Serie A leader Inter defeat Verona; Juventus, Frosinone draw
Serie A leaders Inter Milan edged Hellas Verona 1-0 for their fifth win in as many games on Wednesday.
Brazilian midfielder Felipe Melo scored the only goal of the contest at the Giuseppe Meazza stadium in the 56th minute. Inter held on for the victory and in the process kept a clean sheet for the third straight encounter. The win has lifted the Nerazzurri three points clear of nearest rivals Fiorentina at the top of the standings, with both sides set to lock horns on Sunday in Milan.
The hosts dominated possession and had a chance to score in the 22nd minute. Ivan Perisic should have done better but he drilled a left-footed central effort from 12 yards that lacked power and did not trouble Hellas goalkeeper Rafael. Hellas substitute Lucas Siligardi then made a vital block on Gary Medel's goal-bound shot to deny Inter the lead just before the interval.
The visitors almost broke the deadlock in the 55th minute when Jacopo Sala saw his left-footed shot from 20 yards rattle the crossbar with Inter goalkeeper Samir Handanovic already beaten. The home side went in front one minute later as Melo rose highest to head Alex Telles's corner-kick past Rafael and into the back of the net.
Hellas never gave up and came close to equalizing with 10 minutes remaining. Siligardi found space just outside the area and drilled a 25-yard effort that forced Handanovic into a full-stretch save. The Verona outfit, without a win this season, have now dropped to 15th in the standings.
Juventus 1, Frosinone 1
A last-gasp equaliser from Leonardo Blanchard denied Juventus victory and earned Frosinone a historic first point in Serie A on Wednesday.
Juve, who have yet to win at home, looked to be heading for their second victory of their campaign in the 50th minute when Simone Zaza struck his first goal since joining the Turin giants from Sassuolo this summer. However, Blanchard silenced the crowd at the Juventus stadium when he rose highest to head Danilo Soddimo's corner into the back of the net with one minute remaining.
Juve were without five injured players, including striker Alvaro Morata, from the side that won 2-0 at Genoa on Sunday, the Bianconeri's only league victory so far. Zaza earned his first start while Juve rested veteran Gianluigi Buffon, with Neto playing in goal.
Frosinone, in their maiden Serie A campaign, almost went in front in the 30th minute when Nicolas Castillo struck a right-footed shot that hit the left post with Neto rooted to the spot. Frosinone demanded a penalty soon after when Andrea Barzagli looked to have used his arm to deflect Alessandro Frara's effort but the referee waved play on.
The hosts were unlucky not to move in front in the 40th minute when Paul Pogba's header from Roberto Pereyra's cross rattled the crossbar. Four minutes after the restart, a Frosinone defender deflected Zaza's header off the woodwork. Juve broke the deadlock seconds later when Zaza struck a right-footed shot into the net only for Frosinone to get a late equalizer.
Chievo 1 Torino 0
Lucas Castro struck deep into the second half as Chievo ended Torino's unbeaten start in Serie A with a 1-0 win in Verona.
Castro took a Riccardo Meggiorini lay-off to fire home a low shot past Daniele Padelli with 15 minutes remaining at the Stadio Marc'Antonio Bentegodi. Torino had controlled possession throughout the game but were unable to convert it into meaningful chances, managing just one on target throughout the 90 minutes.
Chievo upped the tempo in the final half hour and had opportunities through Bostjan Cesar, Valter Birsa and Meggiorini before Castro broke the deadlock.
Carpi 0, Napoli 0
Promoted Carpi slowed Napoli's momentum as they held Maurizio Sarri's men to a goalless draw at the Stadio Alberto Braglia in Serie A.
Napoli had looked to have got their season going after following up their 5-0 Europa League victory over Bruges by thrashing Lazio by the same score. But they found winless Carpi tougher to crack despite dominating possession and having 22 attempts at goal.
Carpi suffered an early blow with the loss of goalkeeper Francesco Benussi to injury but his replacement Zeljko Brkic held firm. Gonzalo Higuain, Marek Hamsik, Raul Albiol and Lorenzo Insigne were all frustrated in front of goal.
Palermo 0, Sassuolo 1
Unbeaten Sassuolo clinched their third win of the campaign with a 1-0 victory at Palermo on Wednesday evening.
Sergio Floccari scored the only goal of the game in the 35th minute, a right-footed shot from 20 yards to beat Palermo goalkeeper Simone Colombi. Palermo coach Giuseppe Iachini was handed his marching orders for dissent seconds later.
The hosts had midfielder Luca Rigoni sent off for a second yellow card with five minutes remaining and Sassuolo held on for victory. In the process, they condemned the hosts to their second consecutive loss, while Sassuolo have climbed into third place and four points behind league leaders Inter Milan.
Lazio 2, Genoa 0
Lazio bounced back from their 5-0 humiliation at Napoli in the last round of Serie A matches with a 2-0 triumph over nine-man Genoa on Wednesday in Rome.
Filip Djordjevic headed Sena Lulic's cross past Genoa goalkeeper Eugenio Lamanna to put the Biancoceleste ahead in the 35th minute. Genoa lost midfielder Issa Cissokho to a second yellow card in the 56th minute and the hosts made the most of their numerical superiority.
Felipe Anderson struck a curled right-footed effort from 25 yards to beat Lamanna and ensure Lazio a third win. Former Lazio forward Goran Pandev was shown a straight red in the 85th minute for violent conduct after elbowing Lazio defender Mauricio in the face.
Genoa have now lost four of their five games.
Fiorentina 2, Bologna 0
Fiorentina moved up to second place in Serie A on Wednesday after goals from Jakub Blaszczykowski and substitute Nikola Kalinic steered them to a 2-0 win against Bologna.
Blaszczykowski, the Poland winger on loan from Borussia Dortmund, scored his first club goal since joining the Viola in August when he broke the deadlock in the 71st minute with a right-footed shot from Matias Vecino's tee-up. Kalinic then wrapped things up with eight minutes of normal time remaining, meeting a Marcos Alonso cross to strike home.
The result sees Bologna slip down a place to 18th in the table.
