Serie A 2023-24 top scorers: Tracking the Italian goalscoring race

Tracking all of the top scorers in Serie A during the 2023-24 season

Can Victor Osimhen make it back-to-back scoring titles in Serie A, or can someone else take the prize away from the Napoli star?

That’s the big question in 2023-24, after Osimhen scored 26 league goals last season to help his side win its first Serie A title in 33 years.

Inter’s Lautaro Martínez finished second last year and figures to be among the challengers again this time around.

Here is an updated list of the top scorers in Serie A for the 2023-24 season.

All stats updated as of March 17

Pulisic scores in fourth straight, breaks personal goal record with Verona finish

Pulisic is in the form of his life this season for AC Milan, bagging his 12th goal of the campaign on Sunday

In front of goal, things have never been better for Christian Pulisic.

The U.S. men’s national team attacker scored his 12th goal of the season for AC Milan, getting on the scoresheet for the fourth straight match as the Rossoneri defeated Hellas Verona 3-1.

Pulisic has been on a superb run over the past month, posting five goals and two assists in Milan’s last seven matches, and has drawn three red cards for opposing players to boot.

Sunday’s strike at the Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi might have been the easiest goal of the bunch. Noah Okafor did most of the heavy lifting on what would eventually be the match-winner, stripping Verona’s Paweł Dawidowicz near midfield in the 50th minute.

The Switzerland forward would sprint away and go for goal himself only for Lorenzo Montipò to make a save at the near post.

Unfortunately for the Verona goalkeeper, the player to win the race for the rebound was Pulisic, who calmly tapped the loose ball into the empty net.

The tally takes Pulisic up to 12 goals and eight assists in all competitions, following up on goals against Empoli and Slavia Prague, who saw the USMNT star get on the scoresheet in both legs of a Europa League last-16 tie. Per Opta, no other American in a top-five league has scored in four straight games since at least 2010.

Watch Pulisic score his 12th of the season

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Juventus took McKennie’s locker and parking spot away last summer, Berhalter says

Juventus wanted the USMNT midfielder out, but he worked his way back into the club’s good graces

Juventus really seemed to want Weston McKennie out last summer.

After the midfielder returned from an ill-fated loan at Leeds, he got a rather frosty welcome back to the Serie A giants.

Juventus reportedly told McKennie that he wasn’t in the club’s plans for the 2023-24 season. The American midfielder himself has said “I came back and I felt like nobody really cared.”

But that level of dismissal went one step further apparently. According to U.S. men’s national team head coach Gregg Berhalter, McKennie didn’t even have a place to park or change in Turin when he arrived for preseason.

“Weston was in a situation where he went back to Juventus after the summer and he didn’t have a locker and he didn’t have a parking spot,” Berhalter said on a conference call Wednesday after naming his Nations League roster.

But as we all know now, things turned around quickly for McKennie. First he earned his way into manager Max Allegri’s plans for the season, then he became a regular starter. Now, as the season enters its final months, McKennie is one of the first names on the teamsheet and reportedly nearing a contract extension.

Berhalter was full of praise for the 25-year-old, who is now second in the Serie A assist charts after a two-assist performance over the weekend.

“Most players would say ‘OK, I’m done. I’m leaving this club. It’s not for me,'” Berhalter said.

“And Weston said, ‘I’m going to dig and I’m going to prove that I belong.’ And he’s done not only that, but he’s proven to be one of the best players of Juventus this year and one of the top midfielders in all Serie A.

“So it shows his mentality, shows his growth as a person. And it shows that he’s able to take these obstacles and continue on and keep performing. And I think that’s a mark of a really good player.”

McKennie and Juventus have one more game before the international break, as they face Genoa on Sunday. The midfielder will then travel to Texas to meet up with his USMNT teammates ahead of a Nations League semifinal against Jamaica on Thursday.

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Pulisic strikes again as Milan beats Lazio 2-0

Pulisic was in top form as the Rossoneri picked up three points in a tough Serie A clash

Christian Pulisic is really embracing la dolce vita.

The U.S. men’s national team star opened the scoring for AC Milan in a 2-0 win over Lazio, capping off a superb performance for himself by striking his side’s opening goal on the half-volley.

After an uneventful first half that was only really punctuated by an injury for Ruben Loftus-Cheek — Yunus Musah entered in the England midfielder’s stead in the 29th minute — Milan began pressing more aggressively, eventually setting the stage for Pulisic to give his side the lead on the hour mark.

With Olivier Giroud occupying multiple defenders amid some slick one-touch passing, Pulisic ghosted in towards the penalty spot to fire Rafael Leão’s clipped cross past Ivan Provedel.

The goal is Pulisic’s third in eight appearances since making a €22 million summer move to Serie A. It also follows up the Hershey, Pa. native’s assist mid-week, when Pulisic set Loftus-Cheek up for Milan’s final goal in a 3-1 victory over Cagliari.

14 minutes after opening the scoring on Saturday, Pulisic set Musah up for what would have been a magical second. Unfortunately for the Rossoneri, Musah’s spinning volley was denied brilliantly by Ivan Provedel. Noah Okafor would end up tacking on a late second to seal the win for Stefano Pioli’s side.

The victory moved Milan top of the Serie A table for a few hours, only for city rivals Inter to vault back ahead with a rout of Salernitana later on Saturday.

“From the first half we put a lot of pressure on them, we pushed hard and the goal was only a matter of time,” Pulisic told DAZN after the match. “We finally scored it, from then on it was a great performance.”

Pulisic added that Milan must “take it one game at a time” to have a shot at staying atop the table by season’s end. “If we do this we have a good chance of winning. Today went well, we’re already thinking about the next game.”

Watch Pulisic’s strike for Milan in Lazio win

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AC Milan vs. Lazio: How to watch Serie A clash

Milan is looking to keep pace in Serie A, while Lazio needs points to turn its season around

Two of Serie A’s best teams from last season meet on Saturday, with AC Milan hosting Lazio at the San Siro.

Both clubs finished their 2022-23 campaigns in the Champions League places in Italy, but have started out this season going in different directions. Milan, having added U.S. men’s national team stars Christian Pulisic and Yunus Musah, will take the field tied for first with city rivals Inter, trailing only on goal difference.

Still, things have not been entirely positive for the Rossoneri. While Stefano Pioli’s side has won its last two matches, there is still a sense of nerviness around the club after a heavy loss to Inter was followed by an aggravating home draw with Newcastle in the Champions League.

Lazio, meanwhile, should be feeling some urgency. The Rome-based club has lost three of its six matches in Serie A this term, and sits a disappointing 12th in the standings. Goals have been hard to come by: Lazio has just seven goals in the league this season.

Here is everything you need to know to watch Milan battle Lazio.

How to watch AC Milan vs. Lazio

When: Saturday, September 30

Time: 12:00 p.m. ET

Where: San Siro

Channel/streaming: Paramount+

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AC Milan manager Pioli: Musah is a complete player

“Wherever I use him, he will be important for the team”

AC Milan head coach Stefano Pioli has praised Yunus Musah’s versatility, saying the U.S. national team midfielder is a “complete player.”

Musah has begun to emerge as an important squad player for Milan after his offseason arrival from Valencia, making five total appearances for the club so far this season.

The 20-year-old has played multiple roles for the Rossoneri, starting as a wide player against Hellas Verona last weekend before coming off the bench at Cagliari in midweek and playing in defensive midfield.

Ahead of Saturday’s game against Lazio, where Musah could make his second start of the season, Pioli praised the USMNT man, saying he could play all three midfield roles in his 4-3-3 formation.

“Musah can play in all three positions,” Pioli said. “He has different characteristics from [Rade] Krunić and [Yacine] Adli, and he is able to penetrate when he plays further forward.

“He has qualities that we will need a lot; he is a complete player, and wherever I use him, he will be important for the team.”

Though he typically operates in a 4-3-3, Pioli said that he was considering moving to a 4-2-3-1 formation for the match against Lazio.

“I am considering it because [Christian] Pulisic is in good shape and in midfield, we have five players for six positions,” Pioli said. “Plus, I like [Ruben] Loftus-Cheek as a central midfielder; these are things that need a bit of testing.

“At the moment, we are working on other solutions, but 4-2-3-1 during the game is an option.”

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Musah wonders if getting punched in the head is worth a red card

This sure looked like a red card, but it wasn’t even reviewed by VAR

Like most people who saw the replay, Yunus Musah is wondering how Nahitan Nández could simply punch him in the head and get away with it.

Late in AC Milan’s 3-1 win at Cagliari on Wednesday, Musah appeared to have a pretty clear red card shout when the Uruguay international lashed out in frustration, punching the Milan midfielder in the back of the head and following through.

Despite the Cagliari captain’s clear violation, the referee didn’t spot it and VAR didn’t intervene either. Nández could still potentially face punishment if Serie A chooses to review the incident.

Musah played the final half hour of Milan’s win, which took them level on points atop the Serie A table with city rivals Inter. Christian Pulisic started and turned in a strong performance, playing a major part in Milan’s opener before assisting Ruben Loftus-Cheek for the club’s third.

In a since-deleted post on his Instagram story, Musah offered his take on the incident. The 20-year-old invited his followers to participate in a poll, asking whether Nández should have been shown a red card.

All three options were “yes.”

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Napoli mocked its own star striker on TikTok. He’s not happy.

Victor Osimhen’s agent has threatened to sue Napoli over the video

Victor Osimhen’s agent said he “reserves the right to take legal action” after Napoli posted, then deleted, a video on TikTok mocking its own star striker.

The video poked fun at Osimhen for his second-half penalty miss on Sunday in a 0-0 draw with Bologna.

“What happened today on Napoli’s official profile on the TikTok platform is not acceptable,” Roberto Calenda said on X (formerly Twitter).

“A video mocking Victor was first made public, but now belatedly deleted. A serious fact that causes very serious damage to the player and adds to the treatment that the boy is suffering in the last period between media trials and fake news.

“We reserve the right to take legal action and any useful initiative to protect Victor.”

The video in question is, well, strange.

Also strange: the decision to further poke Osimhen, who shouted at coach Rudi Garcia when he was subbed out against Bologna, and has been consistently linked with a move away from the club.

Napoli cruised to the Serie A title last season behind Osimhen’s 26 league goals, but the club’s title defense is off to a rocky start. The Partenopei have a 2W-1L-2D record in their first five league matches, and there are already reports that Garcia — who took over from Luciano Spalletti in the offseason — could be facing the sack.

If there were any questions over Osimhen’s current mood, those were definitely answered when he arrived at the team hotel on Wednesday — and totally left his teammate Diego Demme hanging.

Things in Napoli: not great!

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Juventus defender shows even pros forget how to play soccer sometimes

Juventus ended a day to forget with a memorable own goal

Federico Gatti ended a day to forget for Juventus with a memorable own goal.

The Bianconeri endured a rough afternoon on Saturday against Sassuolo, going down a goal on two different occasions before tying the game up. But Andrea Pinamonti’s 82nd-minute goal gave the home side a lead that it would not relinquish.

Up 3-2, Sassuolo went in search of an insurance goal, which arrived in stoppage time in sensational fashion.

Searching for a late equalizer, Juventus goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny took a quick free kick from near the touchline. This left his goal very notably wide open.

Despite being on the receiving end of Szczęsny’s pass, Gatti seemed to forget that very notable fact of his goal being unattended.

The result? Let’s go to the video.

The pros: they’re just like us sometimes!

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Juve boss Allegri: McKennie knock not a concern, Weah ‘settling in well’

Allegri says McKennie has a knock…but is fine?

Bad news: Weston McKennie picked up a knock in a recent Juventus training session.

Good news: It’s not actually going to keep him from playing.

Juve manager Massimiliano Allegri gave U.S. men’s national team fans a scare on Friday, telling reporters that the U.S. midfielder has a new, unspecified injury, but also that it is not actually a concern.

“McKennie is fine,” said Allegri, speaking ahead of the Bianconeri’s Serie A match at Sassuolo, when asked about the Texan’s status. “I’ll take a look at him today.”

Given McKennie’s injury history and his promising play since returning to Juventus, any reports of an issue — particularly an update as vague as this one — will be a worry for the USMNT until we see the 25-year-old playing without issues.

Allegri: Weah ‘settling in well’

That said, it’s theoretically possible that the issue could keep McKennie on the sideline for a week or so, just for cautionary measures. Who would likely step in? Another USMNT star, as Tim Weah has been splitting time with McKennie as the right wingback in Allegri’s 3-5-2 system.

In the same press conference, Allegri discussed Weah’s start to life in Turin following an €11 million summer move from Lille.

“Weah is a good option,” said Allegri. “He’s settling in well after just a few months in Italy but I’m happy with the way he’s integrating.”

McKennie and Weah have both appeared in each of Juve’s four Serie A matches this season, truly working as a platoon covering the club’s need at right wingback. Weah started the Bianconeri’s first two matches of the season, with McKennie replacing him late in each. In the more recent pair of games, that dynamic was flipped, with Weah coming in off the bench for McKennie in both.

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