The Best XI of Serie A Round 36: Milan Trio in Seventh Heaven

AC Milan, Atalanta, Inter, Inter Milan, Italian Football, Juventus, Napoli, Serie A, Serie A 2020-2021, Top 11

The final round of midweek fixtures has been played and there is just over a week to go until Serie A closes its curtains on the 2020-21 season. Although there are only two match-days left to play, there are still more questions than answers as the battle for the three remaining Champions League places continues, while four teams are still embroiled in the fight for Serie A survival.

In Round 36, there were no real surprises as all the favorites emerged victorious from their respective games. All four teams fighting for the three remaining spots in next season’s Champions League – Atalanta, Napoli, Juventus and Milan – recorded convincing victories, with the Rossoneri beating Torino 7-0 to record their highest win since 2001.

Here we take a look at the best statistical XI of Serie A Round 36 in collaboration with the FotMob app.

Goalkeeper – Mattia Perin (Genoa)

The 28-year-old shot-stopper has kept his 8th clean sheet of the season against Bologna, making an important contribution to Genoa’s 2-0 win over Bologna.

Perin prevented Bologna from scoring 6 times, including 5 diving saves on shots from inside the box, which equates to 2.72 expected goals conceded (xGC). This means that the Italian goalkeeper prevented almost three goals that definitely could have led to a different outcome for Genoa.

FotMob rating – 8.6

Right-Back / Right Wing-Back – Tommaso Pobega (Spezia)

Spezia are one of the teams still embroiled in the relegation dogfight, with the Aquilotti picking up what might prove to be a crucial point against Sampdoria.

The two goals of the game were scored by Italian youngster Tommaso Pobega, his 4thand 5th goals of the season. The 21-year-old was also impressive in the creativity department, creating 2 big goal-scoring opportunities and completing 81% of all passing attempts (21/26).

FotMob – 9.0

Right Center-Back – Cristian Romero (Atalanta)

Atalanta have extended their unbeaten run in Serie A to 10 games – second best in the league behind Inter – after the 2-0 win over Benevento.

It was the 11thclean sheet of the season for Gian Piero Gasperini’s side, and the center-back Cristian Romero did a good job in preventing the opposition from scoring. The Argentine played a solid game at the back, winning almost 60% of his duels, making 2 interceptions and recovering the ball 9 times. The 23-year-old also recorded an impressive passing rate of 93% (53/57).

FotMob – 7.8

Left Center-Back – Matthijs de Ligt (Juventus)

After an embarrassing 3-0 defeat to direct top four rivals Milan, Juventus redeemed themselves with a solid performance against Sassuolo.

Matthijs de Ligt, the Bianconeri’s center-back, has had a mixed season so far, which has been reflected in Juventus’ performances; however, the Dutchman brought his A game against Sassuolo, leading his side defensive line from the front. The 21-year-old won 83% of all duels, made 6 clearances and recovered the ball 7 times.

FotMob – 7.6

Left-Back / Left Wing-Back – Theo Hernandez

Although Milan have experienced a dip in form in the second half of the season, some of their players have maintained good levels of performance. The left wing-back Theo Hernandez is one of them who played a big part in Milan’s 7-0 win over Torino on Wednesday.

The Frenchman was unstoppable on the left wing, scoring two goals – his 6th and 7th of the season – with his only two shots of the game (100% shot conversion). Hernandez was also solid defensively, winning 62% of duels and making 5 ball recoveries.

FotMob – 9.1

Central Midfielder – Franck Kessié (Milan)

From a team that scores seven goals, one would expect to see more than a single player featuring on the list of top-rated Serie XI of the week. Franck Kessié is the second Milan player to make the list, having impressed after an unfortunate penalty miss against Juventus last week.

The 24-year-old central midfielder netted his 11th goal of this Serie A season, although it was his 9th penalty goal, and registered his 4th assist in as many games after setting up Brahim Diaz. The Ivorian was also solid in possession, completing an impressive 92% of his passes (59/64), 2 of which were key passes.

FotMob – 9.1

Central Midfielder – Fabian Ruiz (Napoli)

Napoli are one of the few teams to have completely turned their season around in the second half of the season. Gennaro Gattuso’s men have won 7 of their last 10 matches and are now in the driver’s seat – along with Atalanta – to secure Champions League football for next season.

The 5-1 win over Udinese proved to be a walk in the park, with many Napoli players performing well in attack. The central midfielder Fabian Ruiz was one of them, scoring his 3rd goal of the season and completing a remarkable 93% of all pass attempts (97/104), with 15 accurate long balls out of 16 (94% completion rate).

FotMob – 8.8

Central Attacking Midfielder – Piotr Zielinski (Napoli)

The second Napoli player to join the list of the best-rated XI of matchday 36 is the Polish international Piotr Zielinski. The 26-year-old was one of the driving forces behind Napoli’s thunderous attack against Udinese.

In detail, the central attacking midfielder scored his 8th goal and provided 10th assist of the season on Tuesday night. Zielinski ran the show with the ball, completing 86% of his pass attempts (25/29), 6 of which were key passes.

FotMob – 8.8

Left Winger – Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli)

It almost goes without saying that this man will be included in the list of the best XI when Napoli crush their opponents with ease.

It happened again as the talisman and captain of the club Lorenzo Insigne hit the net for the 18th time this season against Udinese, making him the 7th highest scorer in the league. The Italian wizard also contributed to the creative side of things, recording 5 shot-creating actions and also making 3 key passes.

FotMob rating – 9.0

Striker – Romelu Lukaku (Inter)

One could say that Inter are already thinking and planning for next season, which could potentially lead worse performances and defeats. However, the newly crowned champions do not seem to be taking their foot off the gas after recording their 16th win in the last 20 Serie A matches against Roma.

The Nerazzurri’s top scorer of the season Romelu Lukaku produced another brilliant display to score his 22nd goal of the season, the first after five games without a goal. The Belgian goal machine also registered his 11th assist, making him Inter’s best player in terms of goals scored and assists provided this season (33 in total).

FotMob rating – 8.6

Striker – Ante Rebic (Milan)

Although not an outright striker, Milan’s Ante Rebic had to get used to a new role as his teammate Zlatan Ibrahimovic got injured in the game against Juventus.

For 66 minutes, it looked like the Croatian was not on the same level as the Swedish striker legend, but what happened in the next 12 minutes is worth a standing ovation. The 27-year-old managed a hat-trick in that time, taking his season tally to 11 goals. Even more impressively, he needed just 3 shot attempts to do so, showing a 100% conversion rate.

FotMob rating – 9.7

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