Opta breakdown: Fabio Quagliarella´s record-equalling goalscoring run in Serie A

Veteran Sampdoria striker Fabio Quagliarella’s bid to set a new record of scoring in 12 consecutive appearances within the same Serie A season ended in a 3-0 defeat at former club Napoli on Saturday.

Quagliarella equalled Gabriel Batistuta’s mark of 11 straight goalscoring outings when he netted the first of two penalties in last weekend’s 4-0 win over Udinese.

The 36-year-old’s exploits saw him recalled to Italy’s international set-up this week but all good things must come to an end.

Here, with the help of Opta data, we take a closer look at the evergreen frontman’s heroics.

143 – Fabio #Quagliarella has now scored 143 Serie A goals, overtaking Christian Vieri in the history of the Italian top-flight. Bomber.#SampdoriaUdinese pic.twitter.com/YCP3VdZLTq

— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) January 26, 2019

13 – The overall Serie A record also belongs to Batistuta, whose 11-game run was ended by Juventus in November 1994. However, ‘Batigol’ spent the 1993-94 season in Serie B after scoring in the final two matches of Fiorentina’s relegation campaign, meaning he converted in 13 successive top-flight games overall.

21 – Another Argentinian holds the single-season record across Europe’s major leagues. Lionel Messi netted in 21 matches between November 2012 and May 2013 as Barcelona romped to LaLiga glory.

11 – The last player to complete a streak comparable to Quagliarella’s in the top five leagues was Leicester City’s Jamie Vardy, whose 11-match goalscoring run – concluded after facing Manchester United in November 2015 – fuelled the Foxes’ unlikely title triumph.

19 – Quagliarella is closing in on his most prolific Serie A campaign. He has 16 goals in 21 outings, three shy of last term’s overall tally of 19.

143 – He is clear of the pack as the most prolific active footballer in Italy’s top flight with 143 goals. Quagliarella’s highest-scoring contemporaries are Mauro Icardi (119), Sergio Pellissier (112) and Marek Hamsik (100).

21 – Quagliarella sits alongside Marco Di Vaio in joint-21st in the list of Serie A’s top-scoring Italians of all time. Adriano Bassetto (149) is next in his sights.

Quagliarella’s scoring run
28/10/2018 – Milan 3 Sampdoria 2
04/11/2018 – Sampdoria 1 Torino 4
25/11/2018 – Genoa 1 Sampdoria 1
01/12/2018 – Sampdoria 4 Bologna 1 *
08/12/2018 – Lazio 2 Sampdoria 2
16/12/2018 – Sampdoria 2 Parma 0
22/12/2018 – Empoli 2 Sampdoria 4
26/12/2018 – Sampdoria 2 Chievo 0
29/12/2018 – Juventus 2 Sampdoria 1
20/01/2019 – Fiorentina 3 Sampdoria 3*
26/01/2019 – Sampdoria 4 Udinese 0 *

*Denotes games where Quagliarella scored twice