Serie A

Ilicic nets from halfway - Serie A Round 21's best performances

Plus Bartłomiej Dragowski and Gianluigi Donnarumma impress in goal for Fiorentina and Milan.

 
9:15am on Monday 27th January 2020
By
Martin Macdonald
Josip Iličić
F, AM (C) - Atalanta - 31 yrs
MAN OF THE MATCH
71'
10
Jan 25, 2020

Ilicic was outrageously good in Atalanta's 7-0 destruction of Torino, scoring three goals and generally just being outstanding throughout.

His first and third goals were, fairly, routine, with him opening the scoring with a close range finish at the back post and then curling a strike into the left corner from inside the box.

The second, however, was out of this world. Spotting the Torino goalkeeper off his line, he takes a quick free kick to float a perfect, lofted strike up and over the hapless stopper into the empty net...from near enough the halfway line!

As if any other parts of the performance required assessment, he was excellent in other areas, too, completing 37/43 attempted passes and winning 6/13 duels.

Throw in 10 ball recoveries, too, for good measure, in what was an all round dominating, impressive outing from Ilicic.

Bartłomiej Dragowski
GK - Fiorentina - 22 yrs
MAN OF THE MATCH
90'
9.7
Jan 25, 2020
0Goals
0Goals

Fiorentina may have been at home against a team struggling at the bottom of the table, but actually surrendered the majority of possession to Genoa and more shots on target before drawing 0-0.

Luckily for the hosts, though, they had Dragowski in goal to keep their opponents at bay with no less than seven saves.

The most impressive save came with just 15 minutes on the clock when he stood tall between the posts to deny Domenico Criscito from the penalty spot.

He made 11 ball recoveries, and misplaced just two passes, too.

Gianluigi Donnarumma
GK - Milan - 20 yrs
MAN OF THE MATCH
90'
8.9
Jan 24, 2020

Milan made it three Serie A wins in a row after defeating Brescia 1-0 away, but still had to contend with the league's worse side pummeling their goal with 18 shots, seven of which were on target.

Donnarumma proved to be a formidable barrier in goal, though, and saved every single one of those attempts. The best stop came relatively early on as he stooped to his right to beat away Florian Aye's header towards the bottom corner.

To take the pressure off his defence, he also made six ball recoveries.

Pawel Dawidowicz
D (CR) - Verona - 24 yrs
MAN OF THE MATCH
90'
8.7
Jan 26, 2020

Verona moved up to ninth in Serie A after impressively dispatching of Lecce with a 3-0 home victory.

Pawel Dawidowicz was dominant in both boxes, and opened the scoring at the attacking end with a towering, glancing header into the right corner from a corner kick.

Within his usual defensive duties, he won the majority of his duels, 100% of his tackles, and 100% of his aerial duels, and also made nine ball recoveries, one interception, and two clearances.

His passing was impressive, too, as he completed 77/84 balls to team-mates.

Alejandro Gómez
AM, F (C) - Atalanta - 31 yrs
90'
8.2
Jan 25, 2020

Alejandro Gomez may not have got his name on the scoresheet in Atalanta's huge win over Torino, but was still outstanding, setting up two for his team-mates.

His first came for the player of the match, Ilicic, as he slid a pass into the box for the Slovenian to turn and finish. Then, to help make it 7-0, he sped down the left wing at typical, rapid pace before cutting in on his right foot to feed a pass down the channel for Luis Muriel to score.

He sent 10 crosses into the box and 26 passes into the final third, while having four unsuccessful shots on goal himself.

HONOURABLE MENTION

Criscito (8) may have missed a penalty for Genoa, but was still their best player, winning 6/9 duels, and the majority of his tackles. He also completed 72/78 passes and enjoyed 100 touches.

ROUND TO FORGET

Not a big surprise to see two Torino names in here. Salvatore Sirigu (4.7) conceded seven goals, while Armando Izzo (4.8) just a head of him lost the majority of his duels, didn't attempt a single tackle, and eventually got sent off.

Latest news

Newcastle vs West Ham Predictions: Team to Win, Form, News and more 30/03/2024

Here are our predictions for the Premier League tie between Newcastle and West Ham on Saturday, March 30th 2024.

  • 13 minutes

Lille vs Lens Predictions: Team to Win, Form, News and more 29/03/2024

Here are our predictions for the Ligue 1 tie between Lille and Lens on Friday, March 29th 2024 from the Stade Pierre-Mauroy.

  • 2 hours

Cadiz vs Granada Predictions: Team to Win, Form, News and more 29/03/2024

Here are our predictions for the La Liga Primera clash between Cadiz and Granada on Friday, March 29th 2024 from Estadio Nuevo Mirandilla.

  • 2 hours

Barnsley vs Cambridge United Predictions: Team to Win, Form, News and more 29/03/2024

Here are our predictions for the EFL League One game between Barnsley and Cambridge United on Friday, March 29th 2024.

  • 3 hours

Port Vale vs Bristol Rovers Predictions: Team to Win, Form, News and more 29/03/2024

Here are our predictions for the EFL League One game between Port Vale and Bristol Rovers on Friday, March 29th 2024.

  • 3 hours

Barrow vs Grimsby Town Predictions: Team to Win, Form, News and more 29/03/2024

Here are our predictions for the EFL League Two tie between Barrow and Grimsby Town on Friday, March 29th 2024.

  • 3 hours

Most read