Rafa off to dream start with Napoli
Print Edition
Napoli thrashed Bologna 3-0 on Sunday in Rafael Benitez’s first league game in charge of the Partenopei to go top of Italy’s Serie A on goal difference.
Champion Juventus had kick-started the new season with a 1-0 away win at Sampdoria on Saturday while AC Milan, which finished third last season, was stunned 1-2 by a Luca Toni brace away at promoted Verona.
However, a first-half opener from Jose Callejon and a brace from Slovakian forward Marek Hamsik sealed the points for Napoli, which leads the fledgling championship ahead of Inter Milan and AS Roma.
Napoli underwent big changes in the close season with last season’s top scorer, Uruguayan Edinson Cavani, moving to Paris Saint-Germain and coach Walter Mazzarri leaving for Inter.
Spain’s Benitez, who only three months ago coached Chelsea to Europa League glory, said: “This is not an answer to Juventus. We have our own game-plan as well. The team played well, but there’s always room for improvement.”
Earlier, Inter, which finished ninth last season, got off to a winning start with second-half goals from Yuto Nagatomo and Rodrigo Palacio securing a 2-0 win over Genoa to get Mazzarri’s reign off to a positive start.
Cup holder Lazio, thrashed 4-0 by Juventus in the Italian Super Cup last week, made amends with a 2-1 home win over Udinese. Lazio’s rival Roma had a good start, too, with Daniele De Rossi and Alessandro Florenzi scoring two minutes apart midway through the second half for a 2-0 win at promoted Livorno.
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