Serie A Team of the Week 27: Sansone Stars for Sassuolo, Toni Shocks Napoli
Sampdoria heaped more misery on Rudi Garcia's Roma with a surprising 0-2 win at the Olimpico on Monday night, while Juventus extended their lead at the top of the Serie A table thanks to a win away to Palermo.
Lazio climbed to within a point of their city rivals with an excellent 0-2 victory away to Torino, leapfrogging Napoli who were shocked by Hellas Verona and a brace from Luca Toni.
Elsewhere, Fiorentina came from behind to beat AC Milan 2-1 in Florence while Sassuolo convincingly beat Parma 4-1 at the Mapei Stadium.
Emiliano Viviano (Sampdoria)
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Sampdoria's Emiliano Viviano was in brilliant form against Roma, making a host of saves to deny the Giallorossi and protect the Genoans' clean sheet.
The Lupi poured the pressure on at the Olimpico, but Viviano and his defence soaked it all up calmly and thoroughly deserves their 0-2 win.
Antonio Balzano (Cagliari)
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Cagliari's Antonio Balzano was excellent against Empoli at the weekend, getting forward well and using his pace and sharp tackling to control the right flank.
Andrea Barzagli (Juventus)
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Juventus fans will be delighted to see the full return of Andrea Barzagli, who looks like he's never been away. The Old Lady returned to a three-man defence against Palermo, and the trio of centre-backs all looked comfortable settling in to their old system.
Barzagli gets the nod here for his energy, and for the calm way in which he dealt with Paulo Dybala, who has been one of the most dangerous attackers in Serie A this term.
Gonzalo Rodriguez (Fiorentina)
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Gonzalo Rodriguez did it all for Fiorentina against AC Milan. There was last-man tackling, experienced marshalling of the defence—and a late goal to inspire a comeback.
Vincenzo Montella couldn't have asked for much more from the 30-year-old.
Alessandro Longhi (Sassuolo)
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Alessandro Longhi isn't the highest-profile player at Sassuolo, but the 25-year-old full-back was solid against Parma.
Longhi's performance in the Neroverdi's 4-1 win over Parma wasn't eye-catching, but his solidity on the left flank did allow Simone Missiroli and Nicola Sansone to shine farther up the pitch, and all three of Sassuolo's goals from open play came from their side.
Emil Hallfredsson (Hellas Verona)
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Hellas Verona's 2-0 win over Napoli was one of the shocks of the weekend—and Emil Hallfredsson was central to it.
The Icelander's inspired play helped the Mastini midfield dominate their high-profile guests, and his clever dribbling in the early stages of the second half lead to a perfect assist for Luca Toni's second.
Joaquin (Fiorentina)
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After their shock 4-0 loss to Lazio in the previous round, Fiorentina needed to bounce back against Milan to keep their European dreams alive.
That looked unlikely when Mattia Destro put the Rossoneri ahead early in the second half, but the Viola kept up the pressure and were eventually rewarded with two late goals and all three points.
No one was more crucial to that turnaround than Joaquin. The Spaniard was subbed in at the break and immediately made an impact in the midfield. The 33-year-old set up his captain's equaliser before grabbing the victory for the Viola with a late header.
Nicola Sansone (Sassuolo)
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Sassuolo's 4-1 win over Parma was thanks largely to the inspired efforts of Nicola Sansone, who played the perfect game at the weekend.
The 23-year-old Italian, who was born in Germany, scored the opening two goals before winning the penalty—which Domenico Berardi converted—and then going on to set up Simone Missiroli for the Neroverdi's fourth.
Felipe Anderson (Lazio)
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It was another match-winning display from Lazio's Felipe Anderson. The 21-year-old Brazilian scored twice to sink Torino, making it eight goals and six assists in the league since December.
Hardly a week goes by without us talking about Anderson, and if the Aquile can't hang on to third place and a berth in next season's Champions League, they'll have their work cut out for them if they want to keep hold of the exciting young forward.
Alberto Paloschi (Chievo Verona)
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It's easy to forget that Alberto Paloschi is still only 25. The Italian hasn't been able to live up to the huge expectations that greeted his sensational first few games with AC Milan as a teenager, but against Genoa he proved that on his day he's still a dangerous striker.
Paloschi combined perfectly with his partner up front Riccardo Meggiorini for both goals, and took full advantage of his opportunities to give the Flying Donkeys an important win that puts a little bit more of a buffer between them and the relegation scrap.
Luca Toni (Hellas Verona)
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Still dangerous, after all these years.
A couple of seasons ago, Luca Toni looked finished. But the 37-year-old striker has rediscovered himself since moving to Hellas Verona and now looks every bit as lethal in front of goal as he did almost a decade ago when he won the World Cup with Italy and was scoring for fun with Fiorentina.
Napoli's defence were helpless against the big front man. He walked through them almost effortlessly for his first, and found plently of space to meet Hallfredsson's cross for his second to kill the match.
