Lapadula: 44% goalscoring contribution at Cagliari, a figure that exceeds cracks like Haaland and Benzema

The biggest heart of Italy beats from Sardinia and throughout the territory of the peninsula. This was demonstrated by the Cagliari warriors. With the solitary goal of the historic Leonardo Pavoletti in the 94th minute, the team of the Peruvian Gianluca Lapadula beat Bari 1-0 and achieved promotion to Serie A.

In a match where he only needed to win, he did it because of his insistence, because he was the one who looked for it the most and because he tried until the end. Thus, the goal in extra time gave Cagliari the third promotion spot, after Frosinone and Genoa, coming from sixth place in Serie B and giving everything in the playoffs.

“This moment is indescribable, I always dreamed of it, I always believed in it. I never expected to achieve it like this, but we deserved it,” Lapadula declared after the achievement.

—Peruvian figure—

Although Lapadula had no clear scoring options, it was a great closing for the Peruvian with a hug with coach Claudio Ranieri, both with tears from the excitement of promotion. Gianluca was the top scorer and player in Serie B with 25 goals, almost half of the team’s total output.

It is that the arrival of Ranieri in January changed history for Cagliari and for Lapadula. Before, he barely had eight goals in 18 games, but with Claudio in charge, the Peruvian scored 18 goals in the next 22 games, placing the club in the playoff zone, which he solved in extremis.

And Gianluca finished the campaign with 25 goals in 41 Serie B games, and was the best player of the tournament for what he brought to Cagliari. He scored almost half of the goals for his team: 44.6% in Serie B and 44% in the entire season (with the Italian Cup).

The savior for promotion was the experienced and idol Leonardo Pavoletti -he scored the goal in minute 94-, but his production was far from what was done by Lapadula, with just 7 goals. That is why Gianluca was chosen as the best player in Serie B, due to the great difference he made in his club.

In Frosinone, the leader of Serie B, there were three goalscorers on the squad. Mulattieri scored 12 goals, Caso another 9 and Insigne reached 8. Thus, when one did not appear, the others captained the goal ship.

While in Genoa something similar happened between two players, with Dufmundsson with 11 goals and Coda with 10, the scoring duo of the Genoese, who together did not add more than Lapadula.

In the percentage of goals that he scored of all those on the team, Lapadula surpasses figures like Haaland at City and Benzema at Real Madrid. That is to say, Gianluca scored more of the club’s goals than the stars in the greats of the continent.

Below is the percentage of goals that each scorer contributed among the five major leagues in their clubs and is only surpassed by Folarin Balogun of Reims of Ligue 1.

In the Serie B playoffs it was the perfect closure for Lapadula. In the first round he scored both goals against Venezia for a 2-1 victory. Then, in the semifinals, he scored a goal against Parma in the 3-2 draw at home that allowed him to later draw to get into the final.

And he appeared again in the final. Against Bari he scored the first goal in the first leg final at home. Four goals in five playoff games, followed by Luvumbo’s two goals and Pavoletti’s promotion goal. The production of the Cagliari forward multiplied to achieve promotion.

—