A thread in defence of Ciro #Immobile...

Some have viewed #Lazio’s Immobile as an unworthy capocannoniere, citing the contribution of penalties to his overall goal tally of 36. Others have also questioned his nerve in big games

Is that fair? Let’s look at the evidence... (1/n)

It’s true that #Immobile’s 14 goals from the spot is much greater than #Higuain’s 3 in 2015/16...

However, this is the new reality of the VAR era. Penalties will be a crucial source of goals for ANY future capocannoniere

To illustrate the point, nearest rival #Ronaldo had 12...

No player WON more penalties in #SerieA this season than #Immobile

One third of the penalties he took (5) were the fruits of his own labour

Immobile got on the scoresheet in many of the bigger games this season, versus #Atalanta, #Milan, #Napoli, #Inter & #Juve

Across his career his record against the big clubs is:
• Juve - 6 gls in 17 apps
• Inter - 4 in 17
• Napoli - 5 in 11
• Milan - 5 in 14
• Roma - 6 in 9

Immobile’s 19/20 goal total could easily have been greater still...

He hit the woodwork 7 times

This was the joint highest in #SerieA (level with Andrea #Belotti)

Immobile has shown himself to be much more than just a finisher...

Immobile’s total of 9 assists was considerably higher than any of his rivals

#Ronaldo (5), #Lukaku (2), #Caputo (7), #Zapata (6), #Dzeko (7), #Belotti (3)...and higher than #Higuain’s 2 assists in 15/16

The end