Empoli 0-0 Monza
Empoli and Monza shared the spoils at the Stadio Castellani, largely thanks to the saves of Semuel Pizzignacco.
Alberto Grassi and coach Roberto D’Aversa were suspended for the hosts, plus Tyronne Ebuehi, Zurkowski, Perisan and Belardinelli injured, but Sebastian Walukiewicz recovered from a cut to the head. Curiously, Monza coach Alessandro Nesta was also banned from the touchline, with Patrick Ciurria, Alessio Cragno, Stefano Sensi, Milan Djuric and Jose Machin carrying knocks.
Parma 1-1 Fiorentina
Only a remarkable Cristiano Biraghi free kick allowed Fiorentina to scrape a point away to newly promoted Parma, despite the Marin Pongracic red card, after Dennis Man’s opener and wasted chances.
The Ducali were promoted by winning the Serie B title last season, but began this campaign with a few problems. Enrico Delprato was suspended, with Hernani, Gianluca Di Chiara, Gabriel Charpentier and Adrian Benedyczak injured. Their season had already started with a surprise Coppa Italia First Round home defeat to Palermo on August 11. The Viola had Luca Ranieri suspended and new signing Albert Gudmundsson not yet ready, but Sofyan Amrabat surprisingly started even when transfer-listed, as new buys Andrea Colpani and Moise Kean played upfront.
Genoa 2-2 Inter
Inter begin the defence of their Scudetto with a dramatic 2-2 draw at Marassi, as Marcus Thuram’s brace and a Yann Sommer penalty save were not enough to deny plucky Genoa at the 95th minute.
The Nerazzurri were missing Stefan de Vrij, Piotr Zielinski and Tajon Buchanan, with Mehdi Taremi and Marko Arnautovic carrying muscular problems. The Grifone sold both top scorers Albert Gudmundsson and Mateo Retegui, with Caleb Ekuban, David Ankeye and Alan Matturro injured, and new signing Andrea Pinamonti not ready, so Vitinha and Junior Messias were the only options in attack.
Milan 2-2 Torino
Milan completed a desperate comeback from 2-0 down at the 89th minute to hold Torino 2-2 at San Siro with Alvaro Morata and Noah Okafor, but Paulo Fonseca has a lot of work to do.
The Rossoneri made their competitive debut under new coach Fonseca, but he opted to rest Theo Hernandez for Alexis Saelemaekers as a makeshift left-back against Toro’s 3-5-2 formation. Alvaro Morata and Emerson Royal were also not ready, with Alessandro Florenzi, Alex Jimenez and Marco Sportiello injured. The Granata under new boss Paolo Vanoli missed Nikola Vlasic, Pietro Pellegri, Perr Schuurs, Gvidas Gineitis and Zanos Savva.
