Serie A Team of Week 21: Quagliarella Sinks Sampdoria as Zaza Stars for Sassuolo
Both Juventus and Roma failed to win at the weekend, while all of the main players in the battle for third also slipped up except Napoli.
Cesena pulled off the unlikeliest of victories over Lazio, while Sampdoria were stunned by a rampant performance from Torino.
Defeat to Sassuolo puts more pressure on Roberto Mancini at Inter, as the ex-Manchester City manager continues his struggle to stop the rot at the San Siro and improve what is now the Nerazzurri's worst campaign since 1947.
Luigi Sepe
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Empoli's young Luigi Sepe was tested plenty of times against Roma, but the 23-year-old put in a solid display and dealt well with everything apart from Maicon's equaliser.
Sepe is on loan with Maurizio Sarri's side from Napoli, and he's been impressive all season despite his relative lack of experience and his team's limited resources.
If he can't displace Rafael Cabral back in Naples, it wouldn't be surprising to see a bigger side take a chance on him soon.
Bruno Peres
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Torino's marauding wing-back Bruno Peres was brilliant against Sampdoria, causing havoc on the right flank and getting on the scoresheet with the Granata's fifth and final goal.
The young Brazilian still lacks some consistency, but more performances like this one will almost certainly earn him the opportunity to move to one of Italy or Europe's top clubs before too long.
Ivan Piris
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Udinese's 0-0 draw with Juventus at the weekend will feel like a win for the Zebrette.
It was only the third time this season that the Bianconeri were held to a goalless draw, so the Udinese defence deserves plenty of credit. Ivan Piris was the best on the night and now looks a completely different player to the young, occasionally errant full-back who joined Roma in 2012.
Piris' positioning has improved greatly since moving to a back-three system under Andrea Stramaccioni in Udine, and while he's not the biggest defender in the world, he's quick enough to keep up with even the fastest forwards.
Emiliano Moretti
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Emiliano Moretti was the hero in Torino's win over Inter last week, scoring a dramatic winner with the last touch of the game.
Against Sampdoria, he put in another excellent shift. The 33-year-old was solid defensively and set up Fabio Quagliarella's opener.
Ivan Strinic
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Ivan Strinic was effective on the left for Napoli against Chievo Verona. He was dominant in the air and made a few important defensive contributions before setting up Manolo Gabbiadini for the winner.
The Croatian isn't always a starter for Rafa Benitez, but he tends to perform well whenever given the opportunity.
Allan
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Udinese's defence have a lot to thank Allan for.
The 24-year-old from Rio de Janeiro is excellent at protecting the centre-backs and is capable of controlling even the most dangerous of attacking midfielders. Against Juventus, the Brazilian did a fine job of keeping Paul Pogba under wraps—something that few players in Serie A have been able to do.
Juraj Kucka
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Juraj Kucka controlled the tempo of Genoa's game against Fiorentina, driving his side forward with a number of defence-splitting passes. The Slovakian also tested Ciprian Tatarusanu in the Viola goal on a couple of occassions.
Alessio Cerci
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It would be silly to praise Milan too much for beating Parma—the Crociati are setting new records when it comes to disappointing—but the victory still came at a great time for under-fire manager Pippo Inzaghi.
The Rossoneri also saw signs of the old Alessio Cerci, which is a huge positive because the current squad is desperately short on quality.
In particular, the former Torino star linked well with Jeremy Menez, setting up the Frenchman's second goal.
Jeremy Menez
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Like Cerci, it's hard to lavish too much praise on Jeremy Menez for notching up two goals and an assist against miserable Parma. The Crociati are the worst side in the league right now and nothing less than a victory would have been acceptable.
Getting himself involved in three goals should still do the Frenchman's confidence plenty of good, however, and Pippo Inzaghi will be hoping that it can inspire the talented forward ahead of next weekend's box-office clash with Juventus.
It's very unlikely that Inzaghi will be able to beat his former manager Massimiliano Allegri, but if the Rossoneri are to succeed, they'll need Menez at 100 per cent because he is their best player by some margin.
Simone Zaza
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Sassuolo got revenge over Inter at the weekend for September's 7-0 mauling at the San Siro. The Neroverdi were comfortable winners this time, putting three past Roberto Mancini's Nerazurri.
It was an excellent showing from all of Eusebio Di Francesco's squad, but Simone Zaza was in particularly fine form.
The Italy striker opened the scoring at the Mapei Stadium—Sassuolo's first-ever goal against Inter—and then won the late penalty that sealed the victory.
The result pours more misery on Inter's season, which is now the worst since the 1940s.
Fabio Quagliarella
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It's a shame that Fabio Quagliarella isn't more consistent. The 32-year-old Italian was spectacular against Sampdoria, bagging a hat-trick and leaving Sinisa Mihajlovic's defence in tatters.
Quagliarella's streak of goals back in September and October helped Torino during a difficult time. Giampiero Ventura now needs his main striker to find another vein of form because there are some difficult games—both in Italy and in Europe—coming up for the Granata.
