Inter Milan's dominance in Serie A continues: Simone Inzaghi's boys had the better of Lecce and thus continue their positive streak. Somehow Juventus managed to keep pace this weekend: albeit at the last gasp winning at home against Frosinone. The star of Paulo Dybala shines: his hat-trick allows Roma to continue their pursuit of fourth place. Let's see what happened this Serie A weekend...
PLAYER OF THE WEEK - PAULO DYBALA
The Daniele De Rossi cure is also benefiting the Argentine. So many had associated Dybala's Romanista experience with Jose Mourinho's presence, but since De Rossi's arrival the Argentine has not only kept the same high level of performance, if possible he has also grown in condition.
Dybala was the undisputed man of the match in the win against Torino: three goals for him, one on a penalty, a pearl from outside the box and another piece of magic in combination with Romelu Lukaku.
De Rossi is managing him, sparing him unnecessary fatigue and allowing him to balance his energies. Thus, La Joya is playing at a very high level. Against Torino it was perhaps his best performance in a Roma jersey, at least for continuity, since it is impossible to forget his performances against Inter, Feyenoord and so on.
The Giallorossi won 3-2 against Toro, staying in touch for a Champions League spot, and much of the credit goes to Dybala, who put in a "Totti-like" performance. With a Paulo like this, nothing is impossible.
TEAM OF THE WEEK - FIORENTINA
Reading the final scoreline, one does not quite understand Fiorentina's dominance in the match against Lazio. The match ended 2-1, but Vincenzo Italiano's boys dominated far and wide taking the post several times (4 times + 1, but in the fifth case the ball went in) and going close to the goal so many times.
Only chance and luck kept Lazio alive, with Maurizio Sarri decidedly disappointed at the end of the game with his team's performance. The former Chelsea and Napoli coach was very critical of his guys' attitude, but the truth is that Fiorentina dominated and Lazio never had a chance.
An important victory for the Viola, who thus rise to seventh place, 3 points behind Daniele De Rossi's Roma. A performance to remember for Fiorentina, who won 2-1 but could have easily won 5-1.
COACH OF THE WEEK - THIAGO MOTTA
Bologna are unstoppable. 2-0 against Verona, solitary fourth place and a city in raptures. Thiago Motta's team plays well, wins and entertains its public: it can't get any better than this.
Many skeptics at the beginning of the year kept saying "In the long run, Bologna will drop in performance and finish eighth or ninth", but it's March and Josh Zirkzee and co. are alone in fourth place.
Of course then anything can happen, Roma, Atalanta, Fiorentina and Lazio are all better equipped than Bologna, so the ranking will have to be reviewed in April, but Bologna is currently one of the best teams in the league and facing them is difficult for everyone.
On Sunday Motta and his team will take on Atalanta, and that match will say so much about the race for a Champions League spot. Kudos must be renewed to Thiago Motta, however, because he is doing a job that will be talked about many years from now, in Bologna and beyond.
TEAM PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK - INTER MILAN
And who's stopping them anymore? Inter are unstoppable. Even Lecce fell victim to the fury of the Nerazzurri, who despite 7 lineup changes (yes, you read that right, 7 out of 11 compared to the last match) won without any difficulty at home.
Of course, Lautaro Martinez led the team: the Argentine is unstoppable and with Sunday's two goals he has reached 22 in the league alone, in 26 games. These are incredible numbers, worthy of a top player. Inter can always count on him, and this is the most important quality for a captain and a leader.
The standings now tell us that for Inter the Scudetto is just a step away, currently 9 points ahead of second-placed Juventus. We just have to take our hats off to the work of Simone Inzaghi, his Inter is practically flawless.
