Best XI of Serie A Round 15: Atalanta Boys Reaching Top Gear

AC Milan, Atalanta, Inter Milan, Juventus, Lazio, Sassuolo, Serie A, Serie A 2021-2022

The winter season opened its curtains this week, meaning the fixture list for Serie A teams gets heavier and heavier with each matchday approaching the Christmas period.

In Round 15, Italian football fans did not have the pleasure of seeing some of Serie A’s heavyweights go head-to-head, but at the end of the day even the less intriguing encounters produced some exciting results.

Lazio and Udinese produced one of the most stunning encounters of this Serie A season, a 4-4 draw that also saw three players sent off. In the other games, Napoli suffered an unfortunate slip-up as they squandered a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 with Sassuolo, giving Atalanta the chance to close the gap at the top with a 4-0 thrashing of Spezia.

Here we take a look at the best statistical XI of Serie A Round 15.

Goalkeeper – Juan Musso (Atalanta)

Atalanta recorded their fourth consecutive win on Tuesday night, defeating Venezia 4-0. It was also Le Dea’s fourth clean sheet of the season, and goalkeeper Juan Musso was the man who contributed to this record.

The 27-year-old stopped 4 opposing shots, 3 of which were diving saves, and accumulated a total of 0.55 xGC (expected goals conceded). He also recorded an impressive 79% pass completion rate (19/24).

FotMob Rating – 8.6

Right-Back / Right Wing-Back – Juan Cuadrado (Juventus)

After losing 1-0 to Atalanta last weekend, Juventus were under immense pressure to put in a good performance against Salernitana. The Old Lady did just enough to beat the Serie A newcomers 2-0.

Juve played solidly throughout the game and limited Salernitana to few scoring chances, with Juan Cuadrado playing an important role. The Colombian won 83.3% of the duels against his direct opponents (5/6) and also played 3 key passes.

FotMob Rating – 8.0

Right Centre-Back – Fikayo Tomori (Milan)

After two straight defeats to Fiorentina and Sassuolo, Milan got back to winning ways in midweek, defeating Genoa 3-0. They played solid defensively, with Fikayo Tomori making an impressive comeback to the starting lineup.

The English centre-back was a rock against Genoa. He won a remarkable 90% of the duels (9/10) and made 6 ball recoveries and 2 interceptions.

FotMob Rating – 8.0

Left Centre-Back – Federico Dimarco (Inter)

Inter recorded their second consecutive 2-0 win in less than a week, this time against Spezia. Last year’s Serie A winners were absolutely dominant in this game, giving Spezia no chance on the offensive end.

Federico Dimarco played his second game as a makeshift left-sided centre-back in a three-man system and was once again very impressive. The Italian won 80% of his duels (4/5), made 6 ball recoveries and played 4 key passes.

FotMob Rating – 8.1

Left-Back / Left Wing-Back – Giorgos Kyriakopoulos (Sassuolo)

After recording one of the biggest wins of the season so far last week with a 3-1 victory over Milan, Sassuolo upset another Serie A giant by overturning a two-goal deficit to earn a 2-2 draw with league leaders Napoli.

Left-back Giorgos Kyriakopoulos played a big part in the team’s comeback, providing the assist for Gianluca Scamacca’s goal. The Greek was also solid defensively, winning 80% of his duels (4/5).

FotMob Rating – 7.5

Defensive Midfielder – Teun Koopmeiners (Atalanta)

Against Venezia, Atalanta was equally solid defensively and offensively in both parts of the game. This tendency is also reflected in the performances of some players, including Teun Koopmeiners.

The Dutch international formed a duo in the middle of the park with Matteo Pessina, acting as a defensive midfielder, and delivered a good overall performance. He scored Atalanta’s third goal of the night, won 6 duels and recovered the ball a whopping 15 times.

FotMob Rating – 8.9

Central Midfielder – Sergej Milinkovic-Savic (Lazio)

Lazio were involved in arguably the craziest game of the season so far against Udinese on Thursday night. Maurizio Sarri’s side rallied from a two-goal deficit to take a 4-3 lead, but conceded a goal in the 9th minute of stoppage time to draw 4-4.

Sergej Milinkovic-Savic equalised for Lazio to make it 3-3 and was a big asset on both sides of the pitch. The Serbian midfielder also won 12 duels, made 9 ball recoveries, carried out 3 successful dribbles and played 2 key passes.

FotMob Rating – 8.7

Attacking Midfielder – Junior Messias (Milan)

Stefano Pioli opted to make a few changes to his starting line-up against Genoa to provide a breath of fresh air after the 3-1 defeat to Sassuolo. Among the substitutions was Brazilian attacking midfielder Junior Messias, who made his first Serie A start of the season.

The 30-year-old did everything he could to cement his place in the starting lineup with the performance against Genoa, scoring 2 goals from just 0.14 xG (expected goals). Messias also played 1 key pass in this game.

FotMob Rating – 8.9

Attacking Midfielder – Mario Pasalic (Atalanta)

Without much thought, the MVP award for Round 15 has to go to one man – Pario Pasalic. Atalanta’s attacking midfielder scored a hat-trick against Venezia to take his season goal tally to 7.
The Croatian international is now Atalanta’s second highest scorer in Serie A this season and the highest rated player overall.

FotMob Rating – 9.7

Forward – Luis Muriel (Atalanta)

Atalanta’s offensive prowess has picked up steam in recent weeks. Le Dea scored four more goals in the win against Venezia.

Luis Muriel, one of the club’s talismans in recent seasons, has been a little quieter this time around, largely due to the excellent form of fellow striker Duvan Zapata. Against Venezia, Muriel contributed 2 assists to Atalanta’s victory and played a total of 4 key passes.

FotMob Rating – 8.8

Forward – Lautaro Martinez (Inter)

Inter are gradually returning to their form of last season, winning their last three Serie A games. One of the reasons for the Nerazzurri’s improved level of performance is Lautaro Martinez.

The Argentine has now scored in three consecutive Serie A games, including a 2-0 win over Spezia. It was Martinez’s eighth goal of the season and he is now fifth in the league’s scoring charts.

FotMob Rating – 8.8

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