As the top three all won to put a bit of daylight between themselves and fourth place, Dave Taylor selects his best XI from Week 21.
Ciprian Tatarusanu [Fiorentina]
Had to be ready from the word go blocking an early strike by Lucas Castro. Also blocked another strong effort from Ricardo Meggiorini and his several other saves helped the visitors walk away with the points. Alert.
Giorgio Chiellini [Juventus]
As the top three all won to put a bit of daylight between themselves and fourth place, Dave Taylor selects his best XI from Week 21.
Ciprian Tatarusanu [Fiorentina]
Had to be ready from the word go blocking an early strike by Lucas Castro. Also blocked another strong effort from Ricardo Meggiorini and his several other saves helped the visitors walk away with the points. Alert.
Giorgio Chiellini [Juventus]
The no-nonsense defender had a lot to do with Juve’s clean sheet, making several clearances and kept the Lazio forwards’ chances down to a minimum. Had Ciro immobile in his pocket throughout and bossed in the air and on the ground. Commanding.
Raul Albiol [Napoli]
Back for the big game he showed just what a commanding centre back should be. Apart from covering for teammate Lorenzo Tonelli’s mistakes at times, the opposition strike force were limited in their forward play as he was meaner than a stingray on steroids. Unyielding.
Federico Fazio [Roma]
The Argentinian was solid at the centre of the Giallorossi defence, hardly put a foot wrong and made a fair number of clearances and a couple of crucial tackles. Also dominant in the air against Marco Borriello, stopping the target man getting the slightest sniff of a goal. Concrete
Dries Mertens [Napoli]
Pushed on from the word go, producing two sublime assists with his flights down the right, which left defenders less useful than glass hammers. The first saw Lorenzo Insigne wallop the ball past Gigio Donnarumma while three minutes later the Belgian ace repeated the feat, this time for Jose Callejon. Blazing.
Blerim Dzemaili [Bologna]
Scoring twice out of three shots on target, the Swiss ace was too hot to handle for most of the game. His first goal saw him slot home from six yards following a Ladislav Krejci knockdown while his second came after a classic counter attack. Searing.
Federico Chiesa [Fiorentina]
The teenage son of Fiorentina’s former striker Enrico, scored, won a penalty and invited comparisons with his father following his unselfish play, speed of action and thought. His actual goal came in the dying seconds as he slid the ball under Stefano Sorrentino for his first Serie A strike. Sizzling.
Juan Cuadrado [Juventus]
Showed great technique on the ball with a handful of mazy dribbles and produced a fine assist with his perfect pass for Gonzalo Higuain’s goal. Continued to menace throughout the game and came close to scoring himself. Excellent.
Alessandro Matri [Sassuolo]
The former Juve striker scored a brace in the visitors’ 3-1 win over Pescara with a well-taken goal in each half. His first saw him slide the ball under Albano Bizzarri from a really tight angle while his second was again scored from the tightest of angles. Experienced.
Lorenzo Insigne [Napoli]
Inspired by his visiting hero, Diego Maradona, the Neapolitan scored with a strike straight out of il Pibe’s perfect strike book. Controlling a wonderful Diego-like cross field pass from Mertens with a touch of his right, he cleverly screwed it wide of Donnarumma with his left, into the far top corner. Blistering
Gonzalo Higuain [Juventus]
Caused problems for Lazio throughout the game, scoring Juve’ second and his 13th goal in his last 11 games, when he outmuscled a defender to squeeze the ball home from six yards. Also had a goal chalked off for offside. Scorching.
Special mentions: Khouma Babacar [Fiorentina], Joao Mario [Inter], Alessandro Bastoni [Atalanta], Edin Dzeko [Roma], Levan Mchedlidze [Empoli]