Serie A Round 2 Review: Milan Wins Ugly, Juventus Enters Break With Two Losses

Chaos has reigned through the first two weeks of the Serie A season. The second round of the season brought more crazy results, as the league picture remains clouded.

Milan picked up its first three points of the season Saturday, despite looking terrible in its home opener against Empoli. Carlos Bacca and Luiz Adriano both scored their first goals for the club, which overcame a brutal opening match against Fiorentina. Despite the win, Sinisa Mihajlovic was furious with his club's performance.

But the big result of the weekend was Roma's 2-1 victory over Juventus at the Olimpico. Roma's Bosnian duo of Miralem Panic and Edin Dzeko put goals past Juventus goalkeeper Rubinho. Juventus fell to 10 men when Patrice Evra was sent off late in the match. The Old Lady lost three matches last season and two the year before. Two losses through two matches is troubling for Massimiliano Allegri's squad.

Player of the Round: Valter Birsa, Chievo

Valter Birsa has established himself as a mainstay at Chievo, and the Slovenian finally opened his scoring account for the Flying Donkeys Sunday afternoon. Birsa netted Chievo's third goal in a 4-0 rout of Lazio, and he added two assists.

Serie A Power Rankings, Round 1

1) Roma

Round 1 Ranking: 4th; Round 2: Defeated Juventus 2-1

Round 3: at Frosinone, Sunday, Sept. 13

The Romans made one heck of a statement Sunday. Following a less-than-exciting draw against Verona to start the season, Rudi Garcia's men dominated Juventus from start to finish in Round 2. This is a big statement for a team that was always expected to be Juventus' main challenger for the title.

2) Inter

Round 1 Ranking: 2nd; Round 2: Defeated Carpi 2-1

Round 3: vs. Milan, Sunday, Sept. 13

It took another late goal—a penalty from Stevan Jovetic in the 89th minute—but Inter is one of five sides to win its first two matches in Serie A. Both Inter and Milan enter Sept. 13's derby with a need for a convincing victory to prove they are for real. Roberto Mancini's men will be given a boost by the addition of Ivan Perisic, the exciting Croatian midfielder who is on his way to Inter from Wolfsburg.

3) Fiorentina

Round 1 Ranking: 1st; Round 2: Lost to Torino 3-1

Round 3: vs. Genoa, Sunday, Sept. 13

Fiorentina looked great against Milan, but the Florentines hit a snag in its encore against Torino. Marcos Alonso again found the net, but a 10-minute onslaught from Torino in the middle of the second half destroyed Fiorentina.

4) Torino

Round 1 Ranking: 7th; Round 2: Defeated Fiorentina 3-1

Round 3: at Verona, Sunday, Sept. 13

Torino looks great to start the season. From the 67th minute to the 77th, Emiliano Moretti, Fabio Quagliarella and Danielle Baselli spoiled the party for the Viola. With Verona up next, Torino looks good to start the season with three wins.

5) Sampdoria

Round 1 Ranking: 6th; Round 2: Drew 2-2 vs. Napoli

Round 3: vs. Bologna, Sunday, Sept. 13

Citaden Eder struck in both the 57th and 59th minutes to help Sampdoria overcome a 2-0 deficit and grab a point against Napoli. It has been a good start to the season for Sampdoria, which now has four points through two matches.

6) Milan

Round 1 Ranking: 9th; Round 2: Defeated Empoli 2-1

Round 3: at Inter, Sunday, Sept. 13

There was nothing to be impressed about with Milan's victory over Empoli. Their rise in this week's rankings is only a result of other clubs flopping around them. Carlos Bacca and Luiz Adriano showed incredible strength to beat Empoli's defense and grab the necessary goals for Milan, but the midfield is still an overwhelming concern. Andrea Bertolacci needs to improve, especially after Milan paid 20 million euros for his services. With the transfer window closing, Axel Witsel and Roberto Soriano are both still available and eager to join the club. Adriano Galliani needs to pull the trigger.

7) Juventus

Round 1 Ranking: 3rd; Round 2: Lost to Roma 3-1

Round 3: vs. Chievo, Sunday, Sept. 13

What is going on in Turin? Five teams have lost both their opening matches in Serie A. Four are the likeliest relegation victims: Bologna, Empoli, Frosinone and Carpi. The other is the four-time reigning Serie A champion. Max Allegri's side has been in shambles in the early going. The club is clearly missing the likes of Andrea Pirlo and Arturo Vidal in the midfield, as well as the finishing power of Carlos Tevez. Juventus needs to figure things out during the break and come back strong against a Chievo side that will enter the third round top of the table.

8) Sassuolo

Round 1 Ranking: 10th; Round 2: Defeated Bologna 1-0

Round 3: vs. Atalanta, Sunday, Sept. 13

Antonio Floro Flores was the hero for Sassuolo, scoring in the 86th minute to grab all three points from Bologna. The 32-year-old striker now has goals in back-to-back matches to start the season, converting on 25 percent of his chances early on. In both matches, Sassuolo has scored the winning goal in the final 10 minutes.

9) Lazio

Round 1 Ranking: 5th; Round 2: Lost to Chievo 4-0

Round 3: vs. Udinese, Sunday, Sept. 13

After a narrow opening win over Bologna, Lazio got blitzed by a good-looking Chievo side. The side from the capital dominated possession—58 percent to 42—but only two of its 13 shots were on target. Chievo only took eight shots. Five were on goal. Four hit the net. People put too much stock in possession.

10) Chievo

Round 1 Ranking: 14th; Round 2: Defeated Lazio 4-0

Round 3: at Juventus, Sunday, Sept. 13

The Flying Donkeys have spread their wings early on, and they have flown all the way to the top of the table. What a great start to the year for a team looking to stay as far from the bottom as possible. Alberto Paloschi has three goals in two matches, Valter Birsa has two and Chievo has outscored Empoli and Lazio 7-1. Hats off to Rolando Maran's side.

11) Napoli

Round 1 Ranking: 8th; Round 2: Drew 2-2 vs. Sampdoria

Round 3: at Empoli, Sunday, Sept. 13

It was the Gonzalo Higuain show Sunday, as the Argentine netted both goals for Napoli in a draw against Sampdoria. Napoli let Sampdoria come back from 2-0 down with a quick brace from Eder, sparked by a penalty conceded by Raul Albiol. It needs to be better from Napoli.

12) Palermo

Round 1 Ranking: 13th; Round 2: Defeated Udinese 1-0

Round 3: vs. Carpi, Sunday, Sept. 13

Palermo can feel good about being in the six-point club entering the international break, especially after the onslaught it faced from Udinese. Luca Rigoni's early goal held up for the Eagles, but Udinese held 62 percent of the possession and shot 25 times, putting seven on goal. Palermo had five shots, and Rigoni's was the only one on frame. Again, possession means little, but that is a heck of a domination from Udinese. Palermo is lucky it held on after Aljaz Struna was sent off in the 70th minute. Stefano Sorrentino, a longtime savior of mid-table Italian clubs, was a hero again, making six saves.

13) Genoa

Round 1 Ranking: 15th; Round 2: Defeated Verona 2-0

Round 3: at Fiorentina, Sunday, Sept. 13

After falling to Palermo in the opening weekend, Genoa recovered nicely, scoring twice in the second half to top Verona. The Griffins lost Juraj Kucka to Milan ahead of their second match, but that did not seem to bother Gian Piero Gasperini's men.

14) Udinese

Round 1 Ranking: 11th; Round 2: Lost to Palermo 1-0

Round 3: at Lazio, Sunday, Sept. 13

After an incredible victory over Juventus to begin the season, Udinese could not handle the hangover. Despite completely dominating Palermo, the Zebras could not put a goal past Sorrentino. Against a Lazio club that just got rocked by Chievo, Udinese has a great chance to get back on track.

15) Atalanta

Round 1 Ranking: 16th; Round 2: Defeated Frosinone 2-0

Round 3: at Sassuolo, Sunday, Sept. 13

No need to get too excited about a victory over Frosinone, but it was a nice recovery for Atalanta against the newly-promoted side. La Dea will be up against it when it travels to Sassuolo, which is proving to be a difficult opponent for any Italian side.

16) Verona

Round 1 Ranking: 12th; Round 2: Lost to Genoa 2-0

Round 3: vs. Torino, Sunday, Sept. 13

Verona impressed with a draw against Roma in the first weekend, but Genoa proved to be too much for the Mastini. Two second-half goals slipped past Rafael. Verona were out-possessed and significantly outshot. Tough match-up out of the break for Verona, as Torino is flying high.

17) Empoli

Round 1 Ranking: 17th; Round 2: Lost to Milan 2-1

Round 3: vs. Napoli, Sunday, Sept. 13

Riccardo Saponara continues to be the one Milan let get away, and he took it out on the Rossoneri in the second round. The 23-year-old midfielder now has goals in back-to-back matches. Despite his early success, Empoli cannot find a way to get results, even when Milan looks as bad as it did Saturday. Empoli is in the drop zone two weeks in, and it is hard to imagine them showing much improvement as the season progresses.

18) Bologna

Round 1 Ranking: 18th; Round 2: Lost to Sassuolo 1-0

Round 3: at Sampdoria, Sunday, Sept. 13

The return to Serie A has not been a happy one for Bologna. A draw against Sassuolo would have been impressive, but Floro Flores made sure that did not happen.

19) Carpi

Round 1 Ranking: 19th; Round 2: Lost to Inter 2-1

Round 3: at Palermo, Sunday, Sept. 13

Carpi is doing about as well as could have been expected of the newcomers. Last year's Serie B champions are in for a long ride this season, but it is impressive that Carpi has scored three goals already, even though seven have gone in on the other end.

20) Frosinone

Round 1 Ranking: 20th; Round 2: Lost to Atalanta 2-0

Round 3: vs. Roma, Sunday, Sept. 13

Again, no surprises with Frosinone. This is a Serie A debutant without the resources to compete for a full season in the top flight.