Como stun Napoli 2-1 at the Diego Armando Maradona as Martin Baturina and Anastasios Douvikas spoil Massimiliano Allegri’s home debut, while Hakan Calhanoglu’s early strike sends Inter Milan top after a nervy win at Cagliari.
Inter make it two wins from two in their Serie A title defence, but Cristian Chivu’s side leave Sardinia knowing they made the result harder than necessary.
Calhanoglu breaks the deadlock after nine minutes. The Turkey midfielder meets the ball first time from the edge of the box and guides his effort into the net for his second goal in as many matches.
Inter dominate the first half and create several chances, but Elia Caprile keeps Cagliari in the contest. The champions continue to waste opportunities after the break, with Lautaro Martinez, Francesco Pio Esposito and Alessandro Bastoni all failing to add a second.
England international Curtis Jones comes off the bench for his Inter debut, but the visitors lose control late on.
Cagliari launch a series of attacks and threaten an equaliser, forcing Inter to defend their narrow lead. The champions finish with 29 shots but only one goal.
“These are your classic games where if you don’t close them out, you can run into trouble,” Chivu tells Sky Italia.
“In the last few minutes, we fell apart, getting confused and panicking. But we held firm, and we created a lot.”
The victory puts Inter top after two rounds, ahead of AC Milan, Juventus and Lazio on goal difference.
Lazio also make it two wins from two as Davide Frattesi scores the only goal against Genoa in Rome. The summer signing delivers his second consecutive match-winning strike under Gennaro Gattuso.
Earlier, Como produce the weekend’s biggest surprise by beating Napoli 2-1 away from home.
Baturina puts Cesc Fabregas’s side ahead in the 17th minute after Como create several openings in the heat of Naples.
Napoli respond through Rasmus Hojlund, who produces a superb finish to equalise in the 30th minute. Their comeback lasts only briefly, however.
A defensive mix-up allows Douvikas to restore Como’s lead. The forward scores for the second consecutive match and gives the visitors a platform to defend.
Kevin De Bruyne enters early in the second half but cannot rescue Napoli. Stanislav Lobotka appears to equalise in stoppage time, only for VAR to rule out his effort for offside.
The result leaves Napoli on three points after two matches, while Como move to four.
Fabregas now wants another striker before the September 1 transfer deadline. Como face a demanding season after qualifying for the Champions League for the first time last term.
“Obviously, I’m expecting a striker,” Fabregas tells DAZN. “Playing every three days at this level isn’t easy.”
