Serie A
How Quagliarella equalled Batistuta Serie A goalscoring run
Sampdoria veteran Fabio Quagliarella enjoyed a phenomenal goalscoring run in Serie A, but it ended against Napoli.
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.
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.
*Denotes games where Quagliarella scored twice