Serie A Team of Week 19: Handanovic Saves Inter, Pogba and Tevez Drive Juventus
In what could be a pivotal moment in this season's Scudetto race, Roma dropped two points in their pursuit of Juventus as Palermo held them to a draw in Sicily. Massimiliano Allegri's Bianconeri took full advantage, decimating Hellas Verona 4-0 in Turin and extending their lead at the top of the table to five points.
In the battle for third place, Napoli struck a blow against rivals Lazio, beating the Aquile 0-1 at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome thanks to a fine strike from Gonzalo Higuain.
It was a weekend to forget for both Milan clubs, as Inter were humbled by minnows Empoli in a 0-0 draw, while Pippo Inzaghi's AC Milan were shocked at the San Siro by Atalanta. German Denis' first-half goal heaped more pressure on the struggling Rossoneri and earned the Orobici all three points against their illustrious neighbours.
Samir Handanovic
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Roberto Mancini was brought back to Inter to save the Nerazzurri from mediocrity, but despite new signings and a drastic change in tactics, little has changed since his arrival in November.
Inter have won just three of their last 10 competitive fixtures—the same amount as they managed during Walter Mazzarri's final 10 games on the bench.
There have been signs of life—a draw against Juventus will have felt like a win—but there have also been dismal performances, like the one Interisti witnessed at the weekend against Empoli.
The Tuscan side are just three points above the drop zone, and yet Inter allowed them more possession and more than twice as many shots in their game at the Stadio Carlo Castellani.
Maurizio Sarri's side were better in almost every area of the pitch, and unlike Inter, they haven't had the benefit of being able to sign talent like Lukas Podolski or Xherdan Shaqiri to bolster their ranks this January.
Were it not for Samir Handanovic's heroics in goal, this would have almost certainly been an embarrassing defeat for Inter to a side that's struggled to score all season.
Instead, thanks to a number of fine saves and some solid defensive work generally from the Slovenian, the Milanese giants had their blushes spared.
Elseid Hysaj
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There were no brilliant performances on the right side of defence this week, but Empoli's Elseid Hysaj deserves a mention for his work rate and overall contribution.
The young Albanian full-back was full of energy against Inter, containing the threat on his side of the pitch brilliantly and even getting forward occasionally to test Handanovic in the Nerazzurri goal.
Nenad Tomovic
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Fiorentina's Nenad Tomovic put in a rounded display at the Stadio Marc'Antonio Bentegodi and was integral to the Viola's somewhat laboured win over Chievo Verona.
The Serbian took a chance early on with a well-controlled header that looked to be going just wide—until his centre-back partner Gonzalo Rodriguez tapped it in to open the scoring. Later on, he almost got on the scoresheet but narrowly missed the ball from Manuel Pasqual.
Raul Albiol
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Rafa Benitez must wish that Raul Albiol could play like this every game. The Spaniard has been disappointing of late, but against Lazio he was commanding in the air and both forceful and precise with his tackling.
The home side had almost twice as much possession at the Stadio Olimpico and mustered 21 shots to Napoli's nine. Despite that, once Gonzalo Higuain gave them the advantage, the Partenopei held firm—thanks largely to Albiol—and escaped with all three points.
Ivan Strinic
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Ivan Strinic has made a good start to life with Napoli. The Croatian full-back looked comfortable on his debut, getting forward on several occasions while simultaneously nullifying the substantial threat posed by Italy international Antonio Candreva.
Cagliari's Danilo Avelar also deserves credit this week for converting a late penalty to give the Sardinians a precious point away to Udinese.
Paul Pogba
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Is there anything Paul Pogba can't do? The young Frenchman was incredible against Hellas Verona, running his opponents ragged with a series of tricky twists and turns. And it took him just three minutes to give the Bianconeri their lead, with a powerful strike from distance.
Kevin Strootman
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With Kostas Manolas, Daniele De Rossi, Gervinho, Seydou Keita and Radja Nainggolan all unavailable for their away trip to Palermo, Roma desperately needed a top-class performance from those called up to plug the gaps.
Kevin Strootman took responsibility, controlling the midfield and providing the perfect headed assist for Mattia Destro's timely equaliser.
His energy, well-timed runs and dangerous crosses in this game all suggest that the Dutchman lost little of his sharpness during his long-term injury layoff and is now ready to resume his role as a key midfielder for Rudi Garcia's side.
Simone Missiroli
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Sassuolo's Simone Missiroli was a constant threat against Genoa. The 28-year-old Italian playmaker conducted his side's attacks excellently and scored an important goal early in the second half to regain the lead for Eusebio Di Francesco's side.
Domenico Berardi
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Sassuolo's Domenico Berardi ended his goal drought in style against Genoa, converting an early penalty before scoring what looked like the winner after 71 minutes.
Ioannis Fetfatzidis' late penalty denied the Neroverdi all three points, but sharing the spoils away to one of Serie A's surprise packages this season is no small feat.
Franco Brienza
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Cesena lost at home to Torino at the weekend, but it wasn't for lack of trying, at least on the part of Franco Brienza.
The veteran forward—who was capped twice for Italy back in 2005—was in vintage form at the Stadio Dino Manuzzi, going close on several occasions from open play and converting two penalties, one of which he won himself.
The second spot-kick, a cooly-taken "cucchiaio" chip over Daniele Padelli in the Toro goal, is worth seeing.
Carlos Tevez
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A lot of fuss was made when Carlos Tevez announced that he didn't want to continue with Juventus after his current deal, but his manager, Massimiliano Allegri, was not among those worried by the statements.
The Bianconeri boss brushed aside the remarks, telling the press he was convinced that Tevez would continue to be his usual professional self, per Goal.
True to form, he was nothing but against Hellas Verona, delivering an attacking masterclass not just by scoring two goals, but in the way that he constantly harried the visitors' defence and terrorised their Brazilian goalkeeper, Rafael.
Juve won't want to lose him when his contract expires in 18 months, but if he keeps playing like this, he'll continue to be a vital part of the Bianconeri set-up right until the end.
