Serie A Team of the Week: Pasalic powers Atalanta to big win
With two of Serie A's big hitters, Napoli and Juventus, not actually playing their match on Sunday it opened up the opportunity for others to shine, particularly after the Partenopei looked so devastating last weekend in their 6-0 win over Genoa.
This weekend it was Mario Pasalic (9.5) of Atalanta who recorded the best player score with a 9.5 FC Rating in the entertaining 5-2 win against Cagliari.
Not only did he contribute a goal and an assist from midfield, but his passing was exemplary as he completed 68/75 balls to team-mates, with 34 of them being sent into the final third.
In goal in our Team of the Week is Lorenzo Montipo (8.6)of Benevento who made no less than seven saves in the potentially vital 1-0 win over Bologna.
In a five-man defence is Theo Hernandez (8.7) and Simon Kjaer (8.1) of Milan, Roger Ibanez (9.1) of Roma, Francesco Acerbi (8.0) of Lazio, and Nikola Milenkovic (7.7) of Fiorentina.
Ibanez was particularly impressive as he had 98 touches of the ball, won 10/16 duels, and made eight ball recoveries and six interceptions.
In midfield, alongside Pasalic is Franck Kessie (7.7) and Manuel Locatelli (8.3).
Rafael Leao (8.5) put in his best performance in a Milan shirt so far, deputising for Zlatan Ibrahimovic by scoring two in the 3-0 win versus Spezia.
Duvan Zapata (8.2) contributed to two goals with a goal of his own and an assist for Atalanta.