After an extended weekend of exciting, enthralling and entertaining Serie A football Dave Taylor selects his top XI from Week 6.
Josip Posavec [Palermo]
Palermo’s saviour and man of the match parried, pushed and palmed away several close goal attempts, including fearlessly grabbing the ball from the feet of Gonzalo Higuain. He also denied Mario Mandzukic with two world-class saves but could do nothing about the goal. Courageous.
Wallace [Lazio]
After an extended weekend of exciting, enthralling and entertaining Serie A football Dave Taylor selects his top XI from Week 6.
Josip Posavec [Palermo]
Palermo’s saviour and man of the match parried, pushed and palmed away several close goal attempts, including fearlessly grabbing the ball from the feet of Gonzalo Higuain. He also denied Mario Mandzukic with two world-class saves but could do nothing about the goal. Courageous.
Wallace [Lazio]
The pick of Lazio’ defence on his full debut and made a number of important tackles on Empoli’s attacking full back Manuel Pasqual, leaving him emptier than a nun’s swear box on one occasion. The 21-year-old Brazilian also pushed forward whenever the need arose. Intelligent.
Giancarlo Gonzalez [Palermo]
The Costa Rican defender did a fine job of keeping the Juve forwards quieter than normal and made some crucial interventions, especially when he charged down a dangerous ball from Higuain. Constructive.
Domenico Maietta [Bologna]
In only his second game of the season the Italian veteran had a busy game making clearances and interceptions into double figures. He also made several important tackles and played his part in walking away with a point from the San Siro. Comprehensive.
Antonio Barreca [Torino]
The Italian Under-21 international showed all his potential and calmly handled Mohamed Salah, closing him down with his quality and speed, especially in the first half when his intervention was crucial. Always on the money every time he went forward he even improved in the second half and just could be the Azzurri’s terzino of the future. Exhilarating.
Iago Falque [Torino]
Panicked the visiting defence every time he got the ball and left defenders colder than a kangaroo in Canada with two goals. First he converted a penalty before hitting his second and scoring thanks to a deflection of a Roma defender. Captivating.
Marek Hamsik [Napoli]
Another sumptuous performance from the captain, who continues to weave his magic for the Partenopei. Apart from setting up the opener with a threaded pass, Marekiaro also celebrated his 100th Napoli goal with a cracking left-footer into the far corner of the net. Spellbinding.
Ivan Persic [Inter]
After making a general nuisance of himself amongst the Rossoblu defenders he managed to hit the all-important equaliser with a moment of sublime skill. After collecting a fine Antonio Candreva ball, the Croatian superbly volleyed it into the far corner. Inspiring.
Jose Callejon [Napoli]
Forever looking to hurt the visitors the Spaniard was superb, assisting on Manolo Gabbiadini’s goal with the perfect pass from the edge of the area. Continued to initiate moves and went close himself in the dying stages when his strike was inches wide. Instructive.
Gregoire Defrel [Sassuolo]
Like a dog peeing on a lamppost it is in the Frenchman’s nature to score as he shot home his fourth goal in four games from six yards out following a smart cross from Pol Lirola. Continued to cause trouble in the second half. Captivating.
Andrea Belotti [Torino]
A man of the match performance saw him sew the seeds of destruction for the Giallorossi, especially defenders Kostas Manolas and Fazio. They failed to control him and he had a hand in both Falque’s goals while his own strike, his fifth this term, saw him find space for a free header past the ‘keeper.
Special mentions: Manolo Gabbiadini [Napoli], Balde Kieta [Lazio], Gabriel Paletta [Milan] Gigio Donnarumma [Milan], Joe Hart [Torino], Carlos Sanchez [Fiorentina], Alejandro Gomez [Atalanta] Joao Pedro [Cagliari].