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A Pulse Sports XI of the most outstanding players from Serie A game week 21
Round 21 of Serie A has come to an end with Juventus' 3-0 win away at Salernitana as the final match of the game week on Tuesday night.
Napoli continued to uphold their status as runaway league leaders with yet another win away at Spezia, the Milan Derby was settled by a lone goal in favour of the Nerazzuri. Roma also won while Lazio and Atalanta dropped valuable points in the top-four race.
On the wrong end of the table, Cremonese remain the only winless team in Serie A after losing 2-0 to Lecce and Sampdoria snapped a four-game losing streak to draw 2-2 away at Monza but they were still left disappointed as a 99th-minute equaliser denied them a rare win.
The game week had a fair amount of protagonists but we have had to compress into an XI of the most outstanding players from Serie A round 21 with a 4-2-2-2 formation to form the Pulse Sports Serie A team of the week.
Goalkeeper: Juan Musso (Atalanta) v Sassuolo
It's not often the goalkeeper on the losing end gets recognised but Italian shot-stopper Juan Musso was influential in keeping Atalanta's loss to Sassuolo down to just 1-0.
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Musso made seven saves for Atalanta who ended the game two men down and maintained a respectable scoreline for the Bergamascans in what was a poor team outing overall.
Centre-back: Roger Ibanez (Roma) v Empoli
A goal and a clean sheet to help Roma defeat Empoli 2-0 automatically cements Roger Ibanez's place in the game week 21 Team of the Week.
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But the Brazilian central defender did more than just head home Dybala's corner, ending the game with 66 touches, four tackles, five clearances, two interceptions and also winning 5/6 ground duels and 2/3 aerial duels.
Centre-back: Federico Baschirotto (Lecce) v Cremonese
Lecce centre-back Federico Baschirotto rose high to head home the opening goal in a 2-0 win away at Cremonese on Saturday afternoon.
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The 26-year-old Italian also contributed to the clean sheet with six clearances and three interceptions to cap off a fine defensive display.
Right back: Stefan Posch (Bologna) v Fiorentina
Austrian defender Stefan Posch has developed a healthy habit of scoring important goals for Bologna and he popped up once again with the winning goal in a 2-1 win away at Fiorentina.
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Posch connected with a cross from Ricardo Orsolini to head home the decisive goal on top of four clearances and interceptions each and two tackles.
Left back: Ola Aina (Torino) v Udinese
Nigerian defender Ola Aina played as a right wing-back for Torino against Udinese but his flexibility allows him to get into this team as a left back.
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Aina played a key part in the decisive moment of the game as his left-footed cross found Yann Karamoh to score the only goal of the game.
Central midfield: Morten Hjulmand (Lecce) v Cremonese
Lecce captain Morten Hjulmand put up a virtuoso display in midfield to help secure a 2-0 win away at Cremonese.
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The Dane completed 80.5% of his passes including 3/5 long balls and 6/8 ground duels as well as one assist as he crossed in the corner that Baschirotto scored from.
Central midfield: Hakan Calhanoglu (Inter Milan) v AC Milan
Turkish international Hakan Calhanoglu assisted the only goal of the Milan Derby, putting in a cross from a corner-kick right on Lautaro Martinez’s head.
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The former AC Milan player put in a real shift against his ex-employers with a 100% dribble success rate and completing 82.5% of his passes.
Left wing: Filip Kostic (Juventus) v Salernitana
Juventus left wing-back Filip Kostic was on the score sheet in the 3-0 beating of Salernitana and put up an impressive performance overall.
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The left-footed Serbian reacted fastest to a loose ball in the box after a failed shot from Vlahovic fell his way which he converted expertly.
Right wing: Kvicha Kvaratskhelia (Napoli) v Spezia
Georgian sensation Kvicha Kvaratskhelia continued his superb form for Napoli this season with a goal and an assist to inspire a 3-0 win away at Spezia.
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The winger converted a first-half penalty and then laid off a simple pass for Osimhen to score. He also played two key passes and completed all three of his attempted long balls.
Centre forward: Dusan Vlahovic (Juventus) v Salernitana
Dusan Vlahovic snapped out of his poor run of form lately to score twice for Juventus and assist another in a 3-0 win away at Salernitana.
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The Serbian striker opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the first half and inadvertently assisted his compatriot Filip Kostic for 2-0 after which he sealed the win with his second goal and Juventus' third.
Centre forward: Victor Osimhen (Napoli) v Spezia
Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen continued his hot streak in Serie A with a brace for Napoli against Spezia to take his tally to 16 goals in 17 league games.
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Osimhen scores his first goal in the second half with a gravity-defying header measured at 2.58 metres but his second was a simple tap-in after being teed up unselfish by Kvaratskhelia.
The 24-year-old was successful with both of his dribble attempts, won five out of eight ground duels and two out of three aerial duels.
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