Best XI of Serie A Round 14: Napoli Boys Deliver Again

Bologna, Fiorentina, Inter, Napoli, Sampdoria, Sassuolo, Serie A, Serie A 2021-2022

Another Serie A weekend is over and it once again provided a high level of drama, plenty of goals and interesting results.

In Round 14, fans of Italian football were served two intriguing battles on a plate as Juventus hosted Atalanta at the Allianz Stadium on Saturday night, while Napoli tried to capitalize on an unexpected slip-up by Milan, who suffered a 1-3 defeat to Sassuolo.

Aside from Sassuolo’s impressive win over Milan, Atalanta and Napoli were the other two big winners of Round 14. Gian Piero Gasperini’s men finally broke the curse with a 1-0 win over Juventus – their first away win since 1989 – while Napoli sent another warning signal to their Serie A rivals with a 4-0 win over Lazio.

Here we take a look at the best stats XI of Serie A Round 14.

Goalkeeper – Lukasz Skorupski (Bologna)

Bologna are one of the teams that have flown under the radar in the first half of the season, although they are currently level on points with sixth-placed Fiorentina.

On Sunday, they beat Spezia 1-0 for their third win in their last four games. It was Bologna’s fifth clean sheet of the season, which they have their goalkeeper Lukasz Skorupski to thank for.

The Polish international made 5 saves against Spezia, including only 2 on shots inside the box, accumulating a total of 0.78 xGC (expected goal conceded) ratio.

FotMob Rating – 8.5

Right-Back / Right Wing-Back – Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Napoli)

Napoli mean business this season and are top of the Serie A table with 11 wins from 14 games.

Their convincing 4-0 win over Lazio at the weekend was another warning sign to their rivals, and Giovanni Di Lorenzo, the club’s right-back, was one of the main contributors to the impressive win.

The Italian gave his first assist of the season and set up Fabian Ruiz’s goal. He also played 2 key passes that was part of a pass rate of 87%.

FotMob Rating – 8.3

Right Centre-Back – Milan Skriniar (Inter)

Inter do not seem to want to let the title slip so easily this season, as evidenced by another win at the weekend, this time 2-0 against newcomers Venezia.

It was the Nerazzurri’s third win of the season, and right-back Milan Skriniar was one of the main reasons Venezia could not score.

The 26-year-old hardly made a mistake on Saturday, winning 8 duels, intercepting 3 balls and recovering the ball 4 times. In addition, the Slovakian also played 1 key pass.

FotMob Rating – 8.2

Left Centre-Back – Federico Dimarco (Inter)

Inter’s entire defence did a great job of preventing Venezia from putting the ball in the back of the net on Saturday.

Another member of Inter’s back line who put in a solid performance was Federico Dimarco, a makeshift left-sided centre-back.

The 24-year-old Italian, who was originally intended to be a left-back, was moved to the left side of the back three and did not disappoint. He completed 92% of his passing attempts, including 6 key passes, and also made 10 recoveries of the ball.

FotMob Rating – 8.5

Left-Back / Left Wing-Back – Tommaso Augello (Sampdoria)

Sampdoria earned their second straight win over the weekend with a 3-1 victory over Verona. Although Roberto D’Aversa’s side were unable to keep a clean sheet, they stood solid defensively throughout the 90 minutes.

Left-back Tommaso Augello was one of Sampdoria’s best players on both sides of the pitch, recovering the ball 12 times and also making 2 key passes.

FotMob Rating – 7.5

Central Midfielder – Fabian Ruiz (Napoli)

Most of Napoli’s players have taken a big step forward this season in terms of their level of performance. Among those who have improved is central midfielder Fabian Ruiz.

The Spanish international scored for the fourth time this season on Sunday, closing the game out against Lazio with the fourth goal. The Napoli midfielder also recorded an impressive 90% pass completion rate and made 2 key passes.

FotMob Rating – 8.6

Right Midfielder – Antonio Candreva (Sampdoria)

Age is just a number and Antonio Candreva proved that perfectly with his performance against Verona at the weekend.

The Italian veteran is having a wonderful season so far with 6 goals and 3 assists. He scored the equaliser at the start of the second half to bring Sampdoria back into the game, and also set up Albin Ekdal to give the team a 2-1 lead.

FotMob Rating – 8.7

Central Attacking Midfielder – Jose Callejon (Fiorentina)

It is rare for a player from the losing team to feature in XI ‘s best list, but Fiorentina’s attacking midfielder Jose Callejon really earned his place with his performance against Empoli.

The 34-year-old recorded his second assist of the season as part of 2 big chances he created, and also played 5 key passes.

FotMob Rating – 8.2

Right Winger – Domenico Berardi (Sassuolo)

After an impressive 2020/21 Serie A season and the departure of Manuel Locatelli to Juventus, Sassuolo were expected to have a more difficult season this time around.

However, despite some poor results against the so-called lesser teams, Sassuolo keep delivering good performances in the games against the big boys. This time it was Milan who had to settle for a 3-1 defeat.

Domenico Berardi played a big part in this important win, scoring Sassuolo’s third goal of the game and his seventh of the season. The Italian winger also played 1 key pass.

FotMob Rating – 8.8

Forward – Dries Mertens (Napoli)

Although Dries Mertens had a bit less of an impact in the early stages of the 2021/22 season, he reminded everyone that he still has to be considered one of Serie A’s best attacking players.

The Belgium international scored a brace, his second and third goals of the season, in an emphatic 4-0 win over Lazio. Even more impressively, the two goals he scored were of the highest quality in terms of Mertens’ likelihood of converting those shots into goals, as he recorded just a 0.11 xG rating.

FotMob Rating – 9.0

Forward – Marko Arnautovic (Bologna)

The type of goal scored is not so important if it is the winning goal. Bologna’s Marko Arnautovic would certainly agree with that statement, as his 83rd minute goal from the penalty spot gave his side a slender 1-0 lead.

The Austrian international has already scored 6 goals this season and is proving to be a successful signing, at least at this early stage of the season.

FotMob Rating – 8.2

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