Serie A Team of Week 33
Brought an air of security to the Milan defence with a ‘none shall pass
me’ attitude. His genuine potential was there for all to see when
getting down to parry away a fierce Fabio Quagliarella strike and later
stopping Fernando’s vicious volley. Commanding
Gaetano Letizia [Carpi]
Made several dangerous runs down the right flank and made the assist
for the final goal with a menacing cross, that eventually fell to
Stefano Sabelli to rifle home. Also made a couple of excellent
interventions and generally dealt with everything. Compelling.
Andrea Barzagli [Juventus]
Made several crucial blocks, most notably when he cleared Aleksandar
Trajkovski’s strike off the goal line. Followed that up with a
comprehensive performance for the rest of the game to help keep a clean
sheet. Essential.
Jeison Murillo [Inter]
Resolute and reliable and on the big occasions totally decisive,
especially against Manolo Gabbiadini. Made a couple of important
interventions and played a major part in keeping Napoli off the score
sheet. Solid
Marcos Alonso [Fiorentina]
Always looking to stretch the visitors’ defence, made sure nothing got
by him and had a major say in Fiorentina’s second goal, when his
splendid pass found Josip Ilicic who netted from the D. Comprehensive.
Marcelo Brozovic [Inter]
Played an unfamiliar role on the right but still caused problems with
his pace and scored the second goal with aplomb leaving the Napoli
defenders as confused as Adam and Eve on Mother’s day. Forceful.
Antonio Gaudi [Carpi]
A top performance until he went off injured on the hour. Before that
the 26-year-old had scored with a fabulous overhead kick after a fine
ball from Jerry Mbakogu. Following that he produced a superb assist for
Lorenzo Pasciuti. Inspiring.
Sami Khedira [Juventus]
Ran the show from midfield and was always aware of the position of
teammates while scoring a sublime goal when he controlled an equally
sublime pass from Paul Pogba with his chest before hooking a half-volley
into the far corner. Inspirational.
Marco D'Alessandro [Atalanta]
Played a major part in Atalanta’s comeback with his runs causing
problems throughout the Roma defence. Furthermore he did his fair share
of defending as well as score the hosts’ opener when superbly
anticipating a pass to tap home. Irresistible.
Mauro Icardi [Inter]
The Argentinean led the line, ran his heart out, scored, produced an
assist and made the visitors look as useful as a pair of sunglasses for a
one-eared man. Scored his goal from Gary Medel’s pass to cleverly hook
the ball into the net. Menacing.
Marco Borriello [Atalanta]
The striker was on top form, had a hand in Atalanta’s opener, scored
twice and could have had a hat trick. His first goal a typical header
came via a corner while his second saw him slot home coolly from ten
yards. Threatening.
Special mentions: Gary Medel [Inter], Alessandro Frara
[Frosinone], Mario Balotelli [Milan], Emiliano Viviano [Sampdoria],
Dodo [Sampdoria], Ogenyi Onazi [Lazio], Paul Pogba [Juventus].