CONFIRMED: LAUTARO MARTíNEZ EQUALS RICCARDO ORSOLINI AS TOP SCORER IN 2025 CALENDAR YEAR.
Scoring is hard, but Lautaro makes it look easy. Discover why Inter leads the Scudetto race despite a record-low-scoring season.
Who knew a 20-year-old with barely any Serie A starts could nail the analysis of Italian soccer so well? Francesco Pio Esposito said it best: scoring is the hardest part of the game.
He was talking about his Inter teammate, Lautaro Martínez, whom he set up for the winning goal against Atalanta. Pio Esposito had just subbed in when he got lucky with a bad pass from Berat Djimsiti. Instead of shooting himself, he tricked the defender and passed to Lautaro, who scored easily.
Inter's season has been shaky so far. Six months into Cristian Chivu’s time as manager, they're still figuring things out. They've lost four league games—including to Juventus, Milan, and Napoli—and got knocked out of the SuperCoppa early by Bologna.
But they're still leading Serie A at the end of 2025 because of that win against Atalanta, even though they've played one less game than some other teams. Milan is right behind them, and Napoli isn't far behind either, with Juventus and Roma still in the mix. It might be a close race to the championship, and right now Inter is ahead.
And maybe Pio Esposito is right about why. Even though goals are tough to come by in Serie A, Inter has Lautaro, who's a scoring machine. His goal against Atalanta wasn't anything special, but he took the chance and scored.
If anyone forgot how hard it is to score, Lazar Samardzic reminded them soon after. He had a great chance to tie the game for Atalanta but missed badly.
Lautaro's been on fire lately, scoring in four straight league games. He's the top scorer in Serie A this season, tied with Riccardo Orsolini for the year with 15 goals each. Orsolini plays as a winger, so his goal count is more impressive, even though it includes four penalty kicks, while Lautaro hasn't taken any.
It's worth noting that 15 goals isn't that high for the top scorer compared to Kylian Mbappé in La Liga (39), Harry Kane in the Bundesliga (31), and Erling Haaland in the Premier League (27).
It's not necessarily twice as hard to score in Serie A. Mateo Retegui, who was last season’s top scorer, left Atalanta to play in Saudi Arabia, which probably lowered the goal count. He already had 13 goals from January to May.
Also, some good players have been hurt. Gianluca Scamacca, who replaced Retegui at Atalanta, is only now getting back to his best after his injury. Romelu Lukaku, Napoli's main striker, has been out since August.
Still, Serie A is having one of its lowest-scoring seasons in a while, with just 2.327 goals per game. That's less than in previous years.
There's no single reason for this. Apart from players leaving or getting hurt, managerial changes might have something to do with it. Atalanta had to start over when Gian Piero Gasperini left to coach Roma after nine years with the team.
Things have gotten better since Raffaele Palladino took over, but he hasn't been able to beat Inter. Atalanta has lost to them nine times in a row.
Palladino tried something new, putting Mario Pasalic in the forward line to stop Inter from playing through Hakan Calhanoglu. It didn't work, partly because Piotr Zielinski played well with Calhanoglu.
In the end, Lautaro made the difference. And Pio Esposito, too. Scoring might be the hardest part, but Pio Esposito's smart pass showed he has good instincts.
Lautaro has always supported Pio Esposito, praising his talent and work ethic. He's asked people to be patient with him. We have to give him space to grow, Lautaro said. I think he's going to be great for us and for the Italian national team.
For now, Lautaro is happy to carry the load of scoring the goals that keep Inter in the lead. He's still a player who people have different opinions about, but Inter is happy to have him. Besides being one of the top scorers in Serie A, he also scored a lot of goals in the Champions League. Losing the final of that competition hurts, but many players never even get there.
Lautaro, Inter’s captain, was upset about losing against PSG in the Champions League final and couldn't talk about it for days. He played through an injury to be there, and the summer started badly with rumors of a fight between him and Calhanoglu.
Only Inter's players and coaches know if they've gotten over the disappointment of not winning any of the four trophies they were chasing last season, but Lautaro seems to be back to his best physically. When asked if Inter’s fitness coach deserved some credit, Lautaro said, “It’s all the staff.” Time passes, I worked hard to get back, and they push me to be even better.”
RADJA NAINGGOLAN SLAMS NAPOLI’S SCOTT MCTOMINAY AS "JUST AVERAGE" IN TV RANT
Radja Nainggolan has sparked controversy by calling Napoli's Scudetto winner Scott McTominay "average" in a scathing TV interview.
Scott McTominay’s journey from Manchester United to Napoli has been wild. He’s helped the club win a Scudetto, snagged a Ballon d’Or nomination, and his goal tally is impressive. But not everyone’s sold on him. Even with all those honours, one Serie A legend isn’t convinced. Radja Nainggolan slammed him as just “an average player".
After McTominay’s £26 million jump from Old Trafford in 2024, he took off. He won the Serie A MVP, clinched Napoli’s fourth Scudetto with a spectacular overhead goal against Cagliari, and made a big mark in Italy. Still, Nainggolan, never shy with an opinion, tore into him during a TV interview. Despite McTominay racking up 26 goals in 76 games and getting a Ballon d’Or nod, Nainggolan didn’t hold back. “I don’t like him,” he said on Sky Calcio Unplugged. “He gets his goals, 12, 13, 14 a season, but his general play? He doesn’t have the technique to move between the lines. He’s just average.”
And he wasn’t content to leave it at that. Nainggolan compared himself to today’s names, arguing he was better than both McTominay and Inter’s Hakan Calhanoglu at his best, though he admitted Nicolo Barella sits above him. “At my peak, I was better than McTominay and Calhanoglu, but Barella is on another level,” Nainggolan said. “He doesn’t always score a lot, but when he does, it matters, and you always feel his presence on the pitch. I like De Bruyne, too; he sees things nobody else does. He’s above me, and Modric...he’s always been world-class.”
Of course, Nainggolan’s take doesn’t really jibe with life in Naples. McTominay has become something of a hero there; his face is on murals around the city, the fans have dubbed him ‘McFratm’ (McBrother), and he helped Napoli win the Supercoppa Italiana in December 2025. Even if Inter seems ready to grab the Serie A crown back, McTominay’s reputation hasn’t dipped. His knack for scoring from midfield has been crucial for Conte’s side.
Nainggolan also touched on Belgium’s so-called “Golden Generation” and why they didn’t deliver a major trophy, despite stars like Lukaku, Hazard, and De Bruyne. He knows the team well, having made 30 appearances before retiring after he got left out of the 2018 World Cup squad. “We had Lukaku, Hazard, De Bruyne, and Courtois. Too many superstars, too many egos,” Nainggolan said. “Everyone wanted to be the star, to be the most important guy, and that just doesn’t work.” His take pretty much confirms what fans suspected: there was plenty of talent, but not enough unity.
MANCHESTER UNITED AND CHELSEA ENTER RACE FOR DISCOUNTED €50M-RATED RAFAEL LEãO
Discover why Rafael Leão’s value has plummeted at AC Milan and which Premier League clubs are leading the race to sign him.
Just a year ago, everyone was buzzing about Rafael Leao and his rumoured €120 million move to Chelsea. Fast forward to this summer’s transfer window, and it looks like AC Milan’s ready to let him go for nowhere near that amount. Manchester United, along with a few others, are circling, hoping to get him for much less.
Last week, Gazzetta dello Sport broke the news: Milan now values Leao at just €50 million. That’s a wild drop, especially since six months ago they slapped a €100 million price tag on him.
So what happened? Why did his value tank so quickly?
Perception plays a big part. Leao’s estimated transfer value hasn’t actually changed that much. FootballTransfers’ algorithm had him pegged at €72.5 million last July, and now he’s at €70.7 million. But Milan’s own estimate? That’s fallen off a cliff.
Last summer, Milan wanted €50 million above the algorithm’s number. Now, they’re ready to accept an offer that’s €20 million below it.
Leao once had everything going for him in Milan. In the 2021/22 season, he carried them to the Scudetto, racking up 11 goals and 10 assists. Clubs were fighting over him, and in 2023, Milan rewarded him with a hefty €7 million salary and a massive €175 million release clause. That’s when top European clubs started sniffing around for a record-breaking deal.
But the new contract didn’t spark another big season for Leao. In his next campaign, he scored 15 goals and managed 14 assists, but fans started to turn, especially after two weak outings against Roma in the Europa League.
Things haven’t improved since. Early in the 2024/25 season, Milan benched him for disciplinary reasons, and he seemed pretty unfazed, something that sparked more criticism. He’s had some public clashes with head coach Max Allegri, too. Despite still being Milan’s top scorer, he hasn’t scored in two months. And the fans? They’ve booed him at home games, most recently against Juventus and earlier against Udinese.
Now, Milan looks ready to move on. Leao’s raw talent is still obvious, but at San Siro, the excitement has faded. SciSports, the data analytics folks, show his performance is in “significant decline” based on their SciSkill rating. Still, they think he can bounce back.
According to Gazzetta dello Sport, Milan plans to hold off until the World Cup, hoping Leao puts on a big show for Portugal and builds hype again.
He’s still got admirers. Arsenal’s been keeping tabs on him, FootballTransfers said back in February. Chelsea, Liverpool, and United are all in the market for a left-sided attacker and would jump at the chance to grab a rejuvenated Leao.
Sure, the €120 million rumours are a thing of the past. But the old Leão, the top-class player, is still in there somewhere. He just needs the right club, coach, and a fresh start.
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