ROME (AP) — A seven-goal thriller won by never-say-die Napoli over full-throttle Fiorentina. An entertaining six-goal draw between Roma and Genoa. Inter Milan’s authoritative 4-0 shutout of Lecce in Antonio Conte’s debut.And not a single scoreless draw.If there’s anything to be learned from the opening weekend of Serie A www.thetopsoccer.com/national-team-kit/france , it’s that free-flowing, attacking football may have finally arrived in the Italian league — and “catenaccio” could be history.There were 33 goals scored over 10 matches for an average of 3.3 goals per game — considerably more than the 2.7 goals per game the league has averaged for the past two seasons.The last time Serie A averaged more than three goals per game over an entire season came in 1950-51.“This was just a little glimmer. Now we need to become dynamite,” Conte said of his completely revamped squad.With offensive-minded coaches like Conte and Maurizio Sarri at Juventus returning to Serie A and the addition of attack-minded Paulo Fonseca at Roma, plus Vincenzo Montella back at Fiorentina, goals should come in abundance.“Their squads promote collective football that promotes organized creativity with a considerable sense of adventure,” Arrigo Sacchi, the former AC Milan and Italy coach who was something of a novelty when he first employed forward-thinking football in the 1980s, said before the season began in an editorial for the Gazzetta dello Sport.“So it could be a blessing for our league, which generally doesn’t tend toward those traits,” Sacchi added.Gian Piero Gasperini at Atalanta is another coach who favors offense and after a surprise third-place finish and Champions League berth last season Cheap Germany Soccer Team Uniform , the Bergamo squad was at it again, coming back from two goals down for a 3-2 win at Spal.Lazio also scored three in a shutout of Sampdoria.In what is being hyped as the most competitive Serie A in years, perhaps the lone holdout in the new offensive wave remains Juventus, which has not yet fully adopted the swift passing game preferred by Sarri.With Sarri watching at home sick with pneumonia, Juventus controlled and risked little after taking an early lead in a 1-0 victory at Parma.The Juventus performance was the closest thing to “catenaccio” — a tactic of lockdown defense — seen over the weekend.Aiding the increase in goals is that the VAR (video assistant referee) is in its third season of use by Serie A, meaning defenders can no longer get away with the physical play of yesteryear. New, stricter handball rules also favor the strikers, as seen when Fiorentina was awarded an early penalty against Napoli.Perhaps in anticipation of more goals, average attendance for the opening weekend was more than 26,000 per match — led by the 64 www.thetopsoccer.com/national-team-kit/italy ,000 at San Siro to witness Inter’s four-goal romp. The 26,000 barrier had not been broken for the first weekend since Serie A enlarged to 20 teams in 2004-05 — nor had that many fans shown up for an August weekend, which is during Italy’s summer vacation period, in a decade.Expect more big crowds this weekend with two high-profile matches: eight-time defending champion Juventus against last season’s runner-up Napoli and the Rome derby.“Resistance to change reigns large in our country,” Sacchi said. “But we might just be about to witness a different season in which overwrought tactics, defensiveness and fear could make way for strategy, emotions and courage like hardly seen before over the last 60-70 years.” YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — Injury-depleted Italy required two late goals to secure a 3-1 win over 10-man Armenia on Thursday and extend its perfect start to European Championship qualifying.Azzurri coach Roberto Mancini was enraged as his squad failed to produce any serious chances in the second half when it held a man advantage — until substitute Lorenzo Pellegrini broke the deadlock in the 77th.Andrea Belotti then added another to go with his first-half equalizer.Armenia took the initiative early on with Aleksandre Karapetyan finishing off a counterattack that began with an Italian defensive lapse.Karapetyan was then sent off in first-half added time for picking up a second yellow card.“In a way, the red card penalized us, because Armenia just focused on defending with 10 men and didn’t allow any spaces. If they had had 11 Cheap Mexico Soccer Team Uniform , they would have pushed forward more,” Mancini said. “Armenia was physically superior today as they are midway through their seasons.”With five wins in five matches, Italy leads Group J with a full 15 points. Second-place Finland was hosting Greece later.Mancini had anticipated a difficult performance, pointing out that most of Italy’s players are short on physical fitness only two rounds into Serie A.Making matters more complicated was the absence of injured captain Giorgio Chiellini, plus key forward Lorenzo Insigne, Bryan Cristante, Cristiano Biraghi and Mattia De Sciglio.Midfielder Nicolò Barella turned the ball over to set Armenia on the counterattack that Karapetyan finished off with a shot to the far corner as Leonardo Bonucci failed to intervene.Belotti’s equalizer came with a volley near the far post following a cross from Emerson Palmieri.A minute later, Federico Bernardeschi hit the crossbar.Karapetyan’s first yellow came for an argument with Marco Verratti and his second was for a raised elbow on Bonucci, although replays showed that it was a harsh decision.Verratti was also booked, meaning he will miss Italy’s next match in Finland on Sunday due to accumulated cards.Pellegrini’s goal — his first for the national team — came with a header following a cross from Bonucci as he was left unmarked 10 yards out.Belotti’s second came with a difficult shot through a crowd of defenders that was aided by a poor effort from the goalkeeper.Belotti plays for Torino www.thetopsoccer.com/national-team-kit/portugal , which started its season early for Europa League qualifying, meaning his physical condition was ahead of many Italy players.“It was a tough start for us, as Armenia was very aggressive and the pitch was not in great condition,” Belotti said. “Their chances were all on the counterattack, but we slowly took control and could have had more goals, including one I missed badly, but fortunately we were able to turn it around.”Armenia captain Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who recently joined Roma on loan in Italy’s Serie A, was a constant threat.