Following the midweek games Juventus have once again climbed to the Serie A summit, as Dave Taylor selects his top XI from Week 5.
Pepe Reina [Napoli]
Helped Napoli come away with a point in Genoa and was their best player. Busy at times but always in control,he was particularly sharp saving twice from Giovanni Simeone, especially the last moment strike that he parried away to safety from point blank range. Steady.
Davide Calabria [Milan]
Following the midweek games Juventus have once again climbed to the Serie A summit, as Dave Taylor selects his top XI from Week 5.
Pepe Reina [Napoli]
Helped Napoli come away with a point in Genoa and was their best player. Busy at times but always in control,he was particularly sharp saving twice from Giovanni Simeone, especially the last moment strike that he parried away to safety from point blank range. Steady.
Davide Calabria [Milan]
The 19-year-old youth team product showed he can handle life as a right-back in Serie A, as he strode through the game with relative ease. Always ready to push up if the need arose, he handed M’Baye Niang a great chance to score, but it was wasted. Excellent.
Fazio [Roma]
Had everything under control from the off. His combative persona saw him give absolutely nothing away and gave the visitors’ forward line as much chance as Mario Balotelli has of winning the Ballon d’Or. Comprehensive.
Nicolas Burdisso [Genoa]
The experienced leader was in a duel with Arek Milik and the Argentinean limited the normally dangerous striker. Giving no space to Napoli at all, he anticipated many of their moves and dealt with them accordingly with some clean interventions when needed. Complete.
Juraj Kucka [Milan]
A real powerhouse of a performance following his return from suspension and played his part in the opening goal. Always ready to cover his teammates at the right time, he headed home superbly from a corner, only to be ruled out for pushing. Concrete.
Ladislav Krejci [Bologna]
An inspirational display from the Czech, who seemed to be everywhere and created danger every time he got the ball. Set up the opener for Simone Verdi’s sensational strike with a perfect cross. Continued to menace and also assisted Mattia Destro’s goal. Devastating
Alex Sandro [Juventus]
Arguably the man of the match as he completely ruled the left hand side of the pitch and woe betide anyone who became between him and the goal. Gave the Cagliari ‘keeper a hard time and was a thorn in the visitors’ side all night. Matchless
Mohamed Salah [Roma]
Crotone simply could not contain the Egyptian. His devastating runs down the both flanks led to a goal and an assist. While his own goal came about after his combination with Stephan El Shaarawy saw him strike the ball into the top of the net. Overwhelming.
Mauro Icardi [Inter]
Once again the Argentinean stepped up to the plate scoring a well-deserved brace with consummate professionalism. His first, a diving header, came following Antonio Candreva’s cross, while his second saw him run on to a killer pass from Joao Mario to side-foot home. Awesome.
Carlos Bacca [Milan]
Like a shark circling for the kill, the Colombian was a menacing threat throughout the game, scoring the opener with his first shot on target. Collecting the ball in Milan’s half, he skipped away from defenders before unleashing a stinger into the near bottom corner. Irreplaceable.
Gonzalo Higuain [Juventus]
Another killer performance from Gonzagol and his many clever runs were rewarded twice. After having his cracking volley superbly saved, Daniel Rugani tapped in the rebound. For his own goal it was the other way round, as he was first to another loose ball. Predatorial.
Special mentions: Edin Dzeko [Roma],Francesco Totti [Roma], Antonio Candreva [Inter], Joao Mario [Inter], Duvan Zapata [Udinese].