Inter Milan won again, reinforcing their first place in the standings, Juventus and AC Milan triumphed confirming themselves respectively in second and third place. Jose Mourinho's Roma won too, moving up to fourth place in the standings. Let's see what happened over the Serie A weekend:
MATCH OF THE WEEK - UDINESE v VERONA
On the weekend of Napoli-Inter, the most entertaining and exciting match was the one between Udinese and Verona.
It was an end-to-end game, full of twists, turns and goals: six in fact!
The Bianconeri had gone ahead after a quarter of an hour thanks to Christian Kabasele, then the doubling signed by the first of the two goals of the day by Lorenzo Lucca, who is finally finding continuity and a high level of performance.
Verona bomber Milan Djuric had shortened the distance before the momentary equaliser signed by Cyril Ngonge, who scored with an incredible bicycle kick. Twenty minutes from the final whistle Lucca had put Udinese ahead again; then when the match seemed destined to end with the three points in the Bianconeri's pocket, Thomas Henry managed to find the goal of the final 3-3, in the last second of the match.
A crazy game full of emotions, despite the complicated standings for the two teams. What a spectacle of a match!
PLAYER OF THE WEEK - NICOLO BARELLA
Inter fans had been waiting for the best version of this player for several months now. The best Barella seemed to have disappeared: some talked about tactical reasons, others feared his golden moment might be over, instead in a delicate match like the one against Napoli the star of the former Cagliari player shone again like in the good old days.
Lots of substance, lots of work for his teammates, which is the most important part of his game anyway, but above all a true eurogoal. The assist was signed by Lautaro Martinez, who was smart and lucid in serving him in the centre of the penalty area, but Barella was phenomenal in stopping, dribbling and then sending the ball into the net.
Regardless of the unbelievable goal scored, however, what lingers in the eyes is the intensity put on the field by the midfielder, the heart and engine of Simone Inzaghi's Inter. He undoubtedly deserves the Player of the Week award.
INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK - ADRIEN RABIOT
Captain, leader and decisive player: Adrien Rabiot took Juventus by hand during the last match. For quite some time now he has become one of the most important players in the Bianconeri locker room, so much so that he taken the honor of wearing the captain's armband.
Beyond the form, however, there is a lot of substance: Rabiot took the Bianconeri by the hand, in the match against Monza he scored the goal that shook the Bianconeri after Dusan Vlahovic's missed penalty (great save by Michele Di Gregorio by the way!). Then in the final minute of the game he made the assist for Fede Gatti's goal, which came in the 94th minute when a draw seemed to be the inevitable final result.
Max Allegri is bringing out the best in the French midfielder, who has grown mentally, technically and in personality. From wonder boy to promise to leader and captain of as big and glorious team as Juventus. Rabiot has come a long way since he started and continues to do so, steadily improving and proving himself a true champion.
TEAM OF THE WEEK - INTER MILAN
In Naples, Inter's performance was a real show of strength. Simone Inzaghi and his boys gave a lesson in pragmatism to Napoli, winning a complex and important match for the standings by taking advantage of all the chances created, while also leaning on an extraordinary game by Yann Sommer.
The match at Maradona Stadium could have been tricky for the Nerazzurri, considering Walter Mazzarri's arrival and the newfound motivation of the Azzurri group, but Inter were the stronger team on the pitch, putting their entire arsenal on the field.
Being able to sub in players like Juan Cuadrado, Carlos Augusto and Davide Frattesi at the start of the game is a luxury few other coaches can boast. Inzaghi's merit, however, is to make his team play well, both in the build-up phase and on the counterattack, a script that Marcus Thuram and his teammates love.
Hakan Çalhanoğlu scored the first goal, with a perfect shot from outside the box, Nicolo Barella and Thuram scored the second and third goals during the second half. Four shots in the mirror per team, but three of the four attempted by Inter ended up past Alex Meret. That is also a merit and that is how Scudetti are generally won.
