Serie A Team of Week for Round 8
There were just two draws in 10 Serie A fixtures over the weekend, with Roma slipping further behind Juventus thanks to a stalemate at Sampdoria, and Fiorentina and Milan scoring a goal apiece at the San Siro.
Napoli and Cagliari scored the biggest wins of Round 8 as Rafael Benitez's side saw off Hellas Verona 6-2 and the Rossoblu downed Empoli 4-0.
Elsewhere, Juve, Lazio, Inter, Udinese, Genoa and Sassuolo all recorded wins.
Here is our pick for the best possible starting XI based on performances in this round of matches.
Our team is set up in a 3-5-2, featuring plenty of width, a midfield possessing both steel and guile and the devastating attacking duo of Antonio Di Natale and Gonzalo Higuain.
Goalkeeper: Sergio Romero
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Sampdoria continued their unbeaten start to the season and they can thank their agile goalkeeper Sergio Romero for keeping opponents Roma scoreless with an incredible save late in the game.
Alessandro Florenzi looked like he was about to score for all money when he headed the ball in the direction of the Sampdoria net, but Romero showed incredible reflexes and balance to divert the ball off target with his left hand.
The Argentine's heroics prevented Roma from scoring for the first time in Serie A this season.
Centre-Back: Alex
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Burly Brazilian centre-back Alex was a dominant force in the air throughout his side's 1-1 draw with Fiorentina.
The 32-year-old used his experience to marshal the Milan back line.
He was also effective in closing down the in-form Khouma Babacar, who is not used to being bullied physically.
Centre-Back: Alessio Romagnoli
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Sampdoria's hotshot young defender Alessio Romagnoli was superb against Roma, playing a large part in his side's clean sheet.
Confronted with the genius of a veteran who is twice his age in Francesco Totti, the Roma-owned centre-back was composed, mature and flawless all game.
Could he be the next great Italian defender? Only time will tell.
Centre-Back: Thomas Heurtaux
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One of the best players on the pitch in Udinese's 2-0 win over Atalanta, Thomas Heurtaux put in a defensive masterclass to keep the opposition forwards in check all match.
Rolando Bianchi can be especially lethal when he has time on the ball, but the 26-year-old Frenchman was up in his face all afternoon to ensure he never even got a sniff of goal.
As a reward for Heurtaux and his teammates' efforts, Udinese are now an impressive third in the Serie A ladder.
Right Wing/Wing-Back: Antonio Candreva
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His teammate Lucas Biglia also had a fantastic game against Torino and is unlucky to miss out on our XI, but Antonio Candreva must be included on the right flank after his energetic display in Lazio's 2-1 win.
The Italian international has been in the form of his life recently and he was once again a constant menace down the right.
He combined brilliantly with the players near him and ran tirelessly up and down the sideline to give the Biancoceleste their attacking thrust.
He almost scored a goal as well, but his shot in the 18th minute smacked against the woodwork.
Left Wing/Wing-Back: Dodo
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Former Roma wing-back Dodo has been getting better by the week in an Inter shirt.
His showing against Cesena was one of his most accomplished yet in the black and blue.
The fact that the home side were reduced to 10 men with the sending off of goalkeeper Nicola Leali in the 30th minute would have helped, but Dodo seemed to have acres of space to run into down the left, and he took full advantage of it.
He was constantly getting forward and sending in teasing crosses. If Inter's forwards had had a better game, the Brazilian could have ended up with a couple of assists to his name.
Midfield: Nigel de Jong
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Dutch powerhouse Nigel de Jong turned back the years to show he can still dominate the centre of the pitch with his special range of talents.
Best known as a midfield enforcer, De Jong demonstrated some of the other facets of his game against Fiorentina.
Not only did he score his side's only goal, he was excellent in distributing the ball from midfield as well, all the while contributing his usual defensive steel.
Midfield: Danilo Avelar
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Cagliari are having the kind of bipolar season you would expect from a Zdenek Zeman side.
Saturday was one of their better days, though, as they romped in four goals against Empoli.
The star of the show was Brazilian midfielder Danilo Avelar, who dictated play from the middle, and helped out in both defence and attack.
He also scored a superb goal from a free kick, and a second from the penalty spot for good measure.
Midfield: Marek Hamsik
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Napoli's charismatic midfielder Marek Hamsik has been criticised for not performing at his best at times this season.
He was certainly on song against Verona, however, as he notched two goals in an overall fantastic performance.
Hamsik scored the first two goals of the game to give the advantage to his side and also laid on an assist for Jose Callejon in Napoli's 6-2 demolition of the visitors.
Forward: Antonio Di Natale
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Udinese fans must be over the moon that the ageless Antonio Di Natale did not retire at the end of last season.
The 37-year-old scored one goal and set up the other in his team's 2-0 win, while dazzling with his footwork, vision and trickery throughout.
At this rate the club legend could still be playing at Serie A level at the age of 40.
Forward: Gonzalo Higuain
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Since he endured a relatively quiet World Cup for Argentina, Gonzalo Higuain has looked somewhat out of sorts at club level.
He had not scored in the league before this weekend, and there were some question marks about his commitment levels.
Those doubts have been dispelled, for the time being at least, thanks to the powerful striker's well-taken hat-trick against Verona.
Higuain worked hard in the first half before reaping the rewards in the second term with three goals.
With his confidence up again, he may start banging them in more regularly now.
