After an extended weekend when both Juventus and Napoli failed to win, Dave Taylor selects his best XI from Week 26
Vid Belec [Carpi]
Made a string of crucial saves to keep Carpi in the game. His first big call was parrying a fierce Andrea Belotti header, then a fabulous fingertip save from Ciro Immobile’s cross before palming a well-taken penalty from Maxi Lopez to safety. Commanding.
Domenico Maietta [Bologna]
After an extended weekend when both Juventus and Napoli failed to win, Dave Taylor selects his best XI from Week 26
Vid Belec [Carpi]
Made a string of crucial saves to keep Carpi in the game. His first big call was parrying a fierce Andrea Belotti header, then a fabulous fingertip save from Ciro Immobile’s cross before palming a well-taken penalty from Maxi Lopez to safety. Commanding.
Domenico Maietta [Bologna]
Kept a close eye on Simone Zaza and was unafraid to use his strength to deny the Juve striker. Worked well in tandem with Daniel Gastaldello and between them they kept the opposition’s attacking blade blunted. Combative.
Leonardo Bonucci [Juventus]
Played an almost perfect game and was never caught out of position. Always there to stop advances by the hosts, the experienced defender anticipated any danger and with his no-nonsense manner stopped it before it started. Complete.
Joao Miranda [Inter]
Give the Nerazzurri a solid determined look in the heart of defence. With a strong physical display, his confidence and anticipation were rewarded when he went up field and powered a header over the line for Inter’s second. Committed.
Alessio Cerci [Genoa]
Always looking to cause problems with and without the ball, was almost unbeatable at times and arguably man of the match. Played superbly, created several chances and scored eventually through a penalty with a left footer into the top left corner. Comfortable.
Artur Ionita [Verona]
The Moldavian threatened on several occasions and apart from scoring, organised attacks throughout. Always looking to play a neat through ball when his goal came he found space outside the box and smacked home a thunderbolt from 25 yards out. Comprehensive.
Miralem Pjanic [Roma]
Full of ideas and produced the assist for the first goal while also hitting the post. Unafraid to take on his man, he was a busybody in the midfield and directed Roma’s attack with his intelligent balls and non-stop running. Competitive.
Mohamed Salah [Roma]
Was absolutely everywhere menacing the visitors and scored twice within two minutes to put the seal on the win. His first saw him beat the offside trap while his magnificent second was curled in from an almost impossible angle from the by-line. Commandeering.
Lorenzo Insigne [Napoli]
The little number 24 exploited the holes in the visitors’ defence and tested the Milan ‘keeper on several occasions. Finally the pressure paid off when his angled effort from distance took a deflection to catch Gianluigi Donnarumma out. Commendable.
Cristian Tello [Fiorentina]
The on-loan Barcelona forward put in a top performance, producing an assist and scoring. It was his cross that set up Matias Fernandez while his first Serie A goal arrived after some neat work on the counter attack. Compact.
Edin Dzeko [Roma]
A busy but rewarding evening for the Big Bosnian, who opened and closed the scoring with two fine strikes while rounding off his hard working performance with two assists for the second and third. Compelling.
Special mentions: Diego Laxalt [Genoa], Gregorie Defrel [Sassuolo] Arlind Ajeti [Frosinone], Giacomo Bonaventura [Milan] Domenico Berardi [Sassuolo], Cristian Zapata [Milan].