AC Milan find in Gianluca Lapadula and Suso the men to send a real statement of intent to Juventus. The Rossoneri won in Empoli and put pressure on the Bianconeri, who fell under three goals in Genoa.
Roma struggle but beat Pescara thanks to an Edin Dzeko brace, whilst Lazio just needed one goal to stay up there. But who impressed most was Atalanta with a sixth straight win.
Inter and Fiorentina battle at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, with the Nerazzurri ultimately winning 4-2, whilst Napoli doesn’t go past the draw with Sassuolo.
Catch up on the rest of the week’s action in our weekly roundup piece.
Our Team of the Week will see a 3-4-3 formation deployed.
Alex Cordaz – Crotone
Two decisive saves to keep Crotone ahead before Sampdoria’s equaliser, then the fantastic final save to deny Fabio Quagliarella. Fundamental.
Mattia Caldara – Atalanta (3 Team of the Week appearances)
He’s on a roll: third amazing performance in a row, helping Atalanta continue the incredible streak of successes. He didn’t score this time, but made sure Bologna were never a threat.
Armando Izzo – Genoa
If Juve’s Juan Cuadrado had such a bad day it is because Izzo had an almost perfect one. The defender was a beast for 90 minutes, fighting on every ball and excluding the Colombian from the game. Crucial in Genoa’s win.
Andrea Masiello – Atalanta
La Dea reached six consecutive wins and joint in third spot of the Serie A table, which would have been unthinkable just a couple of months ago. In a tough game at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara in Bologna, Masiello found the way to give his team the lead, and concded nothing at the back.
Suso – AC Milan (3 apps)
He put together four goals and one assist in his last three games, and always decisive: after the brace against Inter, here’s the goal that gave Milan the lead in Empoli. Add dribbles, crosses, and overall quality and you have one of the reasons the Rossoneri are second.
Giacomo Bonaventura – AC Milan (2 apps)
Jack wears the number 5, like Zinedine Zidane at Real Madrid, but like the French legend, he really is a No.10, able to create chances and also giving that crucial cover to the defenders. The dribble that led to the 3-1 is absolute quality.
Luca Rigoni – Genoa
Absolutely key in the fantastic 3-1 win of the Grifone over Juventus, annihilating Hernanes in the playmaker role and being Genoa’s first striker. Sublime performance.
Diego Perotti – Roma (2 apps)
Two assists, one goal. But the wonderful stats aren’t enough to describe Perotti’s performance, always in the game, constantly a threat. In a night when Salah was uninspired, the Argentine gave that quality to give Roma the edge over Pescara.
Gainluca Lapadula – AC Milan (2 apps)
His first Serie A brace, and what a game for the former Pescara striker. He was everywhere, fighting like a defender, running like a midfielder and finishing like the best European forwards. It will be hard for Carlos Bacca to get back into the team.
Edin Dzeko – Roma (3 apps)
The man who has scored the most goals in the team that has scored the most goals of the league. Dzeko scored two in a matter of minutes to give Roma the edge over Pescara. He is now on 17 total goals for the season in all competitions, averaging at one every 93.2 minutes.
Giovanni Simeone – Genoa (2 apps)
Not everyone can score two goals against Juventus. The Old Lady had a bad day, but the young Simeone made the most of it.
