After another thrilling weekend of superb shots and stunning saves, Dave Taylor picks his best XI from the latest round of Serie A action.
Pepe Reina [Napoli]
After another thrilling weekend of superb shots and stunning saves, Dave Taylor picks his best XI from the latest round of Serie A action.
Pepe Reina [Napoli]
The Spaniard was superb, especially in stopping Mario Balotelli’s penalty. Also made a show-stopping finger-tip save from another Balotelli blockbuster, but could do nothing about his tremendous goal. Brilliant.
Nicolas Frey [Chievo]
The 29-year-old Frenchman made two decisive tackles and kept his opposite numbers both in defence and midfield under control throughout. He also assisted in the opening goal as his perfect through ball allowed Sergio Pellissier to score. Constant.
Miguel Britos [Napoli]
The central defender stole in and headed home the opener and continued to be dominant in the air throughout. He has settled in well with Raul Albiol and it was his assist that helped Britos score. Concomitant.
Hugo Campagnaro [Inter]
Four games and four Team of the Week appearances for the Nerazzurri’s defensive pillar. Always sure-footed and comfortable in possession, his intelligent forward runs inspired several attacks, while he also made several crucial tackles. Defiant.
Federico Balzaretti [Roma]
A powerhouse at the back and kept Lazio’s right flank from causing any real trouble, while also causing problems himself several times. On one run he burst into the box and struck gold with a venomous volley. Dominant.
Luca Rigoni [Chievo]
The 27-year-old showed why he is a firm fan favourite with a dynamic display capped when he scored the winner. Collecting the ball from Alberto Paloschi, his screwed shot deflected into the top right corner from outside the box. Exuberant.
Ricky Alvarez [Inter]
An integral piece of Inter’s new system as he played just behind the striker. Always looking for the ball, he spread the play perfectly with accurate passes before scoring on a superb counter-attack. Significant.
Danilo D’Ambrosio [Torino]
Opened the scoring with a cracking header at the back post from Alessio Cerci’s perfect cross. Continued to rule the left flank and also helped out in defence the few times he was needed in an all-round key performance. Important.
Francesco Totti [Roma]
Did everything but score and was continually bringing teammates into play. Got the ball rolling for Roma when seconds after setting up Federico Balzaretti to hit the post, his chipped cross from the resulting corner helped the defender volley home. Elegant.
Diego Milito [Inter]
Came on as a sub with just over 30 minutes to go. Ten minutes later he grabbed his comeback goal, assisted the sixth and crowned his cameo with another princely tap-in. Relevant.
Carlos Tevez [Juventus]
Never gave the forlorn Verona defence a moment’s respite, powering forward at every opportunity. Just before half-time he beat the ‘keeper but not the posts, then minutes later he made no mistake slotting home from a tight angle. Triumphant.
Special mentions: Gonzalo Higuain [Napoli], Alessio Cerci [Torino], Giuseppe Rossi [Fiorentina], Mario Balotelli [Milan], Fredy Guarin [Inter], Douglas Maicon [Roma], Francesco Bardi [Livorno], Paul Pogba [Juventus], Rafael [Verona], Valon Behrami [Napoli].