Following three days of clashes, comebacks and shocks, Dave Taylor picks his best XI from the midweek round of action.
Gianluca Curci [Bologna]
Following three days of clashes, comebacks and shocks, Dave Taylor picks his best XI from the midweek round of action.
Gianluca Curci [Bologna]
Milan would have won this game if not for his prowess as he plucked several crosses out of the air and made some top saves. Late on he excelled himself with a fantastic double block from Valter Birsa and Robinho. Commanding.
Gyorgy Garics [Bologna]
The Austrian international was an absolute menace down the right with his energetic running out of defence, relieving the pressure on his teammates. Also put in some threatening crosses and couldn’t be stopped by fair means or foul. Entertaining.
Francesco Acerbi [Sassuolo” data-scaytid=”10″>Sassuolo]
Despite overwhelming possession by Napoli the Lord of Sassuolo never let his defence down. Commanding his area like an invading Belgian general, he won all his aerial battles, never wasted a pass and kept the famed Napoli attack quiet. Overwhelming.
Mehdi Benatia [Roma]
An absolute wall on the ground as well as in the air, he totally commanded the Samp forwards. He also scored the opener by managing to lose four defenders with the simplest of deceptions, basically by refusing to stay still. Challenging.
Bruno Pereirinha [Lazio” data-scaytid=”19″>Lazio]
Making only his fourth start since January due to injuries, the Portuguese full-back took a spell to warm up but after that he never looked out of place and produced the assist for Lazio’s opener. Thrilling.
Blerim Dzemaili [Napoli]
One of the few to finish with any real credit and it was his sweet right-footer that opened the scoring. Also played his part in defending a poor back-line with at least two crucial interventions. Threatening.
Marco Parolo [Parma]
A top performance from the 28-year-old and gelled well with Antonio Cassano. He scored twice both assisted by Cassano, his first a sensational volley while his second saw him snap up a FantAntonio rebound. Fascinating.
Esteban Cambiasso [Inter]
Always intelligent, the Man of the Match was the perfect example of a complete midfielder as everything good went through him. Rescued Inter with a turn on a ten-lira piece before volleying home a terrific equaliser to start the comeback. Inspiring.
Diego Laxalt [Bologna]
The Inter loanee netted with two cracking goals on his debut and caused serious problems for Milan’s back-line with his pace and energy. The Uruguayan youngster showed lots of potential and looked hungry throughout. Exciting.
Paul Pogba [Juventus” data-scaytid=”32″>Juventus]
Played a big part in both goals and ruled the midfield, stopping attacks before they started and also setting them up for his own side. Fooled his markers every now and then by going wide and put some dangerous balls into the mix. Convincing.
Simone Zaza [Sassuolo]
The Napoli defence couldn’t get near him and he took them on with ease and scored into the bargain. Running on to a smart Jasmin Kurtic ball he sent a left-footed screamer in off the crossbar from a difficult angle. Encouraging
Special mentions: Antonio Cassano [Parma], Francesco Totti [Roma], Andrea Poli [Milan], Robinho [Milan], Cyril Thereau [Chievo], Gianluca Pegolo [Sassuolo], Ricardo Alvarez [Inter], Alessio Cerci [Torino], Ederson [ Lazio].