Serie A's 3 leading marksmen since the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo in Italy
Cristiano Ronaldo joined Juventus in the summer of 2018-19 after nine fruitful seasons with Spanish giants Real Madrid.
The all-time Champions League top-scorer made his mark in his first full season in Italy, scoring a hat-trick in the Round of 16 second leg against Atletico which helped Juventus overturn a 0-2 first-leg deficit en route to the quarterfinals. That made Ronaldo the oldest player to net a hat-trick in the competition, and helped him draw level with Lionel Messi for most Champions League hat-tricks.
In his first season in Serie A, Ronaldo scored 21 goals, finishing 5 goals adrift of Capocannoniere winner Fabio Quagliarella. The Portugal captain also became the first player to win league titles in England, Spain, and Italy.
The campaign saw Ronaldo equal Giuseppe Signori's record of scoring in the most number of consecutive away games in the Serie A (nine) as he scored in a 3-0 away win at Sassuolo. Ronaldo also notched up 20 or more league goals for a 10th consecutive season.
The Portuguese had a lukewarm start to the 2019-20 season but has since scored in nine consecutive games, equaling French striker David Trezeguet's 2005 record. He has now moved to 19 goals for the season, six adrift of Ciro Immobile.
On that note, let us have a look at the three most prolific marksmen in the Italian top-flight since Ronaldo's arrival in 2018-19:
#3 Fabio Quagliarella: 32 goals from 55 games
36-year-old Sampdoria striker Fabio Quagliarella scored 26 goals in his most prolific Serie A season in 2018-19 to become the oldest player to win the Capocannoniere.
However, Quagliarella has had a less than stellar start to the 2019-20 season, scoring only six times in 18 Serie A games as Sampdoria find themselves just above the relegation zone.
#2 Ciro Immobile: 40 goals from 57 games
Ciro Immobile scored 15 goals in 36 games of the 2018-19 season but struck a purple patch in 2019-20.
The Lazio striker equaled a 61-year-old scoring record by scoring his 25th of the ongoing campaign from just 21 games. Immobile's form has been instrumental in his club forging a record-run of 11 consecutive Serie A wins.
The 28-year-old Italian, who leads the Serie A scoring charts by six goals in 2019-20, has scored 40 goals from 57 games in the Italian top-flight since the start of the 2018-19 season.
#1 Cristiano Ronaldo: 40 goals from 50 games
Enjoying the most prolific spell of his Serie A scorer, Ronaldo's brace against Sampdoria on Matchday 22 of the ongoing 2019-20 season saw the Portugal captain equal David Trezeguet's Juventus record set in 2005.
Earlier in the season, Ronaldo became the first Portuguese player to score a Serie A hat-trick when he scored thrice against Cagliari. The first player in the top 5 football leagues in Europe to score 10 goals in 2020, Ronaldo has now scored 19 in the season - which is six shy of top-scorer Ciro Immobile.
Immobile, like Ronaldo, has also scored 40 Serie A goals since 2018-19. But the Portugal captain takes the top spot in this list as his goals have come in seven fewer games than the Lazio striker.
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