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Following every round of Serie A fixtures, Pulse Sports presents the most impressive performers of the matchday.
There was more drama in the race to secure the Champions League spots in Serie A this weekend, although Mattia Zaccagni’s continued big-game dependability was evident in gameweek 29.
We pick out the round’s best performers.
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Goalkeeper
Guillermo Ochoa (Salernitana)
Simone Inzaghi will still wonder how his Inter Milan side failed to win at Salernitana on Good Friday.
Well, it was down to the impressive Ochoa, who made a staggering 10 stops to thwart the Nerazzurri, with first-half saves to deny Joaquin Correa and Romelu Lukaku from point-blank range the pick of the bunch.
Those saves proved pivotal as Antonio Candreva fortuitously levelled at the death against his old club in the eventual 1-1 draw in Salerno.
Defenders
Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Napoli)
After that beatdown by AC Milan, Di Lorenzo spoke to his Napoli teammates to get them to refocus, and the Partenopei captain led by example by connecting to an inviting Kim Min-jae to put Luciano Spalletti’s team in front.
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20:11 - 07.04.2023
Napoli show they can manage without Osimhen in Lecce win
Napoli won without Osimhen after a difficult trip to Lecce was decided by a freak own goal
It was the right-back’s second goal in Serie A this season and helped the visitors to an unconvincing 2-1 win over Lecce.
Kim Min-jae (Napoli)
The centre-back’s assist for Di Lorenzo’s goal was admirable, with the accuracy to find the Napoli captain something a winger would have been proud of.
The South Korean won every ground duel (five) and all but two of nine aerial tussles as the Partenopei returned to winning ways after that 4-0 thrashing by Milan.
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14:52 - 04.04.2023
SERIE A Team of week 28: Leao destroys Milan, Dybala and Wijnaldum also shine
Following every round of Serie A fixtures, Pulse Sports presents the most impressive performers of the matchday.
Sebastiano Luperto (Empoli)
Empoli faced a bombardment at San Siro on Friday, having to withstand wave after wave of attacks from the home side.
Luperto stood up to be counted on the day, putting his body on the line to block shots, clear the ball to relieve pressure and win his direct battles, coming out on top in nine of 11 duels.
It was Empoli’s first clean sheet against the Rossoneri in Milan since 2007.
Tommaso Augello (Sampdoria)
Despite Sampdoria’s late collapse against fellow relegation-threatened side Cremonese, Augello’s two assists were noteworthy for the hosts in the 3-2 defeat.
The left-back set up Mehdi Leris and Sam Lammers’s goals, taking him to four league assists this season.
Unfortunately, it was not enough to guide the cellar-dwelling Samp to a fourth victory in 2022-23.
Midfielders
Maxime Lopez (Sassuolo)
Lopez did not deserve to be on the losing side at the weekend, with Sassuolo’s unbeaten Serie A run being stopped by Hellas Verona.
Lopez fashioned five shooting opportunities in the 2-1 loss, won every tackle contested, made 12 recoveries and even cleared a goal-bound effort off the line.
The reverse halted the Neroverdi’s five-game unbeaten sequence.
Sandro Tonali (AC Milan)
Despite Milan’s inability to unlock Empoli’s defence, Tonali served up an admirable midfield performance for Stefano Pioli’s men.
The Italy international always looked to play forward passes, and the variation in the midfielder’s passing was lovely to see.
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Milan may have slipped to fourth place, but Tonali produced a quality display.
Luis Alberto (Lazio)
All in a matter of weeks, Lazio have beaten Napoli, Roma and Juventus, with the most recent on Saturday seeing Maurizio Sarri defeat his old side 2-1 at the Olimpico.
Alberto was instrumental in the winning goal, flicking Felipe Anderson’s low cross to Mattia Zaccagni, who finished with aplomb.
It was the Spaniard’s fourth assist of the season.
Forwards
Paulo Dybala (Roma)
While Lazio have opened up a small gap on the chasing pack for those Champions League spots, their city rivals Roma took advantage of both Milan clubs dropping two points with a 1-0 success at Torino.
Dybala kept his composure to score from 12 yards after eight minutes, and that was how it stayed in a frankly forgettable game that was devoid of chances.
The World Cup winner has converted all four penalties in Serie A this term, taking him to 11 goals in the league in 2022-23, with Jose Mourinho’s men moving to third after round 29.
Mattia Zaccagni (Lazio)
The plaudits went to Zaccagni after Lazio beat Juventus 2-1 at the Olimpico on Saturday, and rightly so after another influential showing against a big team.
Zaccagni scored the winner and assisted Sergej Milinkovic-Savic for the game’s opening goal, with both contributions taking the wide attacker to 10 goals and five assists.
Having had a menacing display in the 4-0 triumph over Milan in January, scoring the winner in the Derby della Capitale last month and thriving against the Old Lady, the 27-year-old is becoming Lazio’s go-to guy in these tight games against sides with comparable technical quality.
Cyriel Dessers (Cremonese)
Cremonese seemed down and out at Sampdoria, but a late turnaround saw the relegation-battling side win 3-2.
At 2-1 down, it was Dessers’s assist for Luka Lochoshvili in the 85th minute that brought the game level and inspired the late fightback.
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16:29 - 20.10.2022
Cyriel Dessers confident Cremonese will escape relegation
The Super Eagle’s seventh goal involvement this term (five goals, two assists), and the Cremona outfit leapfrogged Samp to move to 19th after only their second win of the 2022-23 campaign.
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