Serie A Team of Weeks 4 and 5
A midweek round followed by more games at the weekend meant that there was plenty of Serie A action over the past seven days.
Juventus and Roma continue to surge away from their rivals toward what looks like being a two-horse race for the Scudetto, while Napoli, Fiorentina and AC Milan continued to struggle.
Inter enjoyed a comfortable 2-0 win over Atalanta before suffering a 1-4 defeat at the hands of Cagliari.
Udinese and the surprising Sampdoria—who beat Chievo before winning the Genoa derby—sit ahead of the Nerazzurri in the table, who are tied on eight points with Hellas Verona and Pippo Inzaghi's Rossoneri.
Orestis Karnezis
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Udinese's Orestis Karnezis has been the most impressive 'keeper in Serie A so far this season.
The 29-year-old moved to the Stadio Friuli from Panathinaikos last season, but he was immediately loaned out to Granada in La Liga, another team owned by Udinese's owner Giampaolo Pozzo.
Game time in Spain was limited, but the Greece international did make a good impression, particularly in a 1-0 win over Barcelona, during which he was one of the best players on the park.
He showed enough there—and at the World Cup—to merit a starting berth back at the Italian club at the expense of Serbia's Zeljka Brkic and 18-year-old Simone Scuffet, who is one of the club's most exciting youth products.
Karnezis has repaid Andrea Stramaccioni's faith in him with a string of fine performances, including a masterclass against Lazio midweek, when he was absolutely key to the Zebretti's 0-1 win.
The man of the match made a number of important saves, preserving the lead that Cyril Thereau's 26th-minute strike had afforded them and eventually allowing his side to leave Rome with a precious three points.
Antonio Balzano
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Almost all of the Cagliari team made a case for inclusion here in their game against Inter. The Sardinians have struggled to get off the mark in Serie A this season, but their shock win at the San Siro proved that the talent is there.
Antonio Balzano was brilliant on the flanks for the Rossoblu, defending and attacking with an energy and directness typical of a Zdenek Zeman side.
The 28-year-old has spent much of his career in the lower leagues, but he is a favourite of the Czech coach and was his captain when the pair were together at Pescara.
Against Inter, Balzano kept Dodo out of the game, beating the Brazilian repeatedly and making more than three times as many touches as his opponent. He also tackled well, and linked perfectly with Victor Ibarbo farther up the right.
Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa
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Given the number of top sides across Europe who are struggling at the back right now—we're looking at you, Manchester United—it's incredible that Roma were able to pick up Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa and Kostas Manolas so easily.
At the start of the season, the pair were expected to be third and fourth choice behind the ever-solid Leandro Castan and Italy international Davide Astori. Injuries have allowed them extended runs in the starting XI, however, and they've been busy making their cases for long-term inclusion with a string of fine displays.
Free-scoring Parma were the first side to put one past Roma midweek, but the Giallorossi weathered the storm at the back until Miralem Pjanic gave them the lead late on with a fabulous free-kick.
It was a very different game against Hellas Verona, but the Roma back line dealt with the Mastini's tactics brilliantly and denied them what few opportunities they could muster.
Yanga-Mbiwa put in a man-of-the-match performance, further repaying Rudi Garcia's faith in him after his compatriot saved him from misery at Newcastle.
Fans of the Magpies have every right to feel bemused about this one; it's clear the EPL side wasted a real talent after Alan Pardew inexplicably turned Montpellier's title-winning centre-back and captain into a reserve full-back. Now back in his preferred central role at Roma, the 25-year-old has been one of the Giallorossi's best players so far.
Giorgio Chiellini
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Back-to-back three-goal wins keeps Juventus at the top of the table on goal difference, and Giorgio Chiellini deserves credit for both results.
The 30-year-old Tuscan has been Juve's best defender so far this term, and though he's yet to be properly tested, the Italy international has done everything that's been asked of him.
Chiellini was to blame for giving away a penalty in the game with Atalanta—German Denis missed it—but on the whole he gave a fine performance, playing an important part in the early phases of Juve's attacks and taking more touches than any other player on the night. He was similarly impressive against Cesena in midweek.
Ivan Piris
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If his performances thus far for Udinese are anything to go by, Roma might have been a little hasty letting Ivan Piris leave the Olimpico.
The Paraguayan was brilliant in the Zebretti's wins over Napoli last week and this week's victory over Lazio.
In Rome, he was the best player after Orestis Karnezis, showing a defensive ability that wasn't always obvious during his time with the Giallorossi. He's also got plenty of pace, making him a real threat down the flank for Andrea Stramaccioni's outfit.
The former Inter manager has preferred Giovanni Pasquale when playing a 3-5-2, but the ageing Italian has been underwhelming. If Piris can continue playing like he's done over the past week, he deserves a long-term stint in the starting XI.
Claudio Marchisio
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Arturo Vidal bagged two goals and was man of the match against Cesena and Paul Pogba grabbed the attention against Atalanta, but Claudio Marchisio deserves plenty of plaudits for the way he's taken over from Andrea Pirlo in the centre of the pitch for Juventus.
The 28-year-old Turin native isn't the elegant passer Pirlo is, but he has more than enough ability to keep things moving in midfield for Max Allegri's side and boasts a number of other talents that make him a more versatile, mobile alternative to Pirlo.
Against Atalanta, Marchisio proved that his physical capabilities and ability to shield the defence can be extremely useful to Juve, especially when they've got talents like Pogba and Carlos Tevez farther up the pitch creating chances.
The Cesena game showed a different side to the Italy international, as he was allowed more time on the ball, making an impressive 123 touches and completing 93 per cent of his passes, according to WhoScored.com.
He might not entertain in the same way as Pirlo, but the Juventus youth product's input as a box-to-box player adds another dimension to the Bianconeri's play, and he was one of their best players in both of last week's games.
Jose Callejon
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Jose Callejon bagged two goals and an assist for Napoli this week.
The Spaniard set up Kalidou Koulibaly for the opener against Palermo before giving the Partenopei the lead at the end of the first half. His side couldn't hang on to victory, but Callejon did more than his fair share to try and guarantee the three points.
Against Sassuolo, he was similarly influential, scoring the game's only goal after he got on the end of Gonzalo Higuain's cross.
Both Callejon and Higuain failed to covert chances, and on another night, the pair could have notched several more goals, but they did link together well and always looked the most likely Napoli players to do something decisive.
Albin Ekdal
8 of 12Considering the fact that Cagliari were sitting bottom of the table without a point before their game with Inter on Sunday, we can safely file Albin Ekdal's hat-trick at the San Siro under "surprising".
The 25-year-old Swede was central to the Sardinians' remarkable result in Milan, passing well and defending solidly when called upon.
Unfortunately, his agent somewhat took the shine off the performance by announcing his player was ready for a move before the dust had even settled on the memorable 1-4 win.
Speaking to the Italian press (here in English via Football Italia), Martin Klette said:
"His future? Albin is ready for the next step. As long as he stays he will do his best for Cagliari, as he has done in recent years.
He has a good contract with Cagliari and really likes the team, the club and the city, but he is ready for a new challenge if and when that will come.
I do not want to reveal too much information about the clubs interested in my player but I can confirm that there were and that there are those interested. Let’s see if this will mean there will be a transfer in January or next June.
"
It might be a bit premature to talk about the "next step" after one good game—his goals against Inter were his first in a Cagliari shirt—but if Ekdal can keep going like this, it won't be long before a bigger side comes knocking.
Filip Djordjevic
9 of 12Lazio's Filip Djordjevic bumps Torino's Fabio Quagliarella from the list after a stunning performance away to Palermo on Monday night.
The Serbian bagged a hat-trick in his side's 0-4 win, showing a range of skills with a poacher's tap-in, a cunning touch that sent his man the wrong way for the second and no small amount of control for the third, which he struck on the half-volley from a difficult angle.
The Aquile were ruthless in Sicily, putting four past newly-promoted Palermo, a side that has held both Napoli and Inter to draws so far this term.
The 27-year-old from Belgrade arrived from Nantes this summer for free, where he'd been integral to Les Canaris promotion from Ligue 2 in 2012-13, and once back in the top division Djordjevic's strike rate rivalled that of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Radamel Falcao for a time.
He looks like a canny acquisition for Stefano Pioli's side, who ran riot at the Stadio Renzo Barbera.
Quagliarella still deserves a mention, because the former Juventus striker twice made the difference this week, scoring the winner against Cagliari before bagging his side's only goal in their home game to Fiorentina on Sunday.
Full highlights of Lazio's remarkable win—and every other Serie A goal from the weekend—can be found on the Corriere della Sera's website (here in Italian).
Carlos Tevez
10 of 12Not for the first time this season, Carlos Tevez was Juventus' standout player in Bergamo.
The Argentine scored two goals in a comfortable 3-0 victory over Atalanta, but he did so much more than just finish his chances. Only Giorgio Chiellini had more touches and no one was more instrumental in linking the Bianconeri's play.
That last fact is striking because Tevez was, after all, playing in front of one of the best midfields in the world. Even without Andrea Pirlo, Max Allegri was still able to call on Claudio Marchisio, Paul Pogba and Arturo Vidal, but despite that trio's obvious talent, the 30-year-old striker kept them all in the shade.
He now has six goals in five games in all competitions, and in the absence of the aforementioned Pirlo, Tevez has taken on the responsibility of being the Old Lady's most important player.
Mattia Destro
11 of 12It's rare that you watch the first game of the round and know that a player will definitely make the team of the week. But it's rarer still to see a goal quite like Mattia Destro's strike against Hellas Verona.
The former Siena striker had been lively throughout the game, but he cut a frustrated figure in front of goal. It seemed no matter what he did, a goal was beyond him. At least until the 86th minute.
When Destro chested down Morgan De Sanctis' goal kick in the centre of the park, no one was expecting what happened next. Seeing an opportunity that was obvious only to him, the player took control of the ball on the turn and connected perfectly with a half-volley from 36 metres out, which looped over the confounded Pierluigi Gollini and into his goal.
It sent the Olimpico into raptures and put the seal on a win that Alessandro Florenzi's opener had claimed for the Giallorossi.
Manager of the Week: Zdenek Zeman
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Is this the return of Zemanlandia? Too early to say, probably, but it looks like the popular Czech coach has finally got his ideas across at Cagliari.
The Rossoblu had been struggling up until their game with Inter, when it all seemed to click. The Nerazzurri had no answer to Zeman's famously aggressive playing style and Walter Mazzarri's men were denied the time to express themselves as they'd been doing in earlier games.
Inter were the league's top scorers and at home, while Cagliari sat bottom of the table on zero points with just three goals in four games. The visitors would have been forgiven for thinking that a win was beyond them.
The former Foggia, Lazio, Roma and Pescara boss isn't for changing, though. Zeman stuck to his principles and was justly rewarded with a famous victory away from home against one of Italian football's powerhouses.
Neutrals everywhere will be watching closely for what they do next, because if the 67-year-old's past is anything to go by, there should be plenty of goals at both ends for Cagliari during the rest of the season. He doesn't always win, but there are few coaches in world football better at putting on a show.
