As Roma caught Juventus up at the top, Dave Taylor picks his best XI from Serie A’s midweek round of Week 9.
Marco Sportiello [Atalanta]
Easily the Man of the Match making a handful of brilliant saves from several of the Napoli forwards. Also won the precious point when saving a last minute penalty from Gonzalo Higuain, outwitting the Argentine by diving the right way. Authoritative.
Nicolas Burdisso [Genoa]
As Roma caught Juventus up at the top, Dave Taylor picks his best XI from Serie A’s midweek round of Week 9.
Marco Sportiello [Atalanta]
Easily the Man of the Match making a handful of brilliant saves from several of the Napoli forwards. Also won the precious point when saving a last minute penalty from Gonzalo Higuain, outwitting the Argentine by diving the right way. Authoritative.
Nicolas Burdisso [Genoa]
The former Inter veteran used all his experience and tradecraft to help keep a clean sheet for the hosts. Thundered into every tackle making Giorgio Chiellini look like the Dalai Lama and invariably came out top. Commanding.
Sebastien De Maio [Genoa]
Along with Burdisso he never allowed Fernando Llorente any room and was a rock at the heart of the defence, making several crucial tackles and even started off a couple of attacks. Decisive.
Nemanja Vidic [Inter]
After several dummy runs here was the Serbian international that was a stalwart in the Manchester United shirt. Nothing fancy just plain good old-fashioned defending at it’s best. Comeback
Juan Guillermo Cuadrado [Fiorentina]
Set up two well-taken goals with deadly passes. Patrolled the right flank like the well-drilled soldier he is and forced the defenders back throughout. His sublime stepovers before his assist for the third goal were Ronaldo-like. Exhilarating.
Daniele De Rossi [Roma]
Defensive when needed and led the team like a true captain. Advanced up field in the second half and was rewarded with a fine poacher’s goal when he slipped into the right place to slot home a perfect volley. Vital.
Luca Rigoni [Palermo]
A determined display against his old side for the game’s midfield general. Always looking for the ball and controlled the centre of the park throughout. Eventually scored when he converted 10 minutes from the end. Powerful.
Jack Bonaventura [Milan]
An exceptional performance from the ex-Atalanta midfielder who brought an extra keenness to the Rossoneri midfield. Always looking to exploit any ball or mistake, he climaxed his game with a superb long range shot that zoomed past the bewildered ‘keeper. Revitalising.
Gervinho [Roma]
Caused problems throughout with his incisive running and served up a wonderful cross for Mattia Destro to simply tap in. Beating his markers with ease and on one particular occasion effortlessly dribbled past several defenders. Penetrating.
Nicola Sansone [Sassuolo]
The 23-year-old did everything but score, constantly probing and pushing defenders into mistakes. Never let up for a moment and had a hand in earning the missed penalty, saw one shot superbly saved and assisted the third goal. Invigorating.
Khouma Babacar [Fiorentina]
The 21-year-old Senegalese stood up to the plate on Wednesday and scored a goal either side of half-time. His first came from his alertness on a goalkeeping mistake while his second saw him net with a fantastic right-footer. Prepared.
Special Mentions: Mattia Perrin [Genoa], Luca Antonini [Genoa], Borja Valero [Fiorentina], Senad Lulic [Lazio], Kostas Manolas [Roma], Saphir Taider [Sassuolo]