Serie A Team of the Week

It's been a tremendous weekend of action in Serie A that has provided us with the usual level of high quality.

Juventus secured a victory over second-placed Napoli, potentially ending any hope of a title race this season.

But wins for Lazio and Inter will make sure that there is some longstanding interest in the race for the remaining two Champions League places.

Milan slumped to 15th in the table and only avoided slipping into the relegation zone due to their goal difference. Adriano Galliani continues to back Massimiliano Allegri, but his faith must surely be waning.

Here is my team of the week; I try to acknowledge some players that you might not necessarily be familiar with to make this column more interesting than the norm, enjoy!

Marco Storari

Marco Storari replaced the injured Gianluigi Buffon for Juventus against Napoli on Saturday.

The 35-year-old proved himself to be a superb backup to the Azzurri No. 1, marshaling the defense with confidence and vocally organizing his teammates when Napoli challenged Juve with their set pieces.

Juventus controlled the game for large spells, meaning Storari was left with little to do, but all of a sudden Napoli would counter.

For this reason, Storari deserves immense credit for his exceptional concentration to deal with everything thrown at him throughout a match of the highest intensity.

Aleandro Rosi

Aleandro Rosi was drafted in by Roberto Donadoni to play as a right-back in an experimental 4-4-2 as the Gialloblu attempted to arrest their recent slide in form.

Rosi fulfilled his duties perfectly, injecting some pace and energy down the flanks, often cutting inside to allow his teammates space to roam down the wide areas.

Lorenzo Ariaudo

Lorenzo Ariaudo has impressed me since coming into the starting lineup for the Pescara game and has seemingly cemented his place at the heart of the defense for the foreseeable future.

Ousting Luca Rossettini is no mean feat when you consider how impressive he was at Siena last season, so it is credit to the 23-year-old that he has impressed new manager Ivo Pulga enough to be handed a starting spot in both matches since succeeding Massimo Ficcadenti.

A determined performance against one of the form strikers in Serie A, Alberto Gilardino, will do him a world of good for the coming weeks.

Thomas Manfredini

Thomas Manfredini is having an outstanding season with La Dea, consistently performing to a high standard and leading the Nerazzurri forward despite numerous injuries that have set the side back this season.

Manfredini was able to keep Emanuele Calaio relatively quiet throughout, a tricky task when you consider that the striker caused plenty of problems for Juventus a few weeks ago.

The Atalanta centre-back seems to win everything in the air, too, and provided a great anchor to the defense in their 2-1 victory.

Boukhary Drame

Boukary Dramé has successfully returned from a serious knee injury, and Chievo are a significantly improved side with the 27-year-old available again.

Devised with the task of tracking the speedy Juan Cuadrado, Drame was kept busy on Sunday as Fiorentina constantly looked to get the Colombian involved.

Drame stuck to his task, resisting his usual tendency to bomb forward and join in with the attack.

Cuadrado was left frustrated due to Drame's ability to combat speed with speed, as he often spun towards his own goal and averted the danger safely.

Antonio Candreva

Antonio Candreva inspired Lazio to a 3-2 victory over Milan on Saturday, further proving why Cesare Prandelli selected the 25-year-old for Italy last week.

The Lazio midfielder has been in inspired form and is contributing more than just his exceptional work rate and energy.

Candreva scored a sensational goal from distance before setting up Klose for Lazio's third goal with a splendid lobbed pass.

Paul Pogba

Paul Pogba, a 19-year-old box-to-box midfielder who had the audacity to snub a contract extension at Manchester United, one of the biggest clubs in the world, came to life this weekend.

Many point at Mino Raiola as the main reason behind Pogba's move to Juventus, but no agent could make a player reject the godfather of managers, Sir Alex Ferguson, alone.

Yes, Pogba has a certain arrogance and swagger to the way he approaches the game. Perhaps one could describe him as fearless due to the way he has taken the expectations from the Juventini in his stride.

As Pogba already has had the honor of replacing Andrea Pirlo on a couple of occasions, it is clear that the Old Lady values the Frenchman extremely highly, with Saturday night's cameo a clear indicator as to why the Bianconeri pressed so hard for his signature.

Pogba anticipated a poor clearance from Napoli, latching onto the flight of the ball, before striking a volley with absolute precision from the edge of the penalty area into the bottom right corner.

This is a special talent and United will be kicking themselves for seasons to come.

Radja Nainggolan

Radja Nainggolan is used to playing for different managers at Cagliari.

The Belgian has had six managers in the two years that he has been with the Isolani, but this has not disrupted the 24-year-old's form, and he has staked a claim as one of Serie A's best midfielders.

Ivo Pulga knows that he will need Nainggolan to be at his best if he is to last much longer than the rest of the season under Massimo Cellino.

Nainggolan is so versatile, and he proved it against Bologna this weekend by playing as an attacking midfielder.

This role can suit him due to his tremendous energy and willingness to drive beyond the striker.

A fine performance was capped off with the match-winning goal to give Pulga two wins from two.

Antonio Cassano

Antonio Cassano continues to inspire Inter after his move from city rivals Milan.

The fantasista looked very comfortable operating behind Rodrigo Palacio and Diego Milito, pulling the strings and spinning into different positions to confuse Catania.

A headed goal broke the deadlock, handing Cassano his fifth goal in just seven games since becoming a Nerazzurro.

His general play has made him the perfect player for Andrea Stramaccioni to build the side's attack around, and now that Inter have put together four victories in succession, they seem primed to claim a Champions League place.

Edinson Cavani

Edinson Cavani tried everything against Juventus on Saturday night, but it was not enough and Napoli succumbed to their first defeat of the season.

But El Matador can be immensely satisfied with his performance, especially after a frantic dash home to Naples after a grueling schedule due to the internationals with Uruguay.

There were two moments of genius that forced me to put Cavani into my team of the week despite not scoring.

The first was a free-kick in a wide area, a position from which a majority of players would not even think of shooting. Cavani curled the ball, with plenty of pace, onto the cross bar from the left and it deserved better.

The Uruguayan went close in the second half with an audacious volley from 25 yards. Running away from goal, Cavani connected with a sweetly-struck volley that sailed narrowly wide with Marco Storari rooted to the spot.

Amauri

Amauri has begun to find the form that made him such a star while with Palermo, inspiring Parma to a 2-1 victory over Sampdoria.

The Brazilian dispatched a penalty before making the game safe with a powerful header from an Ishak Belfodil cross.

Strong, powerful and seemingly a few pounds lighter, Amauri looks ready to drive the Gialloblu up the table after ending their five-game streak without a win.