The winter season has just begun, but Serie A teams have no time to rest, with plenty of games on the schedule this time of year. Round 16 has once again produced a number of exciting games and the race for the top places is starting to come alive.
In the two key battles of Round 16, Inter travelled to Rome, while Atalanta looked to build on their terrific momentum of recent weeks and travelled to Napoli to take on the league leaders.
The reigning champions picked up their fourth win in a row, defeating Jose Mourinho’s men 3-0 to move them up to second in the table. Atalanta, on the other hand, overturned a goal deficit to beat Napoli 3-2 and earn their fifth straight win.
Here we take a look at the best statistical XI of Serie A Round 16.
Goalkeeper – Salvatore Sirigu (Genoa)
Very often we see the goalkeeper who concedes two goals and suffers a defeat along with his team, and yet he makes it to the best XI of the week.
Genoa goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu is that rare example of how you can be among the best even when one of the key performance indicators suggests otherwise.
The 34-year-old veteran made a remarkable 10 saves in the 2-0 defeat to Juventus, 6 of which came on a diving save, while posting a 2.57 xGC (expected goals against).
FotMob Rating – 7.6
Salvatore Sirigu keeping this from a cricket score. If Genoa equalise he'll be MOTM.
— Gav (@afgavinstan) December 5, 2021
Right-Back / Right Wing-Back – Juan Cuadrado (Juventus)
Juventus kept a clean sheet for the second straight game with a 2-0 win over Genoa on Sunday. The entire backline of the Bianconeri played a solid game, but Juan Cuadrado deserves a special mention.
The 33-year-old Colombian opened the scoring against Genoa within the first ten minutes with his third goal of the season. He also completed an impressive 92% of his passes (98/106), including 2 key passes.
FotMob Rating – 8.6
Juan Cuadrado scored direct from a corner for Juventus ? pic.twitter.com/OnDlv0YRH5
— GOAL (@goal) December 5, 2021
Right Centre-Back – Lorenzo Tonelli (Empoli)
Empoli have had an impressive first half of the season in Serie A as one of the promoted sides and are currently just four points off the European places. They put in another good performance at the weekend, beating Udinese 3-1.
In particular, Lorenzo Tonelli, the team’s central defender, had a good game. The Italian won an outstanding 12 of the 14 duels (86% win rate), made 5 ball recoveries and was successful in 3 out of 4 attempted tackles (75% success rate).
FotMob Rating – 8.1
Updated Post: Empoli vs Udinese 3-1: Azzurri Dominate in the Second Half https://t.co/sCjPXFRO5z pic.twitter.com/rlUWrXSJOG
— The Cult of Calcio (@cultofcalcio) December 7, 2021
Left Centre-Back – Luca Ceppitelli (Cagliari)
Cagliari, who have won just once this season and currently sit in the relegation zone, are one of the biggest disappointments of the season so far. They picked up their tenth point of the season with a 1-1 draw against Torino on Monday.
The team has struggled on the attacking end this season, so the centre backs have to contribute as well. Luca Ceppitelli did that against Torino, giving his first assist of the season by setting up Joao Pedro’s equaliser. He also won 9 duels and recovered the ball 12 times.
FotMob Rating – 8.2
? | MATCH REPORT#CagliariTorino 1️⃣-1️⃣
?? https://t.co/aNH2cmf9Cx pic.twitter.com/rKAmNV9i2I— Cagliari Calcio (@CagliariCalcio) December 6, 2021
Left-Back / Left Wing-Back – Cristiano Biraghi (Fiorentina)
After narrowly escaping relegation to Serie B in the final weeks of last season, Fiorentina have turned over a new leaf this season. They currently sit in the European places and are even looking to challenge for a Champions League spot next season.
The Viola picked up another win at the weekend, defeating Bologna 3-2, with left-back Cristiano Biraghi playing a key role. The Italian put Fiorentina 2-1 ahead with his goal, converting a chance with a value of just 0.08 xG (expected goals).
FotMob Rating – 7.8
BUUUUUUUUUT DU CAPITANOOOOO CRISTIANO BIRAGHI ! ⚽️
LA FIORENTINA REPREND L’AVANTAGE !
51' | 1-2 | #BolognaFiorentina pic.twitter.com/wIgM3euSio
— Fiorentina FR ?? (@FiorentinaFR_) December 5, 2021
Central Attacking Midfielder – Nedim Bajrami (Empoli)
Empoli are the fourth-highest scoring team outside the top four, and with some exciting attacking talent in their hands, that is hardly a surprise.
Central attacking midfielder Nedim Bajrami has been one of Empoli’s better players this season, and he proved that in the game against Udinese. The Albanian international scored a goal and provided an assist in the 3-1 win, he also played a remarkable 6 key passes.
FotMob Rating – 9.1
Empoli from 1-0 behind now lead 2-1 in the space of 13 second half minutes. Great play from Parisi playing the ball into the danger area and Nedim Bajrami can’t miss. Once again Empoli hurting Udinese from the wide areas. Full-backs have caused havoc getting forward in this game.
— Josh Bunting (@Buntingfootball) December 6, 2021
Central Attacking Midfielder – Paulo Dybala (Juventus)
When Juventus are at their best, it is usually the key players who perform well. The game against Genoa was no different, with Paulo Dybala, one of Juve’s key attackers, putting in a great all-round display.
The Argentine scored his fifth goal of the season, which was rated at an xG of just 0.06, and although he missed another big chance, he set one up for his teammates. The 28-year-old also completed 82% of his pass attempts.
FotMob Rating – 8.7
Paulo Dybala is set to renew his Juventus contract until 2026 ✍️
He will earn €8m per season, plus €2m in bonuses, and could make it official before Christmas. pic.twitter.com/9DTHRNVrgO
— GOAL News (@GoalNews) December 7, 2021
Left Midfielder / Left Winger – Gerard Deulofeu (Udinese)
Although Udinese suffered a 3-1 loss to Empoli, one of the team’s players had a great night offensively.
Gerard Deulofeu put Udinese ahead with his 22nd minute goal, his fourth of the season, and although it did not prove to be a match-winner, the Spaniard was very impressive. The attacker played an outstanding 8 key passes in the game and recorded an overall pass rate of 82%.
FotMob Rating – 9.0
Really good goal from Udinese away at Empoli, Gerard Deulofeu with a lovely first time finish after neat link-up play with Isaac Success. Actually really like Empoli’s inverted full-backs especially Fabiano Parisi. Udinese have been slightly disjointed but the goal was quality.
— Josh Bunting (@Buntingfootball) December 6, 2021
Forward – Giacomo Raspadori (Sassuolo)
Some players do not need to play the full 90 minutes to make a significant contribution to the team’s final score. Some of them even need less than 15 minutes to give their team a point.
Sassuolo striker Giacomo Raspadori met the above criteria perfectly, as the Italian scored a brace in 13 minutes against Spezia after coming off the bench to earn Sassuolo a point. Both of his goals were of high calibre, with a cumulative xG of 0.64 suggesting it was not easy chances to score.
FotMob Rating – 9.2
?? The FotMob TOTW for Serie A, Round 16.
➡️ Sassuolo supersub Giacomo Raspadori earned our highest rating of the week (9.20), coming off the bench to score twice and rescue a draw at Spezia.
0️⃣.5️⃣ Lazio's Mattia Zaccagni came in at 9.15, just missing out on top honours. pic.twitter.com/rlXDvN8SJX
— FotMob (@FotMob) December 7, 2021
Forward – Mattia Zaccagni (Lazio)
Lazio can be considered one of the most frustrating teams in Serie A, as they fall into the category of teams that can be brilliant one day and incredibly frustrating the next.
Against Sampdoria, the Biancocelesti were brilliant, at least in terms of taking their chances, beating Massimo Ferrero’s men 3-1. Forward Mattia Zaccagni was one of the best performers of the night, providing 2 assists out of the 3 key passes he played.
FotMob Rating – 9.2
Who were #Lazio's 'Top 3️⃣ Performers' in their 3-1 victory over #Sampdoria according to @FotMob?
? Mattia #Zaccagni
? Ciro #Immobile
? Sergej #MilinkovicSavic#TheLaziali #SampdoriaLazio pic.twitter.com/O50cuZ3KtB— The Laziali (@The_Laziali) December 7, 2021
Forward – Ciro Immobile (Lazio)
A true Lazio talisman, Ciro Immobile, provides goal after goal every season despite the difficulties the Biancocelesti sometimes face.
The Italian striker scored another brace on the weekend to take his season tally to 13 goals. Immobile once again proved his class as a goalscorer by converting both chances, which were rated at just 0.53 xG.
FotMob Rating – 8.7
Ciro Immobile has scored 80 goals in 104 games for Lazio since the start of the 2019-20 season.
A master of the art of goalscoring ? pic.twitter.com/avZ0SQCRsm
— GOAL (@goal) December 5, 2021