Round 36 of this Serie A season always had a tough act to follow after the events in the previous game week.
This considered, the week that was still provided us with a good round of football which saw Juventus see off Inter in the Derby d’Italia, AC Milan fall to yet another defeat at the hands of Sassuolo, and Roma continued their end-of-season resurgence with a win against Udinese. Elsewhere, Genoa continued their breathtaking season with a 4-1 win away to Atalanta, while their city rivals Sampdoria were beaten by Lazio.
Meanwhile, the Monday evening fixtures saw Napoli see off Cesena in a thrilling encounter at the Stadio San Paolo, while Fiorentina eased to a 3-0 victory over Parma.
Our Team of the Week for Round 36 will see a 3-4-3 formation deployed.
Marco Storari – Juventus (2 Team of the Week appearances)
The Italian can count himself unlucky to have conceded in what was a sensational performance that caught many off guard. Initially grabbing attention by making a superb reflex save to deny Rodrigo Palacio before a phenomenal double save in the dying moments helped keep Inter at bay and secure the points for the Bianconeri.
Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa – Roma (2 apps)
The Frenchman started in a cautious manner but settled quickly and his comfort in possession proved beneficial to the Giallorossi. The 26-year-old seemed to ignore the accepted norms of how a defender should behave, which was highlighted as he ventured down the left wing and nutmegged Stipe Perica before unleashing a wild shot at goal.
Santiago Gentiletti – Lazio
The Argentine defender was making his first Serie A appearance in 237 days and looked as though he was never away. He reacted well to instinctively give the Biancocelesti the lead as he diverted the ball into the net and looked defensively solid whenever the question arose. A very impressive return for the Lazio defender.
Nikola Maksimovic – Torino
The left back put in a performance that epitomized what an all-round performance was. He managed to secure himself two assists, granted, one of which came from a hopeful ball up-field but often showed the most fight on the pitch in his battle to regain possession for Toro.
Radja Nainggolan – Roma (4 apps)
The second of three Roma players in this week’s TOTW, the Belgian powerhouse put in a typical performance on Sunday. The midfielder displayed his usual tackling and passing capabilities with an added attacking flair. Nainggolan did manage to get his name on the score-sheet, but will feel as though he could have scored more were it not for some brilliant blocks by the Udinese defence and equally impressive goalkeeping from Orestis Karnezis.
Andrea Bertolacci – Genoa (5 apps)
The Italian has received a lot of praise for his consistently brilliant performances this season, and this praise doesn’t look to be ceasing anytime soon as Bertolacci put in another big performance for the Grifone. His brilliant cross allowed for Leonardo Pavoletti to score and the midfielder grabbed a goal for himself to mark the performance.
Simone Missiroli – Sassuolo
Putting in a near perfect performance, with the only disappointment of his day being finding himself on the end of a nutmeg from Andrea Poli. Played an exquisite long-pass for Domenico Berardi’s second goal and carved a wonderful through ball to kick-start the move which led to his third.
Claudio Marchisio – Juventus
Wore the captain’s armband in the absence of Gianluigi Buffon and stepped up to the mark with seamless ease. Leading very much by example, the Italian international confidently converted a penalty and barely put a foot wrong all game. Juventus fans will be assured that he can step up and play a more integral role should Andrea Pirlo depart.
Dries Mertens – Napoli (3 apps)
The Belgian international stepped up to the mark when the Partenopei needed him most. When they looked to be facing a tough challenge at home to Cesena, even going a goal behind, both Mertents and Manolo Gabbiadini helped to fire the Neapolitans in front and ensured the points were secured for the Champions League hopefuls. The 28-year-old put in a real man-of-the-match performance and it was a real contender for the individual performance-of-the-week.
Domenico Berardi – Sassuolo (3 apps)
The 20-year-old will no doubt be itching to take the field against AC Milan again as soon as possible, as he now has seven goals in his last two home games against the seven-times European champions. Though it is up for debate whether or not his second goal should have stood, it would be hard to take anything away from the young striker after bagging a hat-trick against the Italian giants.
Francesco Totti – Roma (2 apps)
While this may not have been Totti’s best performance in a Roma shirt, he still showed anyone who has doubted him that he can contribute to the team with two assists. The mercurial 37-year-old delivered a delicious cross which allowed Nainggolan to level for the Giallorossi, before being presented with a perfect opportunity to put the ball on a plate for Vasilios Torosidis to earn the points for Rudi Garcia’s side.
