Serie A Team of Week 13: Roma Rampant as Pirlo Saves Juventus
Serie A's two best sides again showed their class at the weekend with a pair of wins to widen their already commanding lead at the top of the table.
Juventus won a hard-fought Turin derby thanks to a moment of brilliance from Andrea Pirlo, after Torino's Bruno Peres cancelled out Arturo Vidal's penalty with a contender for goal of the season.
Not to be outdone, Roma ran out 4-2 winners over Inter at the Olimpico after Roberto Mancini's side twice drew level with Rudi Garcia's Lupi.
Elsewhere, Fiorentina, now 15 points behind Juve, went to Sardinia and were utterly ruthless in their 0-4 demolition of Zdenek Zeman's Cagliari. Milan bucked their trend of disappointing results to beat Udinese more definitively than the 2-0 scoreline might suggest.
Neto
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He continues to stall on a new contract, so he might not be the most popular player in Florence right now, but there's no doubting Neto's ability.
The 25-year-old Brazilian made a number of important blocks early on to keep Fiorentina in the game against Cagliari. Vincenzo Montella's attack were brilliant in Sardinia, but had Neto's fine work not kept things clean at the other end, the result could have been very different because the hosts had more than their fair share of shots on target.
This was only the second time in their last eight visits to Cagliari that the Viola have managed to leave with all three points.
Italy and Inter legend Walter Zenga recently told Italian radio—here in English via football-italia.net—that the Florentines should get rid of Neto and place their trust in back-up 'keeper Ciprian Tatarusanu.
The former Nerazzurri's faith in the Romanian aside, it would be foolish of Fiorentina to let a younger, more valuable player leave for next to nothing in January, or worse, for free at the end of the season. They need to tie the South American to a new deal—if only to get his real market value when potential suitors come calling.
Bruno Peres
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Torino were cruelly denied a valuable draw in the Derby delle Mole by the ever-brilliant Andrea Pirlo, but the result shouldn't overshadow Bruno Peres' wonder goal.
The 24-year-old Brazilian, formerly of Santos, made an incredible run the length of the pitch, beating several Juve players before rocketing home a perfectly hit strike to make it 1-1 after 21 minutes.
Toro signed the South American last summer for the modest fee of €2.2 million. Considering he's already contributed two assists and this masterpiece in his first 11 games, that price looks like a bargain.
Vangelis Moras
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He was on the losing side of Sassuolo's 2-1 home win over Hellas Verona, but the veteran Greek defender Vangelis Moras still deserves praise after a brilliant solo performance.
The 33-year-old was typically solid in defence and gave his side the lead after just 11 minutes by getting a head to a cross from his compatriot Lazaros Christodoulopoulos.
Stefan Savic
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Like his goalkeeper, Stefan Savic deserves plenty of credit for Fiorentina's impressive win away to Cagliari because the 23-year-old Montenegrin was brilliant at the back, laying a solid foundation upon which the Viola's attack was then able to build.
Savic also made a dramatic clearance off the line to deny Diego Farias early in the second half, when the game was still delicately poised at 0-1.
Jose Holebas
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This columnist hasn't always been Jose Holebas' biggest supporter, but credit is due after the Germany-born Greek defender put in an excellent display for Roma against Inter.
The 30-year-old did brilliantly to put the Giallorossi back in the lead early in the second half and was impressive in general on the left flank, both defensively and going forward.
Like Ashley Cole, Holebas has failed to excite since arriving in the Italian capital last summer from Olympiacos, but this game could be a turning point. It was the first time he's looked really comfortable all season, and scoring such an important goal should do his confidence the world of good.
Mati Fernandez
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The entire Fiorentina squad deserves plaudits for their impressive away win against Cagliari, but Mati Fernandez, in particular, was sublime in Sardinia.
The Chilean scored a brace for the Viola and looked capable of slotting home almost every time he had the ball.
His team-mate Joaquin was also superb at the weekend, putting in the kind of exciting performance that we all know the veteran Spaniard to be capable of, even if it's something we all too rarely see from him.
Andrea Pirlo
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The fact that winning a closely contested derby with the last kick of the game almost seems normal says plenty about Andrea Pirlo.
Juve's playmaker par excellence was at the heart of all things positive against Torino, but up until the 92nd minute, it looked like even he would be unable to stop a dogged Torino side from escaping back to the maroon half of Turin with a vital point.
And then he goes and does this.
It was a game that the Bianconeri probably didn't deserve to win but exactly the kind of deadlock that you expect a class act like Pirlo to break against the odds. Unsurprisingly, the Italian press were full of praise.
"La #primapagina di oggi: che emozioni #RomaInter e #JuveTorino e nella lotta Champions spunta il #Genoa pic.twitter.com/ggkFuwDZRS
— LaGazzettadelloSport (@Gazzetta_it) November 30, 2014"
Miralem Pjanic
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Of course, Pirlo wasn't the only elegant playmaker to make his mark on the weekend. Roma's Miralem Pjanic was equally decisive, scoring two against Inter and conducting his side's attacks brilliantly at the Olimpico.
The Bosnian hardly put a foot wrong all night, linking brilliantly with Radja Nainggolan and Seydou Keita as well as the three forwards in front of him.
And though the Giallorossi probably had enough to grind out a win even without the talented midfielder, more than anyone else on the night, it was the former Lyon and Metz midfielder who made the difference between these two old rivals.
Jeremy Menez
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Few players anywhere have the potential to excite and frustrate in the same way as Milan's Jeremy Menez.
The Frenchman was occasionally brilliant while playing for Roma in his younger days and enjoyed success in Ligue 1 with Paris Saint-Germain. Nevertheless, the Rossoneri were able to sign the 27-year-old for free in the summer, something that should be unthinkable for such a talented player with so many years left in his career.
Persistent talk of attitude problems and a perceived lack of desire have dogged Menez to date, but since arriving at the San Siro, he's been at his captivating best and, and against Udinese, we saw the best of him to date in a red-and-black shirt.
Menez has already proved he's able to pull off the spectacular this season, but this game showed that when he's focused, he can make the difference in other ways for Milan, too.
Pippo Inzaghi needs more than the occasional wonder goal—he needs an in-form forward who can be a regular source of goals while he rebuilds the seven-time European champions.
He's not the striker that Inzaghi needs long term, but Menez has shown he can be trusted to lead the line, and were it not for Orestis Karnezis' fine form in the Zebrette goal, he could have done more damage.
As it was, his brace ended a five-game winless streak for Milan, and his second, in particular, was the perfect confidence-inspiring response to Michael Essien's sending off.
Paulo Dybala
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Another great week for Palermo and their thrilling young star Paulo Dybala.
The 21-year-old Argentine scored again in the Sicilians' 2-1 win over Parma, making it four games straight that the youngster has found the back of the net.
It's in large part thanks to Dybala that the Rosanero are within touching distance of the top half of the table on their first season back in the first division, and despite the fact that he was almost unheard of outside of Italy until this season, the transfer rumour mill is buzzing with gossip linking the forward to some of the continent's biggest clubs.
The latest news, according to David Wright in the Express, is that both Manchester United and Arsenal are willing to meet Palermo's €40 million valuation for the player who is one of the hottest properties in European football right now.
Mario Gomez
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For Mario Gomez, this weekend was a long time coming. The goal and assist he recorded in Fiorentina's commanding win over Cagliari will hopefully mark a turning point in the mercurial German's experience in Italy because, up until this point, it has been overwhelmingly negative.
The 29-year-old has been blighted by injury and Viola fans have yet to see the best of the Bomber who notched up 75 league goals in 115 games for Bayern Munich.
With an assist and a goal of his own, he's now off the mark for Vincenzo Montella's side this season, and his team will be hoping it's just a taste of things to come.
Juan Guillermo Cuadrado's overall performance was perhaps more influential, but Gomez beats the Colombian to a place on this week's team because of the potential importance of his return to form.
Giuseppe Rossi will still miss most of the season, but Montella will allow himself to dream of a season salvaged if he can keep Gomez fit and firing.
