The Best XI of Serie A Round 29: Unstoppable Atalanta Trio

Atalanta, Crotone, Hellas Verona, Italian Football, Parma, Serie A, Serie A 2020-2021, Top 11, Udinese

After the end of the first international break of the new year, Serie A made its long-awaited comeback this weekend. The wait was worth it, as Round 29 offered some cracking fixtures with plenty of goals and exciting results.

The main topic of conversation revolved around the two Milan clubs as they continued their head-to-head race for the Scudetto. Milan began the weekend with a home game against Sampdoria in the hope of closing the gap on Inter, but their hopes fizzled out as Stefano Pioli’s men were held to a disappointing 1-1 draw. Inter did not let the chance slip away and extended their lead at the top of the table to eight points after a hard-fought 1-0 win away to Bologna.

Here we take a look at the best statistical XI of Serie A Round 29 in collaboration with the FotMob app.

Goalkeeper – Marco Silvestri (Hellas Verona)

The 30-year-old Italian goalkeeper has kept his 6th clean sheet of the season against Cagliari as his team, Hellas Verona, continue to boast the fourth-best defensive record in Serie A.

Silvestri had an outstanding game between the sticks against Cagliari: 5 saves, including 4 from inside the penalty area, which accumulated a total of 2.32 Post-Shot Expected Goals (PSxG). Additionally, Verona’s goalkeeper made 10 recoveries and completed 6 long balls.

FotMob rating – 8.2

Right-Back / Right Wing-Back – Nahuel Molina (Udinese)

Although Udinese had to swallow a bitter pill in a 3-2 defeat to high-flying Atalanta, the right wing-back Nahuel Molina produced an impressive attacking display.

The 22-year-old Argentine was involved in both Udinese’s goals (2 assists) and was the most influential player in possession with 4 shot and 6 goal-creating actions. The right wing-back also completed 77% of his passes (41/53), including 5 progressive passes.

FotMob rating – 8.7

Right Center-Back – Federico Ceccherini (Hellas Verona)

When a team keeps a clean sheet it is highly likely that their defensive players, including the goalkeeper, will show up on the list as standout performers. The 2-0 away win over Cagliari was another impressive defensive performance from Hellas Verona, and the team’s right-sided center-back Federico Ceccherini played a big part in it.

The 28-year-old Italian was solid throughout the 90 minutes as he won 8 duels, of which 6 were aerial, made 3 clearances and 4 ball interceptions and also recovered the ball 6 times. Besides, Ceccherini recorded a 73% pass rate, completing 22 of 30 attempted passes.

FotMob rating – 7.8

Left Center-Back – Francesco Acerbi (Lazio)

Lazio had to fight incredibly hard to take all three points against Spezia, with Felipe Caicedo scoring the last-gasp winner in the 88th minute. Despite being the relegation battlers, Spezia are an exciting attacking side that makes most of the opposition center-backs work hard, including Lazio’s Francesco Acerbi.

The Italian had a solid game at the back against Spezia, winning 75% of duels (9/12), succeeding in all 4 tackle attempts and recovering the ball 8 times. Acerbi’s distribution is also worth mentioning as he completed an impressive 90% of his attempted passes (78/87).

FotMob rating – 7.9

Left-Back / Left Wing-Back – Matteo Pessina (Atalanta)

After a troubling first half of the season, Atalanta have returned to form and are looking to catch Milan in the battle for second place in the table. Gian Piero Gasperini’s men picked up their fifth win in the last six Serie A matches against Udinese, and Matteo Pessina was one of the standout performers on Saturday.

The 23-year-old Italian is originally a midfielder; however, due to Gasperini’s flexible tactical rotations, he was asked to slot in at left wing-back position against Udinese. The experiment went well indeed, as Pessina assisted Luis Muriel the opening goal of the game and completed another 4 shot-creating actions.

FotMob rating – 8.1

Central Midfielder – Miguel Veloso (Hellas Verona)

The third Hellas Verona player on our list is the Portuguese central midfielder Miguel Veloso. The 34-year-old veteran contributed a rare assist in the 2-0 win over Cagliari, his second of the season. Veloso also provided good impetus to Verona’s attack when in possession, successfully completing 35 of 48 passes in the opposition half.

FotMob rating – 8.0

Central Midfielder – Junior Messias (Crotone)

Despite Crotone’s 4-3 defeat to Napoli, the Brazilian central midfielder Junior Messias was undoubtedly the Pitagorici’s best player on the pitch for the second game in a row.

The 30-year-old brought Crotone back into the game when he made the score level at 3-3 just before the hour mark and also set up Simy’s goal ten minutes earlier.

FotMob rating – 9.0

Central Attacking Midfielder – Ruslan Malinovsky (Atalanta)

The Ukrainian midfielder Ruslan Malinovsky was Atalanta’s main creative force against Udinese, setting up the second and third goals, thus taking his season assist tally to six.

The 27-year-old also created 3 big-scoring chances, completed 9 progressive passes and made 10 progressive ball carries into the final third area. Overall, he finished the game with an 84% pass success ratio, completing 47 of 56 attempted passes.

FotMob rating – 8.8

Right Winger / Right Forward – Dennis Man (Parma)

The Romanian right winger earned Parma a potentially crucial point against Benevento as Crusaders continue to fight for survival in Seria A. Dennis Man scored in the 88th minute to secure a point for Parma and although his overall performance was not up to the highest possible standard, scoring a vital goal is worthy of being on the list.

FotMob rating – 8.4

Left Winger / Left Forward – Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli)

After what looked like a dead and buried season for Napoli, the Azzurri have found the strength to turn it around in the last month. Gennaro Gattuso’s men have won five of their last six Serie A matches, and it would not have been possible without their talisman winger Lorenzo Insigne.

In a difficult game against Crotone, the Italian scored his 14th goal of the season and provided his 5th assist in as many games, helping Napoli to stay withing reach of the Champions League places.

FotMob rating – 9.0

Striker – Luis Muriel (Atalanta)

The Colombian striker is having an outstanding season for Atalanta and the game against Udinese proved it one more time. The 29-year-old netted twice on Saturday afternoon, taking his season goal tally to 18 – only behind Romelu Lukaku (20) and Cristiano Ronaldo (24).

As usual, Muriel was also impressive in the creative side of his game as he created one big goalscoring chance and completed 7 shot-creating actions against Udinese.

FotMob rating – 8.8

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