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March 4, 2021

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Ronaldo eyes first Serie A top scorer prize after latest goal record

Source: Agencies | 00:05 UTC+8 March 4, 2021 | Print Edition

Cristiano Ronaldo became the first player to score at least 20 goals in the last 12 seasons in a top five European league on Tuesday to continue his charge towards sealing one of the few individual awards left for him to win: Serie A top scorer.

The Portuguese forward guided a composed finish past Spezia goalkeeper Ivan Provedel in a 3-0 Serie A win for the Italian champion to mark the 600th league appearance of his career in typical fashion.

He has now hit the 20-goal mark in every season since his debut campaign at Real Madrid in 2009-10, with his highest tally coming in 2014-15 when he scored 48 goals in 35 La Liga games for the Spanish club.

The 36-year-old is currently two goals clear of Inter Milan鈥檚 Romelu Lukaku at the summit of the Serie A scoring charts as he targets his first 鈥榗apocannoniere鈥 crown in Italy.

Ronaldo scored 21 goals in his debut season in Turin in 2018-19 to finish fourth in the league scoring charts, five behind top scorer Fabio Quagliarella of Sampdoria.

The following year he found the net 31 times, but was denied top spot by the sensational form of Lazio鈥檚 Ciro Immobile, who equalled the single-season scoring record in Serie A with 36 strikes.

Ronaldo has picked up back-to-back league titles and the 2018-19 Player of the Season award since arriving in Italy, but the Serie A top scorer prize remains unclaimed for now.

The five-time Ballon d鈥橭r winner won the English Premier League Golden Boot with Manchester United in 2007-08 and finished as La Liga top scorer on three separate occasions during his spell with Real.

He has been UEFA Champions League top scorer seven times to become the competition鈥檚 all-time top scorer with 134 goals and won the European Golden Shoe four times.

Ronaldo was hailed as the most prolific professional goalscorer in the history of the game in January after notching his 760th career goal, but the record is much contested and global governing body FIFA does not keep an official tally.

Although Ronaldo is enjoying another prolific season, his team is lagging behind in its bid to claim a tenth consecutive Serie A title. Andrea Pirlo鈥檚 side is third in the standings, seven points behind Inter in first and three behind AC Milan with 14 games left to play.

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