Atalanta striker edges out Ronaldo as Serie A star man

Ciro Immobile may be the leading goalscorer in Europe, but his performances weren't enough to secure a place in the Serie A team of the month. The Lazio ace misses out to Juventus and Atalanta star strikers in the best XI from Italy's top tier in January... 

BRONZE - Ciro Immobile: Lazio (8.09) 

There is little Ciro Immobile can do wrong at the moment with the Italian leading the goalscorer charts in Europe with 25 goals to his name. Of those, six were scored in January as the Italy international bagged decisive goals in wins over Napoli and Brescia, and rattled in a hat-trick in Lazio's 5-1 thumping of Sampdoria. His six goals in January were the joint-second best return in Italy's top tier as Lazio maintained their flying form, picking up 10 of an avilable 12 points, with a 1-1 draw with rivals Roma the only blip on the record. Eight key passes was a solid return for the 29-year-old, who earned a WhoScored rating of 8.09 in Serie A last month. 

SILVER - Cristiano Ronaldo: Juventus (8.43) 

Pipped to top spot in the Serie A player ratings ranking in January, Cristiano Ronaldo showed arguably his best form following his move to Juventus 18 months ago. The Portuguese sensation was at his destructive best in the final third last month as he scored more goals (7) than any other Serie A player. Given Juventus scored just nine league goals last month, Ronaldo has hit form at just the right time. As one not afraid of chancing his luck, no player managed more shots than the 34-year-old (22) and it saw the striker earn a WhoScored rating of 8.43 last month. 

GOLD - Josip Ilicic: Atalanta (8.65) 

Only three times was a perfect 10 performance seen in Serie A in January. Josip Ilicic accounts for two of those, with Ronaldo earning the other perfect WhoScored 10 rating. Ilicic started 2020 with a bang, netting twice in Atalanta's 5-0 win over Parma, before ending January on a high as he secured the man of the match award in their 7-0 win in Torino, a game in which the 32-year-old bagged a hat-trick. All in all, Ilicic netted six times in January, one of which was a delightful long-range effort against Torino, to ensure a WhoScored rating of 8.65 in Serie A to earn the player of the month award and keep Immobile out of the best XI with the team of the month boasting a strike partnership of Ronaldo and Ilicic.