 29-year-old will undergo tests today to determine the full extent of the problem.
Lazio have high hopes for this season, and after drawing at champions Milan in their opening game they were looking for a first win when they hosted Genoa in Rome.
Giuseppe Sculli gave Lazio the lead against the club he left back in January but Genoa fought back in the second-half to seal a 2-1 victory courtesy of goals from Rodrigo Palacio and Juraj Kucka.
Sebastian Giovinco scored a brace, including a winner in injury-time, as Parma beat Chievo, while a Maxi Lopez penalty proved enough for Catania to beat Cesena in Sicily and Lecce ran out 2-0 winners at Bologna.
In the early game, Palermo went down 1-0 at Atalanta in a match played in farcical conditions in Bergamo.
The match was delayed for 40 minutes in the second-half to give ground staff a chance to drain a pitch that had become waterlogged in torrential rain, but when the players returned, Palermo were unable to find a reply to German Denis’ first-half counter for the hosts.
Serie A
Atalanta 1
Denis 34;
Palermo 0
HT: 1-0. Att: 10,050.
Bologna 0
Lecce 2
Giacomazzi 37; Grossmuller 60;
HT: 0-1. Att: 15,000.
Catania 1
Lopez 45 pen;
Cesena 0
HT: 1-0. Att: 12,000.
Lazio 1
Sculli 11;
Genoa 2
Palacio 54; Kucka 71;
HT: 1-0. Att: 25,000.
Napoli 3
Cavani 13, 36, 51;
Milan 1
Aquilani 12;
HT: 2-1. Att: 59,000.
Parma 2
Giovinco 24, 90;
Chievo 1
Paloschi 79;
HT: 1-0. Att: 11,189.
Siena 0
Juventus 1
Matri 54;
HT: 0-0. Att: 15,265.
Udinese 2
Di Natale 8 pen; Isla 29;
Fiorentina 0
HT: 2-0. Att: 14,000.
Standings
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Napoli | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 6 |
| Juventus | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 6 |
| Udinese | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 6 |
| Cagliari | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| Genoa | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
| Catania | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| Palermo | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
| Fiorentina | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Lecce | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Parma | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 3 |
| Milan | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 1 |
| Chievo | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 1 |
| Inter | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 1 |
| Lazio | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 1 |
| Novara | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 1 |
| Roma | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Siena | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Cesena | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| Bologna | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Atalanta | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | -2 |
Leading scorers
3 goals: Giovinco (Parma), Cavani (Napoli).
2 goals: Moralez (Atalanta), Milito (Inter), Miccoli (Palermo), Di Natale (Udinese).
Next fixtures
Tomorrow: 20.45 Novara vs Inter.
Wednesday: 20.45 Cesena vs Lazio; Chievo vs Napoli; Fiorentina vs Parma; Genoa vs Catania; Juventus vs Bologna; Lecce vs Atalanta; Milan vs Udinese; Palermo vs Cagliari.
Thursday: 20.45 Roma vs Siena.
Prima Divisione ‘A’
Avellino vs Tritium 1-2; Benevento vs Reggiana 2-2; Carpi vs Lumezzane 3-0; Como vs Sorrento 2-2; Monza vs Pro Vercelli 0-1; Pisa vs Foggia 1-1; Spal vs Viareggio 1-0; Taranto vs Pavia 2-1; Ternana vs Foligno 2-1.
Leading standings: Taranto 8; Como 7; Tritium, Ternana, Carpi 6; Pisa, Sorrento 5; Pro Vercelli, Spal 4.
Prima Divisione ‘B’
Barletta vs Andria 2-2; Cremonese vs Bassano 4-2; Latina vs Pergocrema 1-2; Portogruaro vs Carrarese 3-1; Prato vs Lanciano 0-1; Spezia vs Piacenza 3-0; SudTirol vs Frosinone 1-0; Trapani vs Feralpi Salo 2-0; Triestina vs Siracusa 4-0.
Leading standings: Lanciano, Trapani, Pergocrema 9; Barletta 7; Triestina 6; Spezia, SudTirol 4.