It was another exciting Serie A weekend, offering a great number of intriguing fixtures involving the teams at the top and bottom of the table.
The most anticipated matches of Round 27 saw Inter go nine points clear at the top of Serie A standings following a late 2-1 win over relegation strugglers Torino, whilst Milan have suffered their third defeat in the last six matches against Napoli on Sunday night.
Here we take a look at the best statistical XI of Serie A Round 27 in collaboration with the FotMob app.
Goalkeeper – David Ospina (Napoli)
The 32-year-old Colombian has kept his 6th clean sheet of the season in a game against Milan, which helped Napoli claim their third Serie A win in the last four matches.
Overall, Ospina had a very solid game between the sticks, saving 5 opposition shots, of which 3 were from inside the box, overall accumulating a total of 1.03 Post-Shot Expected Goals (PSxG). Additionally, Napoli’s goalkeeper completed an impressive 85% of his passes (22/26), of which 7 were accurate long balls.
David Ospina fue titular en la victoria 1-0 del Napoli en casa del Milán, en la fecha 27 de la #SerieA de Italia.
Milán es segundo con 56 puntos, a 9 del líder Inter.
Napoli es quinto con 50.⚽️ Matteo Politano (49')https://t.co/Tq34qnio0U pic.twitter.com/svs8v3Qnty
— Nuestros Deportes (@nuestrosdporte2) March 14, 2021
Right-Back / Wing-Back – Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Napoli)
There is little surprise to see another Napoli player on our list after the Azzurri’s impressive defensive display against Milan. Napoli’s right-back Giovanni Di Lorenzo had a solid game at the back, as well as contributed to a team’s offensive play.
The Italian was the best rated Napoli defender against Milan, as he won 6 out of 11 duels (55% success), successfully completed 3 blocking actions, made one headed clearance, and recovered the ball twice. From the offensive point of view, Di Lorenzo was a major threat bombing down the right-hand side, having completed 5 shot-creating actions, as well as making 3 key passes, which accumulated 0.19 Expected Assists (xA).
? #DiLorenzo ammonito in #MilanNapoli: salterà la gara contro la Romahttps://t.co/Xwfr18XyOn
— Il Romanista (@ilRomanistaweb) March 14, 2021
Right Center-Back – Nikola Milenkovic (Fiorentina)
Our first non-Napoli player on the list is Fiorentina’s centre-back Nikola Milenkovic. The Viola had a fantastic weekend as they thrashed Benevento 4-1 away from home, with the Serbian giant having a solid game at the back.
Against Benevento, the 23-year-old won 6 out of 8 defensive duels (75% success), blocked 2 shots, made 2 ball interceptions, and successfully cleared the ball away 3 times. The Serbian defender also completed an impressive 87% of his passes (26/30), of which 3 were progressive passes into the final third.
But they'll face some tough competition#THFC #MUFC #LFChttps://t.co/rIG0AWIswY
— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) March 9, 2021
Left Center-Back – Stefan Radu (Lazio)
Although Lazio conceded two goals against Crotone, their left centre-back Stefan Radu had one of the best games of the season on the offensive end. The 34-year-old Romanian veteran assisted Lazio’s opening goal of the game scored by Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, which inspired Biancocelesti’s 3-2 win over Crotone.
Additionally, Radu completed 6 shot-creating and 2 goal-creating actions and played an important part in Lazio’s build-up play, having accomplished 84% pass success (62/74). The Romanian was one of the most assertive passers of the ball as well, as he made 8 progressive and 2 key passes against Crotone.
Stefan Radu in Lazio’s 3-2 win ? Crotone:
⏰ 84 mins
⭐️ 7.8 rating
?️ 1 assist
? 82 touches
? 59/71 (83%) passes cmp
? 2 key passes
? 2/6 crosses & 0/2 long balls
? 1/1 dribbles
? 1/5 ground duels & 2/2 aerial duels
❌ 2 clearances#Lazio #SerieA pic.twitter.com/7qYNtNpH1i— Romanian Football (@RoFtbl) March 12, 2021
Left-Back / Wing-Back – Darko Lazovic (Verona)
Our first player on the list from a non-winning team is Darko Lazovic from Verona. Ivan Juric’s men have suffered a 3-2 defeat to Sassuolo on Saturday, but the Serbian left wing-back was one of the star players of the match.
The 30-year-old scored an equalising goal just before half-time and also assisted Federico Dimarco for Hellas Verona’s second of the afternoon. Lazovic was also impressive with his distribution, having completed 79% of his passes (23/29), of which 3 were key passes. On the defensive end, he also won 4 out of 5 defensive duels (80% success) and made one successful ball interception.
? | #SassuoloVerona 2-2
? | 34' st
⚽ | DIMARCO CI RIPORTA IN PARITÀ!Lazovic va sul fondo e crossa sul secondo palo dove arriva Dimarco che incrocia con il sinistro e gonfia la rete!#DaiVerona #SerieATIM pic.twitter.com/BJ9NzzFLUH
— Hellas Verona FC (@HellasVeronaFC) March 13, 2021
Central Midfielder – Luis Alberto (Lazio)
Teams do not often score three goals in a game without a significant contribution from the central midfield players. Lazio’s Luis Alberto is the perfect example of how vital the central midfielders are in a team’s possession play as the Spaniard received a truly deserved Man of the Match award against Crotone.
The 28-year-old had an outstanding game, scoring Lazio’s second goal of the night and creating another 3 big chances for his teammates to score. Luis Alberto’s impact on the game was best reflected by the number of touches he had during the 90 minutes (103), whilst he also completed a remarkable 88% of his passes (68/77), of which 6 were key passes.
Luis Alberto had a great performance vs Crotone.
He stepped up for Lazio and was clinical in the midfield. He gave his side some good energy, won numerous challenges and was effective with his passes.
1 goal
6 key passes
105 touches – most on lazio
87% pass accuracy???? pic.twitter.com/qsfCtGQBNp
— Jerry Mancini (@jmancini8) March 12, 2021
Central Midfielder – Mattias Svanberg (Bologna)
Another central midfielder who had a major influence on his team’s offensive performance is the Swedish international Mattias Svanberg. The 22-year-old played a key part in Bologna’s 3-1 win over Sampdoria on the weekend and deservedly got the best match rating.
Svanberg’s goal just before half-time gave Bologna a 2-1 lead, with the Swede also assisting Roberto Soriano, who put the game to bed in the 70th minute and secured his team all three points. Additionally, the central midfielder also completed 72% of his passes (18/25), of which one was a key pass leading to a goal.
That is a good win for Bologna, they had to work hard against a dominant Sampdoria side. Very impressed with Mattias Svanberg and Adamo Adama Soumaoro who put in strong displays in defence and midfield #BolognaSamp #BolognaSampdoria
— Scot Munroe (@scot_munroe) March 14, 2021
Central Attacking Midfielder – Mario Pasalic (Atalanta)
Mario Pasalic is our next outstanding performer of the weekend, having helped Atalanta cruise to a solid 3-1 win over Spezia on Friday night. The central attacking midfielder ran the show against Spezia by scoring two brilliant goals, which have kept Atalanta in the race for the top four.
In addition to his goals, the 26-year-old Croatian had also influenced the game with his playmaking skills, having created 2 big goal-scoring chances for his teammates. He also completed 79% of his passes (26/33), of which one was a key pass.
Former Chelsea midfielder Mario Pasalic's brace & Luis Muriel's fantastic curled effort secured Atalanta a comfortable 3-1 win over Spezia on Friday night to move to 4th place on the #SerieA table standings. pic.twitter.com/zvxZuZqcJ0
— vumaSPORT (@vumaSPORT) March 13, 2021
Winger / Wide Forward – Musa Barrow (Bologna)
Bologna’s impressive win against Sampdoria has not gone unnoticed, with the Rossoblu’s second player making out best performers of Round 27 list.
The Gambian international Musa Barrow had a terrific game on Sunday, scoring Bologna’s opening goal of the game and assisting Mattias Svanberg for a team’s second just before half-time. Overall, a tricky left-winger had 50 touches in this game, completing 65% of his passes (20/31), of which 2 counted as successful key passes.
Musa Barrow heads Bologna in front! ??
The 22-year-old continues to impress ? pic.twitter.com/ScqhzPmuv0
— Premier Sports ? (@PremierSportsTV) March 14, 2021
Striker – Dusan Vlahovic (Fiorentina)
On the weekend, Fiorentina scored four goals in a game for the first time this season, and the Serbian striker Dusan Vlahovic was the man responsible for this achievement. The 21-year-old banged in a first-half hat-trick, taking his total season goals tally to 12, which is the tenth best result in Serie A. More impressively, Vlahovic only needed 5 shots to score 3 goals, showing a remarkable conversion rate of 60%.
? The first player in 57 years to score a first-half hat-trick for Fiorentina in Serie A. 11 goals in his last 16 league appearances
? Is 21-year-old Dusan Vlahovic ready to fly high for Serbia in #WCQ? pic.twitter.com/lpwKPjIDvD
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) March 13, 2021
Striker – Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus)
The best way to respond to criticism is by putting up a great performance on the pitch, and this is exactly what Cristiano Ronaldo did in a game against Cagliari following Juve’s shocking exit from the Champions League last week.
The 36-year-old Portuguese star scored his first hat-trick of this Serie A season on Sunday, maintaining his leadership status at the top of the goal-scoring charts with 23 goals.
#CristianoRonaldo scored a hattrick for Juventus against Cagliari to go past #Pele's tally of goals. The Portuguese star now has 770 goals to his name in all competitions. https://t.co/8vTUUCHhya
— Sports Express (@Xpress_Sports) March 15, 2021