Serie A Players of the Week – Round 16

bonaventura

The last Serie A round was a little poor in terms of scoring and most of the top players disappointed, but there were still some very noteworthy fantasy performances.

Stefano Sorrentino: several goalkeepers got a clean sheet this week, but none had a better performance than the Chievo goalie. He stopped every Roma attempt, paving the way for an unexpected result for his team. He had unreal saves on Gerson in the first half and on Patrick Schick late, both from short range, where he showed catlike-like reflexes. He was simply in the zone.

Giorgio Chiellini: Juventus were facing a very dangerous Inter attack led by Mauro Icardi, the leading scorer in Serie A, however they held them in check. The Nerazzurri did not manage to create many scoring opportunities and their forwards were often overpowered by Chiellini and Benatia’s physicality. The veteran centre-back has a proven track record in big game. He gained seven points, alongside all the other defences that kept the clean sheet.

Cristiano Biraghi: Fiorentina deserves a token spot here for stopping Napoli’s attack at San Paolo. As a result, the whole backline garnered five points thanks to their diligent work on Dries Mertens, José Callejon and Piotr Zielinski. Biraghi gets the nod here over his teammate because he had a pretty good performance going forward as well and he could have easily picked up an assist, had Giovanni Simeone buried one of his crosses.

Aleksandar Kolarov: yet another clean sheet for Roma, but this time it had a bitter taste because it did not come in a win, which would have had massive benefits for their standing. Kolarov continues to be one of the top playmakers for the Giallorossi and had excellent display against Chievo as wekk,

Giacomo Bonaventura: he collected eight points thanks to the brace against Bologna. With Gennaro Gattuso at the helm, he has re-taken his spot as one of Milan’s leader and he found the back of the net twice, with a deflected shot from just outside the box and with a thumping header after a perfect cut, which gave his team a much-needed win on Sunday night. He started as left box-to-box midfielder and finished as left winger, anyway he is an integral part of the squad.

Antonin Barak: a fabulous performance for the youngster, who scored after a deep cut in the box, with a little involutary help from an opponent, and later perfect set up his teammate Kevin Lasagna for an easy finish on Sunday against Benevento. Udinese’s scouting had not found any notable prospect in the last couple of seasons, but they have struck gold with Barak. He garnered eight points thanks to the goal, the clean sheet and the assist.

Alessio Cerci: he continued his fine form against Spal. He really looks at ease as second-striker, even though he will probably be even more efficient when he will have peak Giampaolo Pazzini on his side, because the Scaligeri are having trouble finalizing chances. He coolly converted a penalty, but Hellas wasted a two-goal lead late in the game.

Tomas Rincon: he amassed four points as well thanks to the goal. Torino stunned Lazio on Monday night and finally got an entirely positive result, with the help of the red card to Ciro Immobile at the end of the first half. El General is not a frequent scorer, but his shot from distance was powerful enough to whistle past Tomas Strakosha.

Fabio Quagliarella: he showed his foxiness in the box against Cagliari, scoring a brace. In the first goal, he took advantage of some confusion between the centre-back and the goalkeeper and netted the ball with a slide, while twenty minutes later he needed just a little room in the box to deliver a sweet lefty finish, which was too angled to save. Sampdoria squandered a two-goal lead in the second half, but this time the attack showed up on the road.

Alberto Paloschi: he was among the group of strikers that earned four points thanks to one goal. His was particularly significant, even though not very difficult, because it kick-started Spal’s comeback, which was completed with a penalty by Mirko Antenucci, in a game that looked doomed for them. With his good performances, he might soon supplant Marco Borriello, who was their prized acquisition this summer but has disappointed.

Leonardo Pavoletti: his tenure at Cagliari has been up and down so far and the same goes for the match against Sampdoria, where he missed some early sitters. However, he redeemed himself late with a perfect header, which tied the game.

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