Serie A Team of Week 3
It's still early days in Serie A, but Roma and Juventus have already set the bar incredibly high for the rest of Italy's top flight with three wins each without conceding a single goal.
Max Allegri returned to face his old club Milan at the San Siro with Juventus and left triumphant, thanks to a strike from Carlos Tevez. And while Zdenek Zeman was afforded warm applause on his return to the Olimpico, his Cagliari side were shown no mercy and quickly dispatched by early goals from Mattia Destro and Alessandro Florenzi on an intensely hot afternoon in Rome.
Udinese picked up where Chievo left off last week and recorded an unlikely victory over Napoli, who now look like a side in serious trouble.
Inter fought back to a 1-1 draw in Palermo, while Genoa were impressive in their win over Lazio and Fiorentina were somewhat fortunate to leave Atalanta's Stadio Atleti Azzurri d'Italia with all three points.
Plucky Hellas Verona show no signs of struggling in their second season back in the first division, and they are now sitting pretty in third thanks to a 1-0 away win against Torino.
Mattia Perin
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Serie A has never been short of outstanding 'keepers, but the upcoming crop looks to be a special one—even by Italian standards.
Last week, an exceptional Francesco Bardi denied Mattia Perin a place in the Team of the Week, thanks to his heroics during Chievo Verona's victory over Napoli.
This time, however, there's no keeping Perin from the round's best XI; the 21-year-old was sensational in Genoa's win over Lazio, making no fewer than seven saves before the Rossoblu eventually broke the deadlock in the game's dying minutes.
Hellas Verona's Rafael deserves a mention, too, for keeping his side in contention away to Torino, a game they eventually won 0-1.
Massimo Volta
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It's unlikely that many of Cesena's players will rank among the league's best performers this season, so credit where it's due to Massimo Volta, who put in an excellent display against Empoli.
The 27-year-old centre-back, on loan from Sampdoria, played on the right at the weekend and looked more than comfortable. He was impressive at the back and going forward, and he provided the assist for Gregoire Defrel's goal that put the home side 2-0 up after 32 minutes.
Poor defending from Stefano Lucchini gave away a penalty in the second half and let the visitors back into the game, but it shouldn't take away from Volta's contribution.
Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa
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Roma's Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa Serie A debut was a flawless display, featuring a number of key tackles to nullify the few promising chances the Sardinian visitors managed to create.
Zdenek Zeman has yet to mould Cagliari into a free-scoring, all-attacking side, but keeping a clean sheet against one of his team's is never easy—especially in the intensely hot and humid conditions experienced at the Olimpico on Sunday.
The Giallorossi have yet to concede in the league this term, depsite the fact that they lost Mehdi Benatia to Bayern Munich and Leandro Castan is still injured. Davide Astori and Kostas Manolas—who was also excellent on Sunday—have done a fine job replacing last season's centre-back pairing, and Yanga-Mbiwa looks like another interesting addition.
Currently on loan from Newcastle, the 25-year-old France international was captain of the Montpellier side that claimed a historic first Ligue 1 title in 2011-12, having risen to stardom through the southern side's youth ranks. That year, they beat Paris Saint-Germain and Garcia's Lille to the title, which suggests his current manager has been tracking his progress for some time.
Danilo
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Danilo was the hero for Udinese against Napoli, scoring the Zebretti's winner at the San Paolo to heap more misery on Rafa Benitez.
The Brazilian was a commanding force at the back for Andrea Stramaccioni's side, and he put the icing on a fine performance when he nipped in to slot home a loose ball after 70 minutes.
The Partenopei have now lost twice in the league in as many weeks, and they struggled to beat Genoa on the opening day. They also failed to qualify for the Champions League group stage, so Benitez will be under huge pressure to turn things around quickly at a club where expectations are high.
Ivan Piris
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It wasn't a vintage week for Serie A's left-backs, but Ivan Piris put in a solid shift in Udinese's win away to Napoli, keeping the home side's wide players under wraps and generally contributing well to a fine team performance.
Roma's Ashley Cole also merits a mention. The Englishman seems to be settling in well to life in Italy, and he showed marked improvement against Cagliari on the flank for the Giallorossi, particularly going forward.
Mateo Kovacic
6 of 11Inter's Mateo Kovacic makes the cut for the second week running, thanks to a mature performance that inspired his side back into the game against Palermo.
The 20-year-old Croatian bagged the Nerazzurri's equaliser at the Stadio Renzo Barbera with a fine strike from just outside the box, continuing his fine scoring run and bringing him up to five goals this season in all competitions.
Matias Fernandez
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Matias Fernandez bucked the trend this weekend for Fiorentina, in that the attacking midfielder was one of the better players on the pitch against Atalanta.
It wasn't the Viola's greatest performance, but they still left Bergamo with three points, thanks to a goal from substitute Jasmin Kurtic, who was assisted by Fernandez.
Speaking to Sky Sport Italia after the game (here in English via Football Italia), Fiorentina boss Vincenzo Montella said:
"We have played better games than this one, but we brought home the three points.
Atalanta deserved something more, but you also pick up points through suffering and difficulties. Mario Gomez will score at the time when he least expects it, but in the meantime he is fighting hard for the team.
"
The former Roma striker didn't want to criticise his strikers, but the ir of goals should worry him, especially as Giuseppe Rossi will be out for much of the season. If L'Aeroplanino can't get the likes of Gomez firing, he'll desperately need inspiration from the midfield. Fernandez could be the man to provide it.
Alessandro Florenzi
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He doesn't always start, but Alessandro Florenzi is a firm favourite with the Stadio Olimpico crowd, and his post-goal antics against Cagliari will only serve to make him more popular.
The Roman winger supplied the cross for Mattia Destro's opener before getting on the scoresheet himself. He then ran into the stands to celebrate with his 82-year-old grandmother to rapturous applause.
Florenzi's energy and commitment were a key factor in Roma's victory, and you can't help but feeling that Zdenek Zeman would love a similarly quick, direct player in his squad in Sardinia. Antonio Conte should also be watching the 23-year-old's progress closely because Italy could really use such industry and intent in the final third.
Mattia Destro
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Roma's Mattia Destro faded late in the game against Cagliari and was eventually substituted, but during the opening stages he was almost unplayable and looked like a constant threat in front of goal.
When he finished off a fine team move to open the scoring after 10 minutes you could see how much it meant to the young striker, who's had his injury problems recently but still managed 11 strikes in his last 19 league appearances.
It was the fourth time he's scored against the Sardinians, making them his second-favourite opponents after Chievo.
Carlos Tevez
10 of 11Milan might have got off to a promising start in the league this term, but there's still plenty of work to be done. They've yet to find a way of beating Juventus, who have now won four in a row against the Rossoneri in the league.
The Bianconeri weren't at their best in this much-anticipated encounter, but they still had enough to get past Pippo Inzaghi's men at the San Siro, thanks to a timely strike from the in-form Carlos Tevez midway through the second half.
The Argentine started the move before he was set loose in the Milan box by Paul Pogba, taking his chance calmly with a chip over the helpless Christian Abbiati.
It's the first time since 2004 that Juve have kept clean sheets in their opening three games, and they've now gone 801 minutes in all competitions without conceding.
Antonio Cassano
11 of 11Antonio Cassano was clearly in the mood against Chievo Verona, and he was sublime and made the difference for Roberto Donadoni's Parma.
Fantantonio is as frustrating a player as they come; he blows hot and cold, causes locker-room bust-ups and has an infamously relaxed attitude to personal fitness. But coaches keep giving him a chance because, on his day, he's almost unplayable.
His first goal at the weekend was a typically brash display of individual skill—it was preceded by an untypical run from the 32-year-old's own half—but overall it was impressive how well the Bari Brat linked up with Massimo Coda, who bagged a goal and two assists on the day.
If he played this way every week, the Crociati would have a great shot at finishing in the European places this season.
