Serie A Team of the Week: El Shaarawy torments Torino
The penultimate round of the 2014-15 Serie A season could easily have been something of a formality with so few fixtures having any big prizes riding on them. Instead, there were a huge number of quality displays to be considered for Goal's latest Team of the Week.
Gianluigi Buffon was in excellent form as Juventus continued their preparation for the Champions League final with a 3-1 home win over Napoli. The Italy captain saved Lorenzo Insigne's penalty and made a plethora of smart stops in general play to help tee up the Bianconeri's late victory march.
Daniele Rugani's excellent first full campaign in Serie A has seen him into our best XI on a number of occasions, and he was fantastic once more as Empoli were denied a clean sheet and a victory over Sampdoria in stoppage time by Samuel Eto'o. Yohan Benalouane was head and shoulders above the rest for Atalanta at Chievo before the hosts grabbed a late equaliser of their own. And Monday saw Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa's return to the scoresheet for the first time since 2011 as Roma won the local derby against Lazio to snatch a Champions League group spot.
Keisuke Honda has been one of Milan's most consistent players in a largely disappointing season, and he was again a stand-out as the Rossoneri triumphed over Torino despite the first-half dismissal of Cristian Zaccardo. Francesco Magnanelli's consistency rarely translates into goals, but he registered the only strike of the game as Sassuolo beat Udinese, and Andrea Bertolacci was magnificent in midfield as Genoa outplayed Inter to snatch a 3-2 win. Meanwhile, Josip Ilicic makes the Team of the Week for the fourth successive round after he returned to Palermo and delivered a barnstorming performance in Fiorentina's 3-2 success.
Genoa's win over Inter saw Maxime Lestienne change the course of the fixture by running rings around Andrea Ranocchia and friends, and he netted a vital second goal too. Luca Toni continued a phenomenal campaign - and career - with two more goals for Verona in a 2-2 draw with Parma. And there was a welcome return to goalscoring form for Stephan El Shaarawy, who netted only his second and third goals of the season in Milan's 3-0 win over Torino.
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