Genoa, Napoli in safe waters

Genoa and Napoli - two of the three Serie A newcomers this season - should be relatively satisfied with what they have achieved up to now.

Both lie in a trouble-free mid-table position with Genoa enjoying a cushion eight-point lead over third-from-bottom Siena. Napoli are a point behind Genoa following their shock 2-1 defeat at bottom-of-the-class Cagliari on Sunday that left them with no wins from their last five outings.

Genoa were off to an uninspiring start way back last summer. They had to wait until the fifth day to record their first win of the term. However, since then, Gian Piero Gasperini's side never looked back and have been showing signs of improvement ever since.

The team is largely composed of those players who won promotion to the Serie A last year. The secret behind Genoa's bid to avoid the bottom places in the first round is their consistency, particularly at home.

So far, they collected 15 of their 25 points from their first 10 home matches. More quoted sides like Lazio, Catania and Torino, for instance, have achieved less up to last Sunday particularly on their travels.

It is also not typical for any Serie A newcomer, obviously excluding Juventus, to collect many points from their away fixtures in their first year in the top flight.

Gasperini - a novice to the Serie A - is doing his utmost to keep his players alert.

The ex-Crotone coach is playing down Genoa's achievements because he knows only too well that if complacency creeps in, then his players are in for trouble.

Although Genoa seem well on their way to steer away from danger at this stage, an eight-point cushion outside the drop zone can easily be forfeited in case the team hits a dark patch.

Last year, Catania had a superb opening and mounted a creditable challenge for a UEFA Cup berth.

However, a series of negative results after the first round saw them slipping down in the standings and it was only on the final day that they managed to avoid the drop.

Several players have been instrumental behind Genoa's achievements so far. One, in particular, has been brilliant and a cut above his team-mates in terms of goals scored and overall contribution to the team.

Never has Marco Borriello scored so many goals in a single season, not even during his stint with Treviso in the Serie C1 in the 2001/02 season (10 goals in 27 appearances).

For the much-travelled 25-year-old striker, Genoa are the seventh club in his career. Despite being touted as a promising striker for many years, Borriello's career has never really taken off before this season.

But this is, beyond doubt, Borriello's year and the 11 goals in 17 appearances he has so far catapulted him in the highest quarters in the scorers' list of the Serie A.

Down south, Napoli are a team of two extremes.

A 0-2 home debut defeat against Cagliari did not augur well for the new season. But the following Sunday, the two-times Italy champions lifted their game and hit five goals past Udinese.

The shrewd Edy Reja has since led Napoli to some remarkable results including a pulsating 4-4 draw at Roma and a memorable 3-1 home triumph against Juve.

Napoli's problem is their lack of consistency, which has ruined most of their good work.

Also, the fact that Reja's future has been put in jeopardy several times by club supremo Aurelio De Laurentis, despite the coach's sterling work since taking over when the team was still in the Serie C1 three years ago, does not help matters either.

De Laurentis has to show more confidence in Reja and director general Pierpaolo Marino. It would be a counter-productive move to sack Reja now.

The Napoli fans may rank among the most demanding in the world but they have to understand that this team is still in its rebuilding phase. Any comparison with Diego Maradona's title-winning sides are beyond scope.

Serie A statistics

4th successive win for Fiorentina as they left it late on Sunday to beat Empoli away (0-2) for the third time in seven visits. Empoli's second straight defeat has left them second from bottom. Samp continued to climb further up in the standings courtesy of a 1-0 home win over Siena. It was their second win in five home meetings with the Tuscany side. Siena still have to record their first win at the Luigi Ferraris stadium. That of Sunday, was Sampdoria's fourth win in their last five unbeaten matches at home.

5 points now separate leaders Inter from nearest pursuers Roma. On Saturday, Roma, despite not being to their best, were still good enough to edge Palermo 1-0. It was Palermo's third straight defeat after back-to-back setbacks to Sampdoria (0-3) and Siena (2-3). For Roma, this was their fourth win in a row. On Sunday, Inter, reduced to 10 men after 21 minutes, were held by Udinese for the second year running. The 0-0 draw was the first for Inter after eight consecutive wins. It was Udinese's second game in a row without a win after the 0-1 home upset to Milan. With respect to last season, Inter collected four points less so far whereas Roma have improved their tally by two points.

6 players - Daniele De Vezze (Livorno), Rodriguez Cesar (Inter), Simone Barone (Torino), Rolando Bianchi (Lazio), Rubens Rubinho (Genoa) and Leandro Rinaudo (Palermo) - received their marching orders by referees. There were no penalties. Inter are the only side still undefeated. Four teams - Catania, Torino, Parma and Reggina - still have to record their first away win. Three teams are yet without a penalty in favour - Udinese, Lazio and Reggina. Until Sunday, Empoli collected a staggering 12 points less than 12 months ago. Inter possess the most prolific attack (43 goals in favour) and the best defensive record (13 goals against).

8th win for Juventus in 15 visits to Livorno. On Sunday, the Bianconeri returned to winning ways after successive draws with Catania (1-1) and Sampdoria (0-0). Juve's first away win in over a month coincided with Livorno's first defeat after a nine-match positive run (five wins and four draws). The Tuscany side have not beaten Juve at home since March 9, 1941 (1-0). Atalanta threw away a 2-0 lead over Reggina to share the spoils with the southerners for the fourth time in five home meetings. Had Luigi Del Neri's side held on to their advantage, it would have been their first ever home win over Reggina who have now extended their positive streak to four games (two wins and two draws).

13 years had to pass for lowly Cagliari to beat Napoli again at home as they scored twice in stoppage time to record their first win since the sixth day. Cagliari's first win after five defeats in a row coincided with Napoli's fifth successive game without a win (three draws and two defeats). In a highly-contested encounter, Catania and Parma shared the spoils for the first time in two Serie A meetings at the Angelo Massimino stadium. This was Parma's first positive result after three defeats. It was also Catania's fourth successive game without a win.

17 goals were scored on the first day of the second round - nine goals were put in by the home sides whereas the rest came from visiting teams. Foreigners contributed with nine goals. Total number of goals scored so far is 508. Milan's Pato grabbed his first brace for the Rossoneri as they completed the double over Genoa. David Trezeguet also scored a double. The goals enabled the Juve hit-man to regain sole leadership in the scorers' list with 15 goals (one from penalty). The Frenchman is followed by Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Inter) and Adrian Mutu (Fiorentina), both on the 13-goal mark. Cagliari's Alessandro Matri and Erjon Bogdani, of Livorno, were the only two players who came on as subs and scored.

50 years went by since Genoa's most recent of four wins in 40 visits to Milan's San Siro stadium. On Sunday, Milan recorded their second straight home win, following the 5-2 drubbing of Napoli, thanks to two Pato goals to condemn Genoa to their first defeat after successive wins over Parma (1-0), Lazio (2-1) and Atalanta (2-1). This was Milan's fourth successive home league win over Genoa. For the record, Genoa have last left Milan with a positive result on November 20, 1991 (1-1). Meanwhile, Torino failed to put an end to their winless streak as they could only manage a goalless home draw against fellow strugglers Lazio. The Maroons, without a win in their last 11 outings, have not beaten Lazio since the 1-0 success of January 27, 2002.