Dragowski vs Genoa
Florentina goalkeeper dragowski has been one of the bright spots of what has been a more less disappointing campaign. In a 0-0 draw against relegation-threatened of Genoa the Polish keeper was at his absolute best. There were a lot of expectations on this Florentina team that has new ownership and a vision for the future as a team collectively they have failed to live up to those types of expectations. They find themselves in mid-table as collectively as a team they have struggled. Against a Genoa team that was in dire need of points as they are deep in the relegation zone Florentina had a chance to pick up some valuable points. Even though they struggle to do so their keeper came up in some big moments that ultimately prevented what would have been a huge upset. Dragowski has saved four penalties in five attempts this season. He denied a Genoa penalty in the early stages of the match and was a breathtaking throughout the game. Even though offensively Florentina failed to get the job done their goalkeeper bailed them out once again. It was a complete performance and yet again another goalkeeper is being recognized in one of my performers of the week. Florentina currently sit in 12th Place and even though they desired more points from these games if he continues to play at that level and gets a little bit more help from teammates they can start to build their way back into the top 10 in Italian football. European football is unlikely to happen this season but nonetheless Florentina need to continue to try to build and improve. Dragowski was unbelievable in this match it’s just unfortunate his teammates could not have contributed more because the Polish goalkeeper was asked to do everything and was able to deliver keeping a clean sheet.
Josip Ilicic vs Torino (3)
Josip Ilicic has had the best season of his entire career. He has transformed himself as a player since his days with Florentina. The thing about him is always been his consistency. He is a player who has the ability to perform when his team needs him the most and shows flashes of brilliance. Over his career the issue has been unable to sustain that overtime. At Atalanta has been a completely different type of player but has still struggled occasionally with his ability to be consistent. That doesn’t seem to be the case anymore. The team’s the best player duvan Zapata missed a significant amount of time due to injuries and hasn’t been able to recreate the historic season he had last year. This is largely because lack of playing time in the early part of the Season he did prove to be as decisive as the year before. This gave an opportunity for Josip Ilicic and Luis Muriel to take over as the team’s most dangerous offensive players. He has taken it by storm against Torino a team that didn’t really seem up for the challenge he absolutely terrorized them early and often bagging yet another hat-trick for the Slovenian Striker. He is having a season to remember he already has 14 goals this season and we’re only about halfway through. All the questions about his consistency and his ability to perform on a regular basis has been debunked by his performance. He has taken up the that role as he leads a very dangerous Atalanta Frontline that is scaring everyone. They are the League’s highest-scoring team yet again largely due to Josip Ilicic. This weekend he was nothing short of sensational as he is one of the performers of the week yet again. Were still halfway to the end of the season he has the potential to score over 20 goals this season for the first time in his career. All the questions about his inconsistency have been answered this season he is performing week in and week out at the highest level as his Atalanta team fight their way into European football after a 7-0 throbbing of Torino.
Radja Nainggolan vs Inter
Last season Radja Nainggolan moved from Roma to Inter Milan as he was the main attraction in the swap deal that included Nicolo Zaniolo that ultimately blew up in their face. However Inter Milan nearly missed out on the Champions League last season to their Rivals AC Milan. The reason they were able to hold on to that spot was because of Radja Nainggolan. The Belgian scored a late goal in the final match of the Season that solidified their place in the Champions League this season. You would think Inter Milan would be thankful for what he did despite scoring only six goals last season his goal got Inter Milan into the champions league for the second consecutive season. However Antonio Conte came in he was one of the first players out the door. They sent him on loan to Cagliari a place where he developed his career at the very beginning. This move was also made due to the fact that his wife has cancer Nonetheless it has proven to be a massive mistake yet again. Even though Inter Milan are in the title race and have a chance to win a trophy this season this was a catastrophic error. Radja in that Inter Milan team would be unbelievable. He has put together A really Sensational season so far he has had Cagliari knocking on the door of Europe. They have fallen off over the last couple weeks but got a fantastic Point against Inter Milan. Inter Milan had dropped the previous two games as Juventus starts to create separation. In this game Radja was absolutely sensational he scored a thunder strike from outside the box late in that match to settle the game. He may not have had ulterior motives but Inter Milan giving up on him so easily could have play a part in his in his performance he has been one of the best players in the league this season and this weekend was no different it wasn’t his best game but he’s certainly got revenge on a Inter Milan team that let him go. He came through when his team needed him to as they were able to earn a draw with title contenders Inter Milan. Even though Cagliari have not played at their best lately this was an important momentum shift in their season. Radja Nainggolan was the difference this weekend and it showed it’s not a surprise he lands on this list yet again.
DONKEY OF THE WEEK: Torino
It’s hard to even comprehend or understand what has gone on with Torino this season. Last year they were one of the surprises of all of Italian football nearly in nearly making the Europa League this season. They finished in the top half after a largely expecting to be a typical middle-of-the-road team. Last year partly why they were so effective was their defense. They had the best goalkeeper in the league in Sirigu last season and the backline perform admirably. There was a certain expectation on themselves to at least compete at a high level this season. They kept their entire defense and goalkeeper together this is a big reason why many speculated they could have a similar type of success as they had last season. It hasn’t been a disaster Torino kept all their important pieces together and all of a sudden they are on the verge of utter collapse. They have been steamrolled multiple time this season choked away massive leads and have been just flat-out outclassed on a regular basis. This weekend in particular has been especially embarrassing. The fact of the matter is Torino does have one of the best goalkeepers in Italian football despite how bad the backline is there usually able to stay in games because of their superior goalkeeping play. This weekend Atalanta absolutely annihilated them. In fairness Atalanta is a much better team from top to bottom but nonetheless Torino just didn’t show up for this game it seemed like a scoring clinic. Torino ended up losing this match 7-0. It is hard to say what the problem is or how to change this conceding 7 goals it’s just pathetic they are as inconsistent as any team in the league. They can go up against some of the best and get results but lay eggs against teams fighting for safety. There’s no way around it the way they have performed is unacceptable and if things don’t start changing there will be a change at manager. They were in this match for about five seconds before Atalanta started just blowing them away. After a performance like that they are the donkey of the week once again it has been a season of nightmares so far and it doesn’t look like things are improving.
Everything Roma 