Serie A Team of Week 32: Darmian Shocks Juventus, Toni Shines Against Sassuolo
It was a weekend of upsets in Serie A as Juventus lost to Torino for the first time in 20 years and Fiorentina were torn apart by struggling Cagliari.
Inter's 2-1 win over Roma at the San Siro was perhaps less of a shock, given the Giallorossi's recent form, but it was still an important result in terms of how the rest of the season can play out for the league's big sides.
Elsewhere, Udinese beat Milan 2-1 to leave the Rossoneri two points behind their city rivals, while a Luca Toni-inspired Hellas Verona overcame Sassuolo despite going down to 10 men. Lazio were held by Chievo Verona and Parma stunned Palermo with a 1-0 win.
Albano Bizzari, Chievo Verona
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Torino's Daniele Padelli was in fine fettle against Juventus at the weekend, but 'keeper of the week has to be Chievo Verona's Albano Bizzarri who stopped Serie A's most dangerous attack from running riot at the Olimpico.
The 37-year-old Argentine made a number of good saves to keep the score at 1-0 until the 75th minute when Alberto Paloschi's goal have the Flying Donkeys a draw that, given Lazio's current form, will feel like a win.
Nicolas Frey, Chievo Verona
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Chievo Verona's Nicolas Frey didn't do anything flashy to catch the eye against Lazio, but the Frenchman deserves plenty of respect for going toe-to-toe with the Aquile's attackers and holding his own.
Nemanja Vidic, Inter
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His club captain Andrea Ranocchia had another night to forget against Roma, but Inter's Nemanja Vidic was perfect at the San Siro.
It's incredible to think that at the start of this season the 33-year-old Serbian was regarded as a total transfer flop. He now looks like he might have a couple more campaigns of top-level football left in him yet.
Modibo Diakite, Cagliari
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Is it too little, too late from Cagliari? After a horrible season and four managerial changes, the Sardinians provided the shock of the weekend—or at least a result as surprising as Torino's win over Juventus—by beating Fiorentina 1-3 in Florence.
Modibo Diakite, and his partner at the back Luca Ceppitelli, deserve plenty of credit for keeping it together defensively. The Viola dominated Cagliari statistically, but the grit shown by Diakite—against his old club—and his team-mates made the difference.
They're currently seven points from safety behind Atalanta, which is a relative mountain to climb for a side that's only won five games all season. But with a victory such as this one to inspire his players, club hero Gianluca Festa might just turn things around and succeed where Gianfranco Zola and Zdenek Zeman failed.
Matteo Darmian, Torino
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There might have been better all-round performances at right-back in Serie A this weekend, but none were more important than that of Matteo Darmian.
The Italy full-back drew Toro level with Juve after 44 minutes, cancelling out his Azzurri team-mate Andrea Pirlo's earlier strike. It also kick-started a comeback from the Granata and inspired their first win over the Bianconeri since 25 January 1995. It was a memorable day's work from the 25-year-old.
Giampiero Pinzi, Udinese
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Udinese's Giampiero Pinzi was reliable in midfield throughout the Zebrette's clash with Milan, and he contributed the first goal to lay the foundation for an important win.
Jacopo Sala, Hellas Verona
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Jacopo Sala started out as a full-back, but he's been showing real promise in the midfield for Verona of late.
Against Sassuolo, the 23-year-old Italian linked brilliantly with his captain Luca Toni to set up Juanito Gomez's first goal, and he was generally solid across the centre.
Lorenzo Insigne, Napoli
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After falling from grace somewhat in recent months, it was great to see Napoli's Lorenzo Insigne back to full fitness and form against Sampdoria. He only scored one of the Partenopei's four goals, but the Naples local was also at the heart of his side's best football.
Hernanes, Inter
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Ex-Lazio star Hernanes turned on the skill to torment Roma at the weekend, orchestrating play and scoring an early goal to heap pressure on Rudi Garcia's Giallorossi.
Diego Farias, Cagliari
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Cagliari's Diego Farias had just four goals and one assist all season going into the Rossoblu's game against Fiorentina, but you wouldn't know it by looking at his performance at the Stadio Artemio Franchi.
The Brazilian was the fulcrum upon which the balance of Cagliari's fortunes shifted—at least temporarily—and he utterly tormented the Viola with an almost complete performance. He set up Duje Cop's brace before sealing the evening with a goal of his own.
Luca Toni, Hellas Verona
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Luca Toni will be 38 in May, but he's still racked up 32 appearances and 17 goals for Hellas Verona in Serie A this season.
Five seasons on from looking like he was finished, the World Cup winner has returned to rare form since joining the Mastini last season, and Andrea Mandorlini deserves huge credit for trusting a player that most had written off.
That trust has been repaid time and again over the last two campaigns, and the weekend's fixture against Sassuolo was a classic example of Toni's continued usefulness. With Verona down to 10 men against the Neroverdi, the former Bayern Munich front man stayed calm and took his chances perfectly to give his side control of the game.
He's big and slow—but then, he's always been big and slow. All that matters is that he scores goals. His second, in particular, is worth mentioning because it displays the kind of skill and control not always associated with players of Toni's type. Check it out here (in Italian), via the Corriere della Sera.
