Serie A Team of Week 2
Week 2 brought goals galore in Serie A. Both Milan teams were involved in high-scoring thrillers, scoring 12 between them on their way to victory. In Rome, Lazio ran out comfortable 3-0 winners over Cesena, while Sampdoria earned a valuable win over Torino at home.
Juventus looked comfortable against Udinese in their 2-0 win, and though they were less than impressive, Roma fought hard for a dogged 0-1 victory away to league newcomers Empoli. The surprise of the round came in Naples, where plucky Chievo Verona shocked the Stadio San Paolo by beating Napoli 0-1.
Francesco Bardi
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He's just 22, but Chievo Verona's Francesco Bardi is already making a name for himself in Serie A. The Livorno native is owned by Inter, but has been getting experience at Novara and Livorno before being loaned to the Stadio Marc'Antonio Bentegodi outfit for this season.
Against Napoli, Bardi put in a perfect 10 performance. He made several key stops and even denied Gonzalo Higuain from the spot with a dramatic save.
Maxi Lopez scored the winner, but Chievo's unlikely victory away from home is thanks to Bardi more than anyone.
Stephan Lichtsteiner
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Stephan Lichtsteiner proved instrumental for Juventus at the weekend against Udinese, contributing at the back and going forward and providing the assist for Carlos Tevez's opener.
Kostas Manolas
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Roma's Kostas Manolas put in a fine display against Empoli, even if the Giallorossi didn't perform to the best of their ability on the whole.
The talented young Greek already looks comfortable at his new team, despite only arriving in the Italian capital this summer. It's early days, but between Manolas and the Italian international Davide Astori, the worry about Mehdi Benatia's departure is fading fast.
Andrea Ranocchia
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Inter's Andrea Ranocchia was brilliant against Sassuolo, combining well with Juan Jesus and Marco Andreolli at the back to contain three of the league's more dangerous forwards.
The Nerazzurri's new captain looks like he's made the step up required of him since having taken over the armband from Javier Zanetti. His passing was crisp and he was unbeatable in the air, making sure that the home side kept a clean sheet to go with the impressive haul of goals they bagged at the other end.
Elsewhere, Fiorentina's Gonzalo Rodriguez deserves mention for being typically solid against Genoa, and though the game ended 0-0 and was somewhat underwhelming from a Viola perspective, the Argentine defender played well, making a number of key tackles.
Edson Braafheid
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Lazio new-boy Edson Braafheid gave a solid display in the Aquile's 3-0 win over Cesena. The 31-year-old from Suriname looks like a decent passer, was involved a lot in the final third, isn't afraid to get physical and even chipped in with an assist for Antonio Candreva's opener.
Braafheid has plenty of experience playing in the Bundesliga and the Eredivisie over the years, and has 10 caps for the Netherlands. He wasn't one of the summer's most glamorous signings, but considering that Lazio got him for free, if he continues to perform to this level, he could end up being one of the smartest moves.
Inter's Dodo was also excellent on the left this weekend, but then, so was almost every one of Walter Mazzarri's men.
Mateo Kovacic
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It's exciting to watch Mateo Kovacic develop. The 20-year-old Croatian just keeps getting better, and after a somewhat hit-and-miss first season at the San Siro he's now growing into a force of nature in the centre for Walter Mazzarri.
Inter were ruthless against Sassuolo. The forwards were clearly in peak form, but the victory was rooted in Kovacic's sublime passing, vision and creativity.
Claudio Marchisio
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Juventus' Claudio Marchisio remains one of the most underrated midfielders in Italy, and against Udinese, he showed exactly why he remains a key player for the Bianconeri.
The 28-year-old from Turin scored Juve's second, but was excellent in general throughout the game, passing well and linking Max Allegri's midfield and attack perfectly.
Antonio Candreva
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Antonio Candreva's star has been on the rise for some time now, and performances like the one he gave against Cesena are the reason.
The Lazio forward was brilliant up front for Stefano Pioli's side, constantly testing the visitors' defence with tricky runs and a barrage of shots. An assist and a goal were the icing on the cake of a man-of-the-match performance, and on that kind of form it's easy to see why the gossip pages continue to link him to a big-money move abroad, as per this mooted £23.8 million move to Liverpool from the Metro.
Mauro Icardi
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Mauro Icardi had seven shots against Sassuolo, and three of them found the back of the net.
The Neroverdi were awful at the back, but you can only beat the opposition in front of you so plaudits are still due to the young Argentine for the masterclass of technique that let him bag a hat-trick in a pristine 7-0 win for the Nerazzurri.
Pablo Daniel Osvaldo
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Icardi and Kovacic had already won the game for Walter Mazzarri by the time Dani Osvaldo found his scoring form, but the Argentina-born Italy international still deserves credit for contributing two goals and a pair of assists on a special night for Inter.
In a way, it was classic Osvaldo. The striker infuriates many precisely because he's capable of such powerful displays, but tends to deliver his best in fits and starts.
Likewise, Inter look capable of big things—if they can find a formula for consistency. Having stumbled to a draw against Torino last week, Inter looked a very different beast against Sassuolo. It will be interesting to see which version of the Nerazzurri we get next round, when they face Palermo away from home.
Jeremy Menez
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Milan's capture of Jeremy Menez is looking like a shrewd move. The sometimes-troublesome Frenchman was excellent last week as well, but against Parma he was truly sublime. And his weaving dissection of the Parma defence, followed by the cheekiest of backheels, will almost certainly be one of the goals of the season.
The Rossoneri were shocking at the back, but the way in which Pippo Inzaghi seems to have inspired the likes of Menez and Keisuke Honda going forward gives plenty of cause for optimism.
