Outside90’s Joshua Scarcella casts an eye over the five best individual performances to come from the weekend’s Serie A action.
Stefano Sorrentino (Palermo vs Udinese)
The veteran has truly placed himself in the mix for goalkeeper of the season with the likes of Samir Handanovic and Gianluigi Buffon with another outstanding performance between the posts, managing eight saves in Palermo’s 4-1 victory over Udinese.
Even though the home side dominated the match, they still required Sorrentino to keep Udinese from scoring on multiple occasions. The 36-year-old’s efforts sum up the season for La Viola who are sitting in mid-table 14th and it is largely thanks to their goalkeeper’s efforts.
Key Stats
59 Touches
Eight Saves
Achraf Lazaar (Palermo vs Udinese)
The young left-back has played every match of La Viola’s 2015-16 campaign and as well as strong maintenance of possession of the ball, has fantastic vision for the limited number of chances his team creates shines.
The match against Udinese was marked with his first goal of the season. An excellent strike from way outside the area took a wicked deflection and bamboozled Orestis Karnezis.
An in-form Cyril Théréau was largely kept at bay by the 24-year-old which is a testament to his consistent season.
Key Stats
71% Passing Accuracy
Five Tackles
Seven Clearances
One Shot on Target
One Goal
Antonio Candreva (Lazio vs Chievo)
Despite starting the year off with a bang, Candreva’s form has followed that of Lazio’s, although showing signs of excellent football, just nowhere near as consistent as he should be.
His ability to find space in the second half of the match was the key to Lazio’s convincing win, not only winning and converting a penalty but then going onto ghost the Chievo defence and float the ball past Albano Bizzarri.
Equally as impressive was the vision he displayed when assisting Keita for the fourth goal late in the match.
Key Stats
84% Passing Accuracy
Four Key Passes
Two Shots on Target
One Assist
Two Goals
Keita (Lazio vs Chievo)
The Senegalese midfielder has not featured with any regularity this season, making just eight starts. However the month of January has been kind to him and the youngster has returned the faith shown by Stefano Pioli with a blistering performance.
The Chievo midfield struggled with the 20-year-old’s pace, with which he made eight clear dribbles during the match coupled with outstanding passing accuracy.
A clear reward was gifted to Keita when Candreva lifted his eyes in the box to pick him out for a simple header.
Key Stats
82% Passing Accuracy
Eight Dribbles
Two Shots on Target
One Goal
Gonzalo Higuain (Sampdoria vs Napoli)
It is becoming increasingly difficult to obtain new information on il Pipita as he has featured in most of our top performing lists this season – this week being no different with another outstanding display.
The Argentine pounced on a sloppy back-pass to give Napoli an early advantage in what was a dominant display from the away side, stinging the gloves of Emiliano Viviano on two other occasions. The striker now has 21 goals from 21 games, becoming the first player since Alessandro Del Piero in 2008 to achieve the feat.
Key Stats
89% Passing Accuracy
Three Dribbles
Three Shots on Target
One Goal
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