The first weekend of Serie A action for 2021 began with Inter moving top with a 6-2 victory over Crotone, only for city rivals AC Milan to regain the lead later on Sunday afternoon by beating Benevento 2-0.
Roma narrowly defeated Sampdoria 1-0 in the capital to stay ahead of Napoli, who remain in the final Champions League qualification place after a 4-1 win over Cagliari in Sardinia.
Reigning champions Juventus won by the same scoreline against Udinese to keep chase, whereas Atalanta went one better and defeated Sassuolo 5-1 to lift themselves into 7th position, just one point behind their opponents.
At the over end of the table, a comprehensive 3-0 win over Parma lifted Torino out of the relegation places, as Genoa drew 1-1 with Lazio and Spezia lost by a solitary goal at home to Hellas Verona.
Let us know your thoughts on the Team of the Week for Round 14 of the 2020/21 Serie A season, which is deployed in the usual 3-4-3 formation!
Gianluigi Donnarumma – AC Milan
With the Rossoneri forced to play an hour with 10-men after the sending off of Sandro Tonali, the Italian shotstopper was repelled a number of Benevento attempts to secure a vital three points for the league leaders.
Giovanni Di Lorenzo – Napoli (2 Team of the Week appearances)
The Partenopei full-back was a constant threat from the right hand side and assisted both of Piotr Zielinski’s goals, as the visitors recorded an impressive 4-1 victory in Sardinia.
Armando Izzo – Torino
While the 28-year-old’s defensive display made a huge contribution when helping lift the Granata away from the bottom of the table, scoring the second goal in a 3-0 win allowed their fans to breath easy for the final few moments in Emilia-Romagna.
Simon Kjaer – AC Milan
The Danish international returned from injury to help steer the Milanese giants through what turned into a difficult fixture, as promoted Benevento looked to record another historic win over the Serie A leaders.
Federico Chiesa – Juventus (2 apps)
An energetic display from the former Fiorentina winger was capped by well taken goal, as the Bianconeri try to position themselves for their Scudetto challenge.
Piotr Zielinski – Napoli
The Polish midfielder was pulling the strings in midfield and broke forward to score the first two goals in a 4-1 win over Cagliari.
Remo Freuler – Atalanta
Inspired by the captains armband, the Swiss midfielder assisted two of the five goals against Sassuolo – the first a beautiful back-heeled flick through the legs of a defender.
Mattia Zaccagni – Hellas Verona (2 apps)
The 25-year-old lit up a tight contest with Spezia with a stunning goal. Controlling a cross on his chest 15 yards from goal and immediately acrobatically sending an overhead kick flying into the net.
Lautaro Martinez – Inter (2 apps)
Nearly denied a hat-trick after having his second goal changed to a Luca Marrone own goal at half time, but a close range header towards of the end of the game secured a treble for the Argentine.
Romelu Lukaku – Inter (3 apps)
Despite strike partner Martinez scoring three times, the ex-Manchester United attacker played an even bigger role as the Nerazzurri overpowered Crotone 6-1 at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza.
Duvan Zapata – Atalanta
The Colombian reached 100 goals in Italian football with two strikes against Sassuolo, as La Dea gave a five star performance in Bergamo.