Serie A round-up: Sampdoria stun Napoli with goal of season contender

Cristiano Ronaldo is still looking for his first Juventus goal after failing to find the back of the net for the third game in a row. The Portugal international has had more shots without scoring in Europe’s top five leagues (23), but the Old Lady are two points clear at the top of Serie A with a 100 per cent record.

Napoli were Juventus’ closest rivals last season but they have made an indifferent start to the season under new head coach Carlo Ancelotti. They came from behind to win their opening two matches before being thrashed 3-0 away to Sampdoria on Sunday night.

Signed on loan from Roma this summer, Gregoire Defrel opened his account for Sampdoria with a brace against Napoli to finish the weekend’s action as the highest WhoScored rated player in Serie A (8.71). The 27-year-old scored from both of his attempts on goal, while also completing an impressive 91.3% of his passes.

Defrel put Sampdoria into the ascendency with two goals in the first half before veteran striker Fabio Quagliarella secured all three points with 15 minutes remaining after scoring a goal of the season effort. The 35-year-old improvised superbly to allow Bartosz Bereszynski’s cross through his legs and volley to the far corner with his heel from eight yards out.

Quagliarella’s celebration was subdued due to the fact he is Napoli fan but the goal was extraordinary and he finished the weekend’s action as the second highest WhoScored rated player in Serie A (8.57). The veteran striker also set up Defrel for his second goal.

Rounding off the top three-rated players from gameweek three is Khouma Babacar (8.57), who played a direct hand in two of the five goals Sassuolo put past Genoa in a 5-3 win. The 25-year-old had three shots and was fouled three times in a 78-minute performance. Sassuolo are incredibly second in the league and unbeaten after three matches.

While Babacar flourished, the same cannot be said for Genoa defender Nicolas Spolli. The 35-year-old garnered the lowest WhoScored rating in Serie A over the weekend (4.25). Genoa were 5-1 down when Spolli was hooked and the veteran defender had committed an error leading to goal and put past his own goalkeeper.