The Best XI of Serie A Round 1: Inter New Boys Impress in Dream Debut

AC Milan, Atalanta, Inter, Inter Milan, Italian Football, Juventus, Roma, Serie A, Serie A 2021-2022, Top 11

Euro 2020 has paved the way for the new club season, with Serie A returning to action last weekend to everyone’s delight, hopefully serving the same level of drama as last season.

A highly anticipated opening matchday of the new campaign saw champions Inter kick off their new season in style, with a commanding 4-0 win over Genoa. The other contenders for the Scudetto in Milan, Napoli, Atalanta and Roma have all started positively too, picking up three points, while Juventus were the only of last season’s top six to drop points, drawing 2-2 with Udinese.

Here we take a look at the best statistical XI of Serie A Round 1 in collaboration with the FotMob app.

Goalkeeper – Samir Handanovic (Inter)

The 37-year-old Inter legend is still defying all odds at this age as he began his tenth season at the club against Genoa on Saturday night.

Handanovic was one of three goalkeepers – along with Alex Meret and Mike Maignan – to keep a clean sheet. He made a total of 4 saves, which equated to 0.82 Expected Goals Conceded (xGC). The Slovenian also completed all of his 22 pass attempts, recording a remarkable 100% accuracy.

FotMob Rating – 7.4

Right-Back / Right Wing-Back – Lorenzo De Silvestri (Bologna)

The 33-year-old Bologna right-back could not have asked for a better start to the new season. Not only did De Silvestri score a brace, but his second goal actually turned into the winning goal as Bologna defeated newcomers Salernitana.

De Silvestri showed incredible efficiency with his offensive performance, scoring twice with 2 shots (100% shot conversion) and creating 2 big scoring chances.

FotMob Rating – 8.9

Right Center-Back – Milan Skriniar (Inter)

Inter’s defensive wall of last season, Milan Skriniar, did not take long to remind us all that he is arguably one of the best, if not the best, center-backs in Serie A.

The Slovak defender scored a thumping header off an in-swinging corner to give Inter a 1-0 lead against Genoa, created 1 big goal-scoring chance and made 5 clearances.

FotMob Rating – 8.3

Left Center-Back – Jose Luis Palomino (Atalanta)

After losing one of their key defenders last season in Cristian Romero, Atalanta needed some of their old guard to step up to the challenge. Jose Luis Palomino did just that in Atalanta’s opening game of the new season away at Torino, showing why he is ready to be the leader of the backline.

The Argentine put in a remarkable defensive performance at the weekend, winning 16 duels (69.5% win rate), 13 of which were aerial, as well as recovered the ball 6 times and made 3 interceptions.

FotMob Rating – 8.1

Left-Back / Left Wing-Back – Mario Rui (Napoli)

Napoli also started the 2020/21 season in good spirits, beating newly-promoted Venezia 2-0. They were one of only three teams to keep a clean sheet at the weekend, and their left-back Mario Rui was one of the key players behind it.

The 30-year-old won a remarkable 89% of his duels (8/9), made 2 interceptions and cleared the ball once. Offensively, the Portuguese completed 92% of his passes (65/71), 1 of which was registered as a key pass.

FotMob Rating – 7.8

Central Midfielder – Jordan Veretout (Roma)

After Jose Mourinho was appointed as the new head coach, many Roma players were keen to impress in the game against Fiorentina. Among them was the French central midfielder Jordan Veretout, and his performance against the Viola should have done more than enough to convince the Portuguese manager.

The 28-year-old scored 2 of Roma’s 3 goals and created an additional 2 big scoring chances for his teammates. What impressed the most was his shooting efficiency, with the Frenchman converting both of his shots into goals (100% conversion rate).

FotMob Rating – 9.0

Central Attacking Midfielder – Mattia Zaccagni (Verona)

In recent seasons, Serie A has emerged as the new place on the European football map for talented midfielders. It looks like that trend is set to continue, with Verona’s Mattia Zaccagni coming to the fore on matchday one.

The 26-year-old Italian scored twice (xG 1.41) in Verona’s 3-2 defeat to Sassuolo and was the driving force behind the team’s attack. Zaccagni also impressed in the playmaking department, creating 1 big scoring chance and completing 3 key passes.

FotMob Rating – 9.4

Central Attacking Midfielder – Hakan Calhanoglu (Inter)

Could there have been a better debut? Probably not. Hakan Calhanoglu swapped red for blue in the summer and immediately won the hearts of Inter fans with his performance against Genoa.

The Turkish international scored a goal and provided an assist on his debut and completely ran the show from start to finish. Calhanoglu showed why he is the perfect replacement for Christian Eriksen in a playmaking role, completing 87% of all passes (46/53), 5 of which were key passes.

FotMob Rating – 8.8

Striker – Paulo Dybala (Juventus)

The Argentine has been embroiled in a never-ending debate over his role at Juventus since joining the 36-time Scudetto winners in June 2015. At the weekend, Dybala showed all his sceptics that he is still an integral part of the Juventus project.

The 27-year-old scored and assisted on the opening day against Udinese, though it was not enough to secure Juve all three points. Furthermore, he created 2 big chances and recorded 3 key passes.

FotMob Rating – 8.5

Striker – Tammy Abraham (Roma)

The Englishman took no time to settle into his new surroundings and had a near perfect debut. The £34 million signing provided two assists for two of Roma’s three goals and just failed to score himself (xG 0.38) to round off a near perfect debut for the 23-year-old former Chelsea striker.

FotMob Rating – 8.8

Striker – Edin Dzeko (Inter)

To round off our best XI of Serie A Round 1, we have another dream debut from a man expected to fill the boots of the departed Romelu Lukaku.

Edin Dzeko has joined Inter at the age of 35 and shows no signs of slowing down. He scored and assisted in the Nerazzurri’s opening game of the season against Genoa in an almost complete forward performance.

FotMob Rating – 8.8

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