Como top alone on 7 points after thrashing Genoa 4-1

Como have moved clear at the top on their own after beating Genoa 4-1 away from home, taking their tally to 7 points from three games. Genoa remain on zero after three matches, bottom of the table alone, with a start that needs fixing fast as the fixtures stop offering easy passes.

Further down, Napoli are tenth with 3 points, level with Frosinone, Cagliari, Sassuolo and Lecce. Only Udinese, on 4, sit a step above that group. At the bottom, another pack has formed, this time on zero points after two games: Bologna, Torino, Parma, Venezia, Monza and Fiorentina. Six sides, including a big name in Fiorentina, still without a point — too early to call it a crisis, but a stat already weighing on the mood of those living through it.

The round that opens on Saturday 5 September touches directly on those margins. Fiorentina-Torino is a head-to-head between two sides still on zero, and the loser risks slipping further back. Higher up, Roma-Atalanta and Juventus-Milan pit four of the six teams level on 6 points against each other, a round that can stretch or shrink the gap to the top — and with it the gap to Napoli. The rest of the programme reads Parma-Monza, Frosinone-Venezia, Bologna-Sassuolo, Cagliari-Lecce and Udinese-Lazio, with Frosinone, Cagliari, Sassuolo and Lecce sharing Napoli's points total and Napoli's aim of getting out of that part of the table as soon as possible.