The big-hitters in Serie A are all finally starting to find their feet after indifferent starts to the campaign. Juventus have won their first eight games but the race to finish as the best of the rest is alive and kicking.
Napoli currently occupy second spot but face competition from Inter, Lazio and Roma heading into the second international break of the season. AC Milan are unbeaten in six games but need to start turning draws into wins to challenge further up the table.
Gennaro Gattuso’s side did exactly that on Sunday, beating Chievo 3-1 at home to claim just their third win of the campaign. The Serie A giants have flattered to deceive so far this season but Suso has been in immense form throughout.
The Spaniard registered a hat-trick of assists at the weekend, becoming the first Serie A player to do so this season. Suso has now played a direct hand in eight goals in seven league games and is the highest WhoScored rated player (8.10) in Italy’s top-tier.
Suso registered eight key passes in total against Chievo this weekend, while drawing four fouls. He finished with a WhoScored rating of 9.05, which was the highest of any Serie A player this weekend.
Cagliari’s Lucas Castro didn’t have quite the same impact as Suso, but the 29-year-old midfielder did provide two assists in a 2-0 win over Bologna on Saturday.
Castro created three further goalscoring opportunities for Cagliari and also completed two dribbles to help his side come out on top in a huge relegation six-pointer. He garnered a WhoScored rating of 8.85 in the process.
Sampdoria are another side laying down an early challenge for a top-four finish after securing an impressive 1-0 win away to Atalanta on Sunday. Centre-back Lorenzo Tonelli decided the match with a winner 14 minutes from time, rounding off the top three highest WhoScored rated players from gameweek eight (8.69).
The 28-year-old made eight clearances and won four tackles and interceptions combined to help Marco Giampaolo’s side keep their second clean sheet in their last three league outings.
While the aforementioned trio enter the international break full of confidence, the same cannot be said for Manuel Locatelli, who finished the weekend’s action as the lowest WhoScored rated player (5.08). Sassuolo followed up their 4-1 defeat to Milan with a 2-0 loss away to Napoli on Sunday.
Locatelli was only on the pitch for 45 minutes before being hauled off at half-time. The 20-year-old central midfielder failed to make a tackle or an interception and committed an error that directly led to Napoli’s second-minute opener.
