The Best XI of Serie A Round 35: Roma Duo Take the Center Stage

AC Milan, Cagliari, Fiorentina, Inter, Inter Milan, Italian Football, Roma, Serie A, Serie A 2020-2021

The Serie A season finale is nearing its absolute climax, despite Inter securing their first Scudetto in 11 years a week ago. Five teams are still fighting for the three remaining places in next season’s Champions League, and the same number of teams are involved in the relegation dogfight.

In Round 35, we saw an absolute goal galore with a total of 39 goals scored, with Roma, Atalanta and Inter each netting five against their respective opponents. However, the most significant result of the round was recorded in Turin, where Milan beat direct top four rivals Juventus 3-0, while Cagliari secured their fourth win in the last five matches after beating Benevento, and moved closer to Serie A survival.

Here we take a look at the best statistical XI of Serie A Round 35 in collaboration with the FotMob app.

Goalkeeper – Bartlomiej Dragowski (Fiorentina)

The 23-year-old Fiorentina shot-stopper has kept his 7th clean sheet of the season against Lazio, making an important contribution to his side 2-0 win on Saturday night.

Dragowski prevented Lazio from scoring 3 times, including 2 diving saves on shots from inside the box for a total of 1.17 expected goals conceded (xGC). This means that the Polish goalkeeper prevented at least one goal that could have led to a different outcome for Fiorentina.

FotMob rating – 7.9

Right-Back / Right Wing-Back – Nahitan Nandez (Cagliari)

No one could have predicted such a resurgence for Cagliari, as the Sardinian club won 4 of their last 5 games, which got them out of the bottom three. Leonardo Semplici’s men have scored an impressive 12 goals during this winning streak, and the right wing-back was a big factor in why Cagliari were able to do so against Benevento.

The Uruguay international registered his first 2 assists of the season, having set up two of Cagliari’s three goals. Although the 25-year-old was not at his best in terms of pass completion (67%), 3 of them were key passes that led to big chances created. In addition, Nandez won 7 duels and made 5 ball recoveries.

FotMob rating – 8.8

Right Center-Back – Vlad Chiriches (Sassuolo)

Sassuolo have extended their unbeaten streak to 6 games with Sunday’s win over Genoa. During this streak, the Neroverdi have won 5 out of 6 matches, and the Romanian center-back Vlad Chiriches has been an integral part of this successful run of performances.

The 31-year-old showed his defensive class against Genoa, dominating in pretty much every statistical defensive metric. The Romanian won 5 duels, was successful in all 3 of his attempted tackles (100% success ratio), intercepted 6 balls and recovered the ball an astonishing 15 times.

FotMob rating – 8.4

Left Center-Back – Fikayo Tomori (Milan)

After losing the title race to city rivals Inter, Milan have only one last task left, to reach the top four and qualify for next season’s Champions League. The Rossoneri took a big step in that direction after a massive 3-0 win over their direct rivals Juventus.

Milan’s loanee from Chelsea Fikayo Tomori was one of the reasons for a great performance, as the 23-year-old Englishman completely shut down the threat from Alvaro Morata and Cristiano Ronaldo. Tomori’s presence in defense was strongly felt, as he won 80% of his duels (4/5), made 5 headed clearances and 3 interceptions, as well as recovered the ball 9 times.

FotMob rating – 8.6

Left-Back / Left Wing-Back – Charalampos Lykogiannis (Cagliari)

When both of your wing-backs make the list in terms of their offensive output, it is highly likely that a team will emerge victorious. That is exactly the case for Cagliari, whose wing-back Charalampos Lykogiannis made a huge contribution to his team’s victory over Benevento.

The Greek international netted for the 4th time this season as he opened the scoring in the first minute of the game. In addition to his goal, Lykogiannis also recorded a 81% pass success (13/16) and won 80% of all duels (4/5).

FotMob rating – 7.9

Central Midfielder – Roberto Gagliardini (Inter)

On May 2, Inter clinched their 19th Serie A title in a truly amazing season for the Nerazzurri. Six days later, Antonio Conte’s men have extended their unbeaten run to the same number – 19 – after trashing Sampdoria 5-1.

There were a number of changes to Inter’s starting line-up on Saturday, with many players who have featured less during the season starting the game. The central midfielder Roberto Gagliardini was one of them, making only his 13th start of the season, but marking it with a goal. The Italian also completed a sensational 97% of all pass attempts (36/37) and created one big goal-scoring opportunity.

FotMob rating – 8.4

Central Attacking Midfielder – Henrikh Mkhitaryan (Roma)

Although Roma have lost all chances of finishing in the top four some time ago, they are still capable of catching up with their city rivals Lazio and securing a place in the Europa League next season. Their 5-0 demolition over Crotone at the weekend was a good starting point, with some of the Giallorossi’s attacking players putting in incredible performances.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan was one of the aforementioned players who helped Roma to victory against Crotone. He scored his 10th goal of the season and registered the same number of assists after setting up two of his teammates. The Armenian international has ended his 9-game drought without a goal or an assist.

FotMob rating – 9.3

Central Attacking Midfielder – Lorenzo Pellegrini (Roma)

When a team scores five goals in a game, it is usually the attacking players who excel. Mkhitaryan’s midfield counterpart Lorenzo Pellegrini reminded everyone of his attacking talent, scoring a brace against Crotone, taking his season tally to 7 goals.

In addition to his goals, the 24-year-old Italian was also the driving force in terms of creativity as he registered 10 shot-creating and 2 goal-creating actions, one of which was a big goal-scoring chance.

FotMob rating – 9.4

Striker – Victor Osimhen (Napoli)

Napoli have earned a status as one of the most outstanding teams in the second half of this Serie A season, as Gennaro Gattuso’s men have picked up 8 wins in the last 11 league matches. One of those wins came on Saturday when Napoli blew Spezia away 4-1.

One of the reasons for this incredible winning streak is Napoli’s surge in attack, and the Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen is a big part of that. The 22-year-old has scored 7 goals in his last 8 appearances for Napoli, including a brace against Spezia on Saturday. The Nigerian is now in double figures, with 10 goals this season.

FotMob rating – 9.2

Striker – Luis Muriel (Atalanta)

Atalanta are one of the five teams still fighting for a place in next season’s Champions League, and they are one of the strongest contenders with players like Luis Muriel firing on all cylinders.

The magnificent Colombian striker took just 45 minutes to score his 20th and 21st goals of the season, also adding his 9th assist.

FotMob rating – 9.0

Striker – Dusan Vlahovic (Fiorentina)

Where would Fiorentina be without this man? That is the question all Viola fans might be asking themselves after another magnificent performance at the weekend.

Giuseppe Iachini’s men took a big step towards Serie A survival for next season with the win over Lazio, and the Serbian goal machine has added 2 more goals to his season tally. Vlahovic has now netted 12 times in his last 9 games (avg. 1.3 goals per game), making him the joint-second highest scorer in Serie A with 21 goals.

FotMob rating – 9.0

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