With Juventus being held to their first draw in 28 games and Napoli ending Roma’s all-time home record, Dave Taylor selects his best XI from round 27.
Ciprian Tatarusanu [Fiorentina]
Made a number of crucial saves and kept the visitors in the game until the final whistle. Towards the end and in siege-like conditions, he proceeded to pull out all the stops with fingertip saves from Remo Freuler and Andrea Masiello, as well as a stunning reaction stop from Andrea Petagna. Stupendous.
Danilo [Udinese]
With Juventus being held to their first draw in 28 games and Napoli ending Roma’s all-time home record, Dave Taylor selects his best XI from round 27.
Ciprian Tatarusanu [Fiorentina]
Made a number of crucial saves and kept the visitors in the game until the final whistle. Towards the end and in siege-like conditions, he proceeded to pull out all the stops with fingertip saves from Remo Freuler and Andrea Masiello, as well as a stunning reaction stop from Andrea Petagna. Stupendous.
Danilo [Udinese]
Along with defensive partner Samir, he managed to limit Juve and namely Gonzalo Higuain to a half-chance. A tower at the back, he almost scored the winner at the death but was foiled by the woodwork. Unyielding.
Alessio Romagnoli [Milan]
A more-than-solid shift on his return for the young Italy international, who also produced the assist for Carlos Bacca’s second goal. Overall, he had the beating of the opposition forwards and was calm and composed on the ball. Unyielding.
Kalidou Koulibaly [Napoli]
The big defender strode through the match imperiously, blocking shots and making interceptions when needed. Always cool in the centre of Napoli’s backline, he showed his quality throughout, especially when deflecting a fierce Radja Nainggolan strike to safety. Domineering.
Marek Hamsik [Napoli]
At the heart of most of Napoli’s best moves, he opened the game up in tight spaces, changing direction and velocity like a puck on an air hockey table. It was his clever little interceptions that spun Roma around like a top at times and also helped to produce an assist. Rousing.
Bruno Fernandes [Sampdoria]
The Portuguese youngster scored one goal and made two more. Such was his influence on the game with his key passes and handful of shots, he could have maybe scored more. His neat little goal came after he received a pullback from Luis Muriel, before hitting the roof of the net. Forceful.
Ever Banega [Inter]
The Argentine was in top form, scoring the second goal and laying on the assist for Ivan Perisic’s opener with his beautifully-chipped pass. His goal, meanwhile, was a curling free kick into the top corner. Overwhelming.
Ivan Perisic [Inter]
On this sort of form, stopping the Croatian was tantamount to holding back a tsunami with sandbags for poor Cagliari. Struck twice and completed a one-two with Mauro Icardi before scoring his second of the game and ninth goal of the season. Crushing.
Dries Mertens [Napoli]
Started like a whirlwind, captured the lightning shock and was soon rewarded with the first goal of two when he sprung the offside trap, before cheekily chipping the ‘keeper. After having a goal chalked off for offside, the Belgian scored again when tapping home a Lorenzo Insigne cross. Devastating.
Ciro Immobile [Lazio]
Worried the hosts with his power and bagged himself a brace. Currently in an excellent period of form, Lazio look like they could make a European placing with his performances. Crucial.
Andrea Belotti [Torino]
Scored a hat-trick inside seven minutes and was a menace throughout. All three goals were clever, but it was his second, letting the ball drop over his shoulder before screwing a magnificent right-footed volley into the back of the net, that was the pick of the bunch. Outstanding.
Special Mentions: Duvan Zapata [Udinese], Fabio Quagliarella [Sampdoria], Rafael Toloi [Atalanta], Carlos Bacca [Milan], Marko Rog [Napoli], Pepe Reina [Napoli]