The opening day of the 2026-27 Serie A season is under way, with Inter hosting newly promoted Monza in a local derby while Como were held to a 1-1 draw by Udinese after both sides missed major chances.
Tasos Douvikas’ goal cancelled out a Hassane Kamara chip as Como were denied victory. The visitors also struck the bar through Jacobo Ramon, whose header from a corner hit the frame of the goal.
There was concern for Zaniolo, who limped off and said: “It’s a thigh strain”.
The first two matches of the campaign began at 17:30 UK time (18:30 CEST), with reigning Italian champions Inter facing Monza and last season’s surprise package Como travelling to Udinese.
The evening fixtures, starting at 19:45 UK time (20:45 CEST), see Max Allegri’s Napoli visit Genoa, while Parma meet Cagliari in what could become an early battle between teams looking to avoid relegation.
A cooling break was also required despite the evening kick-offs, with temperatures still high in Italy in August.
In Genoa, Napoli have been particularly aggressive without the ball, with Matteo Politano pressing high and closing down the goalkeeper. Genoa goalkeeper Meret then gave the visitors a scare when a poor pass out from the back went straight to Vitinha, who sent his effort narrowly wide.
Genoa responded when Frendrup fired over the crossbar. A set-piece then fell to Tommaso Baldanzi, who controlled the ball with his chest before volleying through a deflection and narrowly missing the near post.
Amorim later tried his luck from the edge of the area, but his scuffed effort was too weak to trouble Meret. Hojlund was also caught offside and had been blocked before he could shoot, prompting him to signal to Politano that the cross should have come earlier.
The contest between Ostigard and Hojlund has been physical, with the referee allowing play to continue during several challenges. Ostigard, backed by an unhappy home crowd, was angry after not being awarded a free-kick in midfield.
At Parma, a looping free-kick was punched clear by Caprile before Konate sent the follow-up high into the stands. Ndiaye then failed to keep a header on target from a corner directed towards the back post.
Cagliari gave possession away cheaply through Fazzini, but El Bilal Toure’s subsequent finish lacked the power to trouble the goalkeeper. Daniel Maldini produced the most eye-catching effort of the match so far, striking a fierce shot from outside the box that skimmed the far post. He later burst into the penalty area but hesitated and failed to create another opportunity.
Lontani, who has already scored twice in the Coppa Italia, impressed again by nutmegging Ze Pedro, who was booked for the challenge that followed.
The starting line-ups for the evening matches were:
Parma: Corvi; Delprato, Troilo, Ndiaye, Valeri; Bernabe, Ordonez, Keita; Lontani, Toure, Konate.
Cagliari: Caprile; Ze Pedro, Deiola, Rodriguez, Obert; Romano, Winks, Adopo; Fazzini, Maldini; Mendy.
Genoa: Bijlow; Marcandalli, Ostigard, Vasquez; Norton-Cuffy, Frendrup, Amorim, Ellertsson; Baldanzi, Vitinha; Colombo.
Napoli: Meret; Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Marin, Spinazzola; Anguissa, Lobotka, McTominay; Politano, Hojlund, Alisson Santos.
The teams emerged in Genoa and Parma before the evening fixtures got under way. Detailed line-ups, substitutions, cards and statistics are available through the individual match pages.
