Ciro Immobile

Piola set the record in a nine-year stretch between 1934-1943, scoring 143 goals in 227 appearances.

After spending time with Juventus, Genoa, Torino, Borussia Dortmund and Sevilla, Immobile found a long-term home at Lazio in 2016.

Immobile scored his record-setting 144th goal in his 201st appearance, converting a match-winning penalty in Lazio's 1-0 win over Venezia to move up to fifth on the Serie A table.

The side against whom he has scored the most Serie A goals against for Lazio are Sampdoria, having netted 12 times in just 10 league meetings with I Blucerchiati.

Seventy-seven of his goals have come in the Stadio Olimpico, while he has netted eight times in both Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi and Stadio Luigi Ferraris.

Immobile has struck 21 goals in his first 24 games this season in Serie A, already surpassing his league tally for the 2020-21 campaign (20).

He still has a fair way to go to improve on his personal-best seasonal haul, however. He scored 36 in 37 games in 2019-20.

The 30-year-old's first-half strike in Saturday's 3-1 defeat was his 36th goal in 37 top-flight appearances during 2019-20.

That astonishing return secured Immobile the Capocannoniere as Serie A's top scorer, along with the coveted European Golden Shoe.

Here, with some help from Opta Paolo, we take a look at his special efforts.

Joining Serie A's elite

If Immobile had managed a brace at Stadio San Paolo, he would have boasted the outright best season in Serie A history.

As it is, his 36 goals equalled the best mark in a single campaign set by Gonzalo Higuain in his Napoli days in 2015-16.

Immobile is only the fifth Italian to hit the 30-goal mark in his native country's premier competition, following Giuseppe Meazza (1929-30), Felice Borel (1933-34), Antonio Angelillo (1958-59) and Luca Toni (2005-06).

Golden days

Toni's prolific 2005-06 with Fiorentina made him the first Italian to be crowned the leading marksman in Europe, with Roma great Francesco Totti following suit the next season.

Immobile becomes the third Italian on that list and the first winner from Serie A since Totti.

In the intervening period, 10 of the 13 Golden Shoes have found predictable homes, with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo winning six and four respectively.

Messi's Barcelona team-mate Luis Suarez has two, while the latter's countryman Diego Forlan came out on top thanks to a bountiful 2008-09 at Atletico Madrid.

Ronaldo's 2007-08 campaign at Manchester United and Suarez's 2013-14 for Liverpool marked the only two times the award had been outside LaLiga in between Totti and Immobile's triumphs.

Making history at Lazio

Immobile is the third player to pass 100 goals in Serie A for Lazio, with his tally now at 103.

Club greats Silvio Piola and Giuseppe Signori are the Biancocelesti's other centurions.

Piola scored 143 in Serie A, while Signori is now just four ahead of Immobile on 107.

All of Immobile's Serie A goals for Lazio have come under Simone Inzaghi, amounting to the biggest haul for any player under a single head coach during Italy's three-points-for-a-win era, which began in 1994-95.

Inzaghi is developing his leading forward's game in more than one aspect. Immobile scored and supplied at least one assist in six Serie A games in 2019-20 – more than any other campaign in his career.

He finished the season with nine assists to his name.

Italy has suffered heavily during the coronavirus pandemic that has swept the world, with over 10,000 recorded deaths so far in the country, and the government has suspended all domestic sport until at least April 3.

The break is likely to continue beyond that date but former Milan striker Inzaghi, now head coach of runaway Serie B leaders Benevento, has warned of the ramifications of scrapping the campaign.

"Talking about football is difficult," Inzaghi told Sky Sport Italia. "We have all taken a step back for our health, which is the highest priority.

"By the time everything ends, we want to start playing again - it would be the right thing. We all want to finish what we started eight months ago, and the championships must be finished.

"It would be the best solution to avoid misunderstandings and prevent someone from being damaged.

"We are ready to play in June, July and August: we want to end this championship, any other decision will penalise someone. We will go to the courts, some clubs will disappear, so football could risk losing two years, not two months."

Inzaghi has guided Benevento to 21 victories in 28 games so far this season, while brother Simone is enjoying a successful campaign in the top tier with Lazio.

The Biancoceleste are second in Serie A, just a point behind leaders Juventus, and Filippo was full of praise for both his brother and Ciro Immobile, Lazio's leading scorer.

"He is better than me in everything," said the Benevento boss. "I can only learn from Simone: he is a modern coach and seeing his Lazio side is a spectacle."

Asked to name a player similar to himself, Inzaghi added: "I don't like making comparisons, but I say that Immobile is the best Italian player.

"He always scores, always decisive. He is the centre-forward that I like best."

Lukaku and Immobile are two of the form front men in European football, and the duo have earned recognition following their latest goalscoring exploits.

Inter striker Lukaku grabbed both goals in a 2-0 away win at Udinese on Sunday.

And Immobile matched that haul as Lazio thrashed SPAL 5-1, the Italy international's brace taking his 2019-20 league tally to 25 already.

The duo are far from the only big names in this week's selection, however, with Roberto Firmino, Jadon Sancho and Hugo Lloris also among the new in-form cards.

Find the full squad below.

TEAM OF THE WEEK

GK: Hugo Lloris (Tottenham) - 89

CB:Matthijs de Ligt (Piemonte Calcio/Juventus) - 87

LB: Alex Telles (Porto) - 87

CB:Yerry Mina (Everton) - 84

CM: Daniel Parejo (Valencia) - 88

RM: Angel Di Maria (Paris Saint-Germain) - 88

CAM: Jadon Sancho (Borussia Dortmund) - 87

CM: Santi Cazorla (Villarreal) - 86

CF: Roberto Firmino (Liverpool) - 88

ST:Ciro Immobile (Lazio) - 90

ST: Romelu Lukaku (Inter) - 88

SUBSTITUTES

GK:Steve Mandanda (Marseille) - 83

CB:Kaan Ayhan (Fortuna Dusseldorf) - 81

RM:Robert Snodgrass (West Ham) - 81

ST:Francesco Caputo (Sassuolo) - 84

RW:Daniel Ginczek (Wolfsburg) - 82

ST:Kasper Dolberg (Nice) - 81

LW:Oussama Idrissi (AZ) - 81

RESERVES

CM:Alexandru Maxim (Gaziantep) - 79

CM: Alexandru Cicaldau (Universitatea Craiova) - 78

LM: Ahmet Engin (Duisburg) - 76

LM: Nathan Thomas (Carlisle United) - 74

LW: Said Benrahma (Brentford) - 80

Playing ahead of Juve on Tuesday, Lazio came from behind to defeat Torino and move – temporarily at least – to within a point of Maurizio Sarri's side

Immobile was key to their result, scoring his 29th league goal of the campaign in the 48th minute to cancel out Andrea Belotti's early opener.

Immobile's low strike from the left side of the area into the bottom-right corner saw him equal a club record he set in 2017-18.

The only player to have scored more goals after 29 games in a Serie A season was Antonio Angelillo with 31 in 1958-59.

Italy international Immobile, playing against his former club, was not done there, however, and teed up Marco Parolo to secure the points and keep Lazio right on Juve's heels.

The 29-year-old Italy international scored twice in the 5-1 thrashing of SPAL last Sunday to take his tally to 25 Serie A goals for the season.

Immobile has accounted for almost half of Lazio's 52 league goals in 2019-20 and leads the race for the European Golden Shoe ahead of Bayern Munich star Robert Lewandowski and RB Leipzig's Timo Werner.

He is six goals clear of Cristiano Ronaldo at the top of the Serie A scoring charts and is the first player since former Inter, Roma and Milan attacker Antonio Valentin Angelillo back in 1959 to reach 25 goals in the first 21 league games of the season in Italy's top flight.

Such has been Immobile's ruthless form that his representative, Alessandro Moggi, is in no doubt as to how he compares to the other leading forwards in the continent.

"I think he's the best striker in Europe, not just Italy," he said to Tuttomercatoweb.

Immobile's goals have propelled Lazio into a surprise Scudetto challenge.

Simone Inzaghi's men, who have lost just twice all season, will move second in the table and to within two points of leaders Juventus if they beat Hellas Verona on Wednesday.

Moggi thinks the fact Lazio and Inter are challenging Juve's dominance this season shows Serie A is on track to become Europe's elite league once more.

"It's certainly not a coincidence. It's the result of all three teams' work," he said of seeing three sides scrapping for the top of the table.

"I have to emphasise the work of Lazio, especially sporting director [Igli] Tare, who has managed to make his team competitive and even fight for the title with fewer resources.

"Serie A has got back to spending. It's returned to a league of arrivals, not only departures. We can get back to the glories of the past."

It was by no means plain-sailing for Lazio as Napoli came to Stadio Olimpico, as the visitors managed to frustrate Inzaghi's men for a long time.

But Napoli goalkeeper David Ospina was robbed by Ciro Immobile in the 82nd minute after failing to release the ball, and the Italy striker subsequently converted for his 20th Serie A goal of the season from the tight angle.

That sealed Lazio a 10th league win in a row, setting a new club record after equalling the previous one in a 2-1 victory at Brescia last weekend.

Lazio remain within touching distance of the top two, though Inzaghi is not putting pressure on his team for a title push.

When asked if Lazio are missing anything, Inzaghi told Sky Sport Italia: "A little, I have to be honest. 

"It will take a bit of luck that has been missing in the past few years. We have come close to our objectives before and missed something right at the end, like missing out on the Champions League in the last game.

"I also must be good at involving everyone. I need everyone, we hope everyone is at 100 per cent.

"The club is vigilant and the conversations [about transfers] are daily. We will see if there will be an opportunity to improve, and in that situation we could do something, but these guys have given a lot and January is never easy."

Lazio's winning run began with a 2-1 win at Fiorentina on October 27 and has included wins over Milan, Torino and Juventus, among others.

After coming first in the previous race around the Albert Park circuit, pole-sitter Leclerc took the chequered flag for FDA Hublot Esports Team in the Chinese Virtual Grand Prix in impressive fashion.

Alexander Albon was unable to find a way past the Monegasque and had to settle for second after 28 laps, with Renault's Guanyu Zhou rounding out the top three.

Real Madrid star Courtois may have finished in 16th but he proved to be a great team-mate when, on lap nine, he let Albon past him but refused to allow Leclerc to follow.

Albon said of Courtois: "He's so fast. Thibaut's been driving with us quite a bit in practice sessions and when I first started testing he was quicker than me and I was getting worried about my job.

"He even did team tactics. He held up Charles for a couple of corners, so it was good fun!"

With main rivals Switzerland not in action on Wednesday, Roberto Mancini's side capitalised to take a three-point lead at the top of Group C.

Sensi's 47th-minute effort put them ahead, with Immobile, who had squandered several gilt-edged chances, scoring a penalty with the final kick of the game.

Immobile's previous profligacy would have proved costly if not for Gianluigi Donnarumma, Italy's goalkeeper producing a fantastic save from Tautvydas Eliosius to set the stage for the Lazio forward to make amends from the spot late on.

The result, which came courtesy of a Locatelli brace and a third goal added by Ciro Immobile, confirmed Italy's place in the knockout stage of Euro 2020 after just two games played.

Mancini's men dominated the contest at Stadio Olimpico and were rewarded with a second consecutive 3-0 victory, having beaten Turkey by the same scoreline in their opening Group A match.

Mancini hailed his side's performance, telling reporters: "Switzerland are a strong side. We knew it would be a tough game and it was.

"We created several chances and we deserved the victory. We were struggling in the opening minutes, but then we pressed them high and forced them to make mistakes.

"The lads did really well. It wasn't easy; it was their second game in five days and it's so hot."

He picked out his side's opening goal for special praise, having seen Locatelli start the move in midfield before latching onto Berardi's cross to score from close range.

"This is exactly what the lads have to do, what I'm always asking them to do," said Mancini.

"Always believe that it can be the right chance, as Locatelli did by following the action after his pass to Berardi in midfield."

Mancini's opposite number Vladimir Petkovic faces an uphill struggle to progress from Group A, having taken one point from their games against Wales and Italy.

Switzerland face Turkey in Baku in their final group game, and Petkovic said they must remain committed to their task.

"Many things didn't work for us tonight, and plenty worked for Italy. The truth lies in the middle," he said. 

"Congratulations to Italy – they play great football, and have for some time.

"Everyone deserves to be disappointed tonight, but tomorrow from the first training session we move on. I spoke to the team and told them there's a match left, and three points could get us to the next round."

Italy made it three wins from three to start their World Cup 2022 qualification campaign by seeing off Lithuania by the now familiar scoreline of 2-0. 

Goals from Stefano Sensi and Ciro Immobile bookended the second half on Wednesday, as Italy took a three-point lead in Group C.

The Azzurri have won their last five matches 2-0, and are unbeaten in 25 games under Mancini, which brings him level with Marcelo Lippi's best haul – only Vittorio Pozzo (30) has managed a better such streak.

Lippi guided Italy to a 2006 World Cup success, and Mancini did not shy away from wanting to emulate one of his predecessors.

"I'm happy we are top of the group, it's pleasing, but records are standalone issues compared to real results," he told reporters.

"I hope to match Lippi at the World Cup, maybe in December 2022."

With three qualifying wins under their belt, Italy's focus will now switch to the upcoming Euros, rearranged from last year.

Mancini picked a 38-man squad for this latest round of internationals, and suggested it would be prudent for UEFA to accommodate larger squads than the usual 23 at this year's tournament. 

"I think it could be a good idea to be able to name bigger squads for Euro 2020," Mancini said.

"I think it could be the right thing to do. The problem would above all be if a couple of players had problems in the tournament, as it's difficult to call them back after that, when players are on vacation."

Italy recorded 29 shots against Lithuania, with 11 of them on target – the excellent Tomas Svedkauskas pulling off nine saves.

Immobile, who scored from the spot with the last kick of the game, was particularly wasteful, sending a close-range header wide after seeing two efforts saved by Svedkauskas.

The 31-year-old Lazio forward has scored eight goals in World Cup qualifiers, the joint-third most in Italy's history – along with Daniele De Rossi – and Mancini believes fatigue played a big part in Immobile's profligate display.

"Ciro gave everything he could today," Mancini added. "The players aren't in the best shape right now, they are lacking sharpness, but the goals will come more consistently for him."

The 30-year-old's first-half strike in Saturday's 3-1 defeat was his 36th goal in 37 top-flight appearances during 2019-20.

That astonishing return secured Immobile the Capocannoniere as Serie A's top scorer, along with the coveted European Golden Shoe.

Here, with some help from Opta Paolo, we take a look at his special efforts.

Joining Serie A's elite

If Immobile had managed a brace at Stadio San Paolo, he would have boasted the outright best season in Serie A history.

As it is, his 36 goals equalled the best mark in a single campaign set by Gonzalo Higuain in his Napoli days in 2015-16.

Immobile is only the fifth Italian to hit the 30-goal mark in his native country's premier competition, following Giuseppe Meazza (1929-30), Felice Borel (1933-34), Antonio Angelillo (1958-59) and Luca Toni (2005-06).

Golden days

Toni's prolific 2005-06 with Fiorentina made him the first Italian to be crowned the leading marksman in Europe, with Roma great Francesco Totti following suit the next season.

Immobile becomes the third Italian on that list and the first winner from Serie A since Totti.

In the intervening period, 10 of the 13 Golden Boots have found predictable homes, with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo winning six and four respectively.

Messi's Barcelona team-mate Luis Suarez has two, while the latter's countryman Diego Forlan came out on top thanks to a bountiful 2008-09 at Atletico Madrid.

Ronaldo's 2007-08 campaign at Manchester United and Suarez's 2013-14 for Liverpool marked the only two times the award had been outside LaLiga in between Totti and Immobile's triumphs.

Making history at Lazio

Immobile is the third player to pass 100 goals in Serie A for Lazio, with his tally now at 103.

Club greats Silvio Piola and Giuseppe Signori are the Biancocelesti's other centurions.

Piola scored 143 in Serie A, while Signori is now just four ahead of Immobile on 107.

All of Immobile's Serie A goals for Lazio have come under Simone Inzaghi, amounting to the biggest haul for any player under a single head coach during Italy's three-points-for-a-win era, which began in 1994-95.

Inzaghi is developing his leading forward's game in more than one aspect. Immobile scored and supplied at least one assist in six Serie A games in 2019-20 – more than any other campaign in his career.

He finished the season with nine assists to his name.

The 35-year-old scored in each half as Juve cruised to a victory that moved them level on points with Inter and one adrift of leaders Milan, both of whom play their game in hand on Sunday.

Ronaldo equalled former Juventus forward Omar Sivori's goal haul from 1961 - the joint-third most in a single year behind Gunnar Nordahl (36 in 1950) and Felice Borel (41 in 1933).

He could move further up the list as Juventus have one more league match to play in 2020 - a home meeting with Fiorentina on Tuesday.

Ronaldo's 33 goals have come from 174 attempts - at least 67 more than any other player - giving him a shot conversion rate of 27.73, which compares to 28.26 for Ciro Immobile, who is the next highest scorer this year in Serie A with 26 for Lazio.

The Portugal international has scored 27 with his stronger right foot, four with his left and two via his head.

Robert Lewandowski, named The Best FIFA Men's Player of the Year on Thursday, has 32 Bundesliga goals for Bayern Munich since January 1, while Barcelona star Lionel Messi has just 18 in LaLiga in the same timeframe.

Although Juve finished 2019-20 just a point ahead of second-placed Inter, they had wrapped up the title with two games to go – beating Sampdoria 2-0 on July 26.

Cristiano Ronaldo was unsurprisingly key, finishing as his team's top scorer, but for much of the season there were a few sides that looked like they might push Juve all the way.

Inter, Atalanta and Lazio all had their moments where they were able to dream and they each had individuals who impressed.

Following the conclusion on the campaign on Sunday, we teamed up with Opta to outline the Serie A Team of the Season.

OPTA'S SERIE A TEAM OF THE SEASON

GK: Wojciech Szczesny, Juventus

Poland international Szczesny has come a long way since struggling in the latter part of his Arsenal career. He was once again a dependable option between the posts, remaining first choice despite the return of Gianluigi Buffon. He ended the season with a 74.4 per cent save success rate, the best of the Serie A goalkeepers to have played 20 or more times.

RB: Juan Cuadrado, Juventus

Hardly the most convincing of defenders, granted, but Cuadrado boasts the versatility to play in a few roles down the right flank and he became an important figure for Maurizio Sarri – his 28 Serie A starts is just one fewer than he managed in the previous two seasons combined. The Colombian was certainly influential, too, as he was involved in more open-play sequences that ended with a shot made by someone else (132) than any other player this term. He also chipped in with two goals and five assists.

CB: Stefan de Vrij, Inter

No team conceded fewer goals in Serie A this season than an Inter side that Antonio Conte ensured was well-drilled. Netherlands centre-back De Vrij played a major role in that as he featured 34 times – though his efforts were not notable just for his defensive effectiveness. The former Feyenoord man scored three goals and also set up another three, making him the most productive centre-back in the league in this regard.

CB: Francesco Acerbi, Lazio

After Inter, the next-best defensive unit in Serie A was Lazio, who let in 42 (six more than Conte's men). Acerbi missed just two games all season and his form at the start of the season also saw him make three starts for Italy. The 32-year-old has proven himself to be one of Serie A's best stoppers, as evidenced by the fact he was dribbled past just six times this term. No other outfield player with more than 35 appearances did better than that.

LB: Theo Hernandez, Milan

Former France youth international Hernandez has rediscovered the early promise he showed during a fine loan spell at Deportivo Alaves in 2016-17. While question marks remain over his defensive abilities, the Atletico Madrid youth product has excited with his attacking tendencies in 2019-20. No defender completed more dribbles (57) than him, while he also had a hand in nine goals (six goals, three assists).

CM: Luis Alberto, Lazio

Since leaving Liverpool for Rome in 2016, Luis Alberto has arguably developed into one of the world's best creative midfielders. The Spain international sees passes few others can and he has put that to particularly good use in 2019-20, with his 106 chances created being a Serie A high. Similarly, his 15 assists was second only to Alejandro Gomez (16), as he helped Simone Inzaghi's men mount a title challenge. Often linked with a return home to Sevilla, Lazio will surely be doing everything they can to keep Luis Alberto at Stadio Olimpico.

CM: Fabian Ruiz, Napoli

The other half of a Seville-centric midfield, Real Betis product Fabian probably hasn't impressed quite as much as he did in 2018-19, but he has nevertheless continued to show plenty of promise. Still only 24, Fabian attempted the most passes (2,331) of any player in the league this season, while he had a hand in nine goals, the same amount as in the previous campaign.

AM: Alejandro Gomez, Atalanta

Like a fine wine, 'Papu' Gomez just seems to get better with age. Now 32, the Argentinian has enjoyed a fantastic season for the often-exhilarating Atalanta. He scored seven goals for a second successive season, but his haul of 16 assists is five more than 2018-19. That figure is the highest since Opta records began in 2004-05.

FWD: Paulo Dybala, Juventus

The Sarri-Juventus combination continues to puzzle many, but if there's one thing he has got right, it's helping Dybala get back to something resembling his best. He had been strongly linked with a move away last year, but Dybala was involved in 17 Serie A goals this term (11 goals, six assists) and managed to coexist with Ronaldo more effectively. Of his 11 strikes, eight (73 per cent) were the opening goals of matches, the biggest quantity among players with 10 or more.

FWD: Cristiano Ronaldo, Juventus

Considering there being murmurs of discontent between himself and Sarri, and suggestions the coach hasn't been able to get the best out of the Portugal great, Ronaldo's had a pretty effective year. With 31 league goals, it's been his best goal-scoring campaign domestically since getting 35 with Real Madrid in 2015-16, while his goals have secured 24 points, more than any other player.

FWD: Ciro Immobile, Lazio

What a season Immobile has had. With 36 league goals, the Italy international equalled Gonzalo Higuain's record for a single campaign, while that haul also won him the coveted European Golden Shoe. On top of that, his record of nine assists was bettered by only Gomez, Luis Alberto and Domenico Berardi. If he can keep it up, Lazio will surely fancy themselves of challenging Juve again next term.