(Updates after Juventus v Chievo)
By Simon Evans
MILAN, Aug 28 - Brazilian Adriano hit an opening
day hat-trick to help Inter Milan beat Treviso 3-0 and champions
Juventus also made a winning start with a David Trezeguet header
earning a 1-0 win over Chievo Verona on Sunday.
The biggest surprise was AC Milan being held to a 1-1 draw
at promoted Ascoli, and there was a confident 3-0 win at Reggina
for AS Roma.
Portuguese winger Luis Figo, signed from Real Madrid during
the close season, was the centre of attention at the San Siro as
he made his full debut for Inter but it was the more familiar
face of Adriano that provided the joy for the home fans hoping
to end their 16-year title wait.
The powerful Brazilian opened the scoring by chasing a ball
40 metres out to the touchline before cutting inside and
unleashing a fierce drive into the near post.
Serbian Dejan Stankovic set up the second in the 68th minute
with a well weighted ball into the area which Adriano brought
down with ease and slotted home.
Chilean substitute David Pizarro took most of the credit for
Inter's third goal with a tricky solo run into the area before a
short pass to the Brazilian who screwed the ball home through a
crowded area.
Although Treviso's first ever game in Serie A ended in
defeat Inter coach Roberto Mancini conceded his side had been
made to work hard in the opening stages.
"We were a bit rigid, perhaps not at our peak physically and
we certainly didn't sparkle for the opening 20 minutes but the
goal changed things for us," Mancini said.
Juventus had little trouble against Chievo after French
forward Trezeguet put them ahead in the 36th minute with a fine
glancing header from a Gianluca Zambrotta cross.
Fabio Capello's side strolled through the second half and
Trezeguet conceded the Turin side were not yet at their best.
"It was hard work. We were a bit tired in the second half
but we must move on from this -- we have time to work on
things," said the Frenchman.
Much of the post-match discussion is likely to focus on
Alessandro Del Piero who started the new campaign on the bench
and did not feature as a substitute.
Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti refused to give any evaluation
of his team's performance, making it clear that he thought the
game should not have been played on the puddle-riddled surface
at Ascoli.
PHYSICAL BATTLE
"It is hard to give any sort of technical opinion on a game
played on a surface like that. It was all about a physical
battle and chasing long balls which is not our style," said the
Milan coach.
Milan twice went close through free kicks from Shevchenko
but fell behind in the 58th minute when Dida pushed out a header
and Cudini reacted quickly to beat the Brazilian keeper.
Five minutes later, though, Milan were level when Shevchenko
picked the ball up on the turn and burst goalwards before
rattling home a powerful drive.
The Ukrainian then missed a glorious chance to win the game,
shooting over the bar from close range, and last season's
Champions League runners-up had to make do with a point.
Roma had a dreadful season last term but looked more
confident with goals from Brazilian Mancini, Italy midfielder
Daniele De Rossi and an injury-time strike from debutant
Democratic Republic of Congo forward Shabani Nonda easing them
to a 3-0 win at Reggina.
Udinese, who are in the Champions League for the first time
this season, beat a determined Empoli 1-0 thanks to a goal from
Ghana's Sulley Muntari.
Macedonian striker Goran Pandev scored the only goal in
Lazio's 1-0 win over Messina.