With 23 goals in 19 Serie A games, the striker has scored more on his own than seven of the division’s 20 teams
![Ciro Immobile makes Sampdoria suffer as Lazio join Serie A title race | Nicky Bandini](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/36513aa98042cbe899dac633e55182e99061620d/0_147_5032_3020/master/5032.jpg?width=1200&height=630&quality=85&auto=format&fit=crop&overlay-align=bottom%2Cleft&overlay-width=100p&overlay-base64=L2ltZy9zdGF0aWMvb3ZlcmxheXMvdGctZGVmYXVsdC5wbmc&enable=upscale&s=36b7f155b63e63ac965e31a81c8e9bff)
For Ciro Immobile, football is simple: either he scores, or he suffers. Speaking to Corriere della Sera in 2017, the Lazio striker insisted he would always do whatever a manager required of him. But when his interviewer asked if it hurt to finish a game without a goal, he replied honestly: “Yes. Without that I feel incomplete.”
It is an unfamiliar sensation these days. A hat-trick against Sampdoria on Saturday brought Immobile’s Serie A tally for this season to 23 goals in 19 appearances. He has netted more on his own than seven of the division’s 20 teams.