Italian Serie A Team of the Week
The midweek matches threw up a few surprises as a vintage Inter Milan returned, Lazio were shocked by relegation candidates Novara and
AC Milan's title hopes faded despite a narrow 1-0 win over Genoa as Juventus maintained their lead with a 1-0 win over Cesena.
Inter Milan's unlikely quest for Champions League football next season received a huge boost after a comprehensive 3-1 win over Udinese, bringing the San Siro side level on points with Udinese and three points behind Lazio, who suffered a shock 2-1 defeat to Novara.
Napoli remained two points in front of Inter and Udinese after defeating Lecce 2-0, pulling away from Roma, whose 2-1 defeat to Fiorentina meant an end to their European football hopes.
We go with a 3-5-2 formation this week.
GK: Julio Cesar (Inter Milan)
Inter Milan took a 3-1 lead into the halftime break but Udinese were the dominant side after the restart. The Nerrazzuri have Cesar to thank for keeping Udinese's two Antonios - Floro Flores and Di Natale - at bay and kept Inter's European hopes alive.
CB: Hugo Campagnaro (Napoli)
Campagnaro showed top-class man-marking to keep Lecce's dangerous frontman Luis Muriel quiet with a fine display in Napoli's easy 2-0 win over a recently-resurgent Lecce.
The win means that Napoli are still in the hunt for a return to the Champions League football next season.
CB: Andreas Granqvist (Genoa)
AC Milan handed Genoa a 1-0 defeat but the Rossoneri were pushed to their limits to eke a goal by the Genoa defense.
Granqvist made several crucial interceptions while dominating the aerial battles throughout the match and topped it off with goal-line clearance to deny Stephane El Shaarawy.
CB: Michele Canini (Cagliari)
Cagliari came away with a surprisingly easy 3-0 win over Catania and while the strikers the plaudits up front, Canini was excellent in marshalling the defence.
The vital win put Cagliari six points clear of the relegation zone with four games to play, easing worries of a drop this season.
CM: Gokhan Inler (Napoli)
Inler had a vital hand in his side's win over Lecce, holding the fort in midfield to allow hismore illustrious team mates to flow forward in attack. More importantly, Inler proved to be quite the provider, setting up both Edinson Cavani and Marek Hamsik's goal to seal the win for his side.
CM: Wesley Sneijder (Inter Milan)
It's a rare occasion to see Inter Milan ease to victory this season but the Nerrazzuri that turned up against Udinese was the one of old which established the San Siro side as one of Europe's most dangerous.
Sniejder was everywhere for Inter in midfield, linking up play with grace and chasing down passes with relish. His two-goal contribution was vital in the 3-1 win, where his second was a delightful lob over Samir Handanovic to seal the game for his side.
RAM: Victor Ibarbo (Cagliari)
Cagliari were finding Catania a tough nut to crack and looked to be heading for a narrow 1-0 win when Ibarbo was sent on in the 73rd minute.
The Colombian made an impact five minutes later, sending in a low cross for Mauricio Pinilla to finish and ended the game with a storming run to score an excellent solo goal with the last kick of the game.
CAM: Kevin-Prince Boateng (AC Milan)
Only recently returned from injury, Boateng proved to be the extra edge that Milan needed to defeat a stubborn Genoa. The Ghanaian took over the trequartista role and added more attacking momentum for his side. The pressure ultimate paid off after Boateng's shot from a narrow angle scored and gifted the Rossoneri a 1-0 win.
LAM: Andrea Lazzari (Fiorentina)
Lazzari was Fiorentina's hero as they pulled off an unlikely 2-1 victory over Roma with an assist in the opening minutes and a goal in the closing minutes. The 27-year-old sent in a cross that Stefan Jovetic glanced in to give his side the lead and he was there to put away Adem Ljajic's saved shot.
ST: Sebastian Giovinco (Parma)
Giovinco continued to make a very good case to justify his worth in Parma's comeback 2-1 win over Palermo.
‘Il Formica Atomica' was the provider for both of his side's goal. His pinpoint cross left Stefano Okaka Chuka the simplest header on the goal line to score while Biabiany was given ample space and time to fire the second goal into the top corner.
ST: Giuseppe Mascara (Novara)
Relegation-embattled Novara's survival hopes remained after a shock 2-1 win over Lazio after Mascara's winner.
Brought on for an ineffective Takayuki Morimoto in the 57th minute, Mascara led the counter attack for Novara well and scored the all-important winner with an unstoppable freekick which ricocheted off the post, leaving Federico Marchetti no chance at all.