Inter Milan successfully kicked off the defense of their Serie A title on Saturday with a dominant 4-1 home victory over Monza, though the scoreline masks a competitive first half. The reigning champions took a sixth-minute lead when Andy Diouf set up Hakan Calhanoglu, who unleashed a brilliant first-time strike from well outside the penalty area into the roof of the net. However, Monza fought back bravely and stunned the San Siro crowd just before the half-hour mark. Gustavo Varela, a 21-year-old summer signing from Benfica who had already scored twice in a Coppa Italia match against Avellino, marked his Serie A debut in style by turning Manuel Akanji and firing a low shot into the far bottom corner.
Inter manager Cristian Chivu admitted his side struggled during a disjointed first half where Monza's tactical discipline caused significant confusion. The complexion of the match shifted immediately after the interval, however. Just three minutes into the second half, Monza goalkeeper Semuel Pizzignacco punched away a cross from Federico Dimarco, and Piotr Zielinski reacted quickest to smash a bouncing shot into the turf and over the stranded keeper to restore Inter's lead.
From there, the champions seized full control and refused to let Monza back into the contest. Eight minutes after Zielinski's goal, Pio Esposito extended the advantage with a clever back-heeled flick past Pizzignacco, courtesy of another assist from Diouf. Yann Bisseck added a fourth with a deflected shot, and Manuel Akanji nearly compounded Monza's misery when his header rattled the crossbar. The match also provided fans an early look at Inter's new recruits, as England defender John Stones came on to make his club debut, while fellow recent arrivals Djed Spence and Curtis Jones watched from the stands.
Elsewhere, last season's runners-up Napoli began life under new manager Massimiliano Allegri-who took over following Antonio Conte's departure-with a hard-fought 2-0 victory away at Genoa. After finishing 11 points behind Inter last term, Napoli risked starting the new campaign on the back foot as Genoa dominated the opening half and created the better opportunities. Vitinha went close with an early effort that sailed narrowly wide, and Scott McTominay's long-range attempt after the break did little to trouble Genoa goalkeeper Justin Bijlow.
Needing a spark, Allegri made a decisive triple substitution midway through the second half, introducing Kevin De Bruyne, Antonio Vergara, and Noa Lang. The bold move paid off brilliantly. With just eight minutes remaining in regulation, De Bruyne played a slick one-two with Vergara before rifling a precise shot past Bijlow from just outside the six-yard box to break the deadlock. Five minutes later, the dynamic duo combined again to seal the three points; De Bruyne delivered a cross into the box that eventually fell to Vergara, whose shot was initially blocked by defender Sebastian Otoa before trickling agonizingly over the goal line to ensure a winning start for Allegri's side.