The 2023-24 Serie A season has only just begun but three unmissable goals are keeping fans hooked on the world’s most beloved league.

Goals, glorious goals. The Serie A festa has begun and fans were immediately served a delectable blend of wondergoals from the world’s top striker, a battle-scarred maverick and a West London outcast. Despite the league’s seemingly unsolvable issues away from the pitch, there’s a roar of unshakability upon it. And with a sprinkle of fresh foreign signings and cries for more youth involvement, the goals are as sumptuous as ever.

Christian Pulisic punched back at critics by landing the knockout blow at Bologna on Monday night. The USMNT captain’s powerful debut for Milan kicked off with a spectacular one-two collaboration with Olivier Giroud that began 40 meters from goal and ended with a glorious drive from the perimeter of the penalty box.

The American has a new lease of life after being scooped up this summer by the Rossoneri for €20M ($21.6M) following a sluggish season that produced one solitary goal at Chelsea. “For me, just a great start personally. Nice to get a goal, while a clean sheet and a win are always nice,” Pulisic told DAZN following the 0-2 away victory. “It just felt like the perfect step for my career, I feel really welcome and excited to be part of this club.”

Red Bird Capital CEO and Milan owner Gerry Cardinale flew to Bologna to witness history. Pulisic became the fifth American international to score in Serie A after Michael Bradley, Gianluca Busio, Weston McKennie and Alexi Lalas but the first to score on debut.

Striking Serie A gold

Antonio Candreva revived vintage 90s Serie A with a brilliant display of dexterity at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome. Better known for his time at Lazio and the Italian national side, the Salernitana playmaker stunned Jose Mourinho’s Roma with a goal each side of the break, proving that he still has the Midas touch. The first goal left Chris Smalling in tatters on the ground, but it was his 49th-minute screamer that broke the internet on Saturday afternoon.

With the match ending 2-2, Candreva’s goals were not a true reflection of a match that Roma dominated with 60% ball possession, 13 goal attempts to Salernitana’s three, and a superior 2.01 vs. 0.36 XG (expected goals). It’s the second consecutive 2-2 draw between the Granata and the Giallorossi in four months, with Candreva also netting a sensational volley on the fly in May.

Known for his long-range screamers, many expected Candreva’s career to taper off when Inter acrimoniously shoved him out the door in 2020, yet the craftsman continued to manufacture goals of the highest order for Claudio Ranieri’s Sampdoria, including a thunderbolt from way out to elevate the Blucerchiati to ninth position. He managed to steady a slowly sinking ship the following season with a seven-goal contribution (his best tally since leaving Lazio in 2016) as Samp avoided the dropzone in 2021-22, finishing in 15th place. Then, after Salernitana reinforced with Candreva’s signature in 2022, he helped deliver a carbon copy outcome for the Granata. Sampdoria finished 23 points beneath them and was relegated to Serie B.

Post-demotion fallout can be life-threatening. Survival translates into tens of millions in revenue, demonstrated by domestic and international broadcasting rights dividends and higher match-day revenue. In June, Sampdoria was acquired by a Qatari-backed consortium for €40M ($43.2M), a fraction of what the club was worth 12 months prior. Meanwhile, Salernitana pocketed €32.6M in tv rights from the 2022-23 season and has reinvested €12M ($12.97M) into making Senegalese livewire Boulaye Dia’s move permanent and adding Jovane Cabral from Sporting Lisbon. In comparison, Samp hasn’t spent a cent on new signings and was forced to liquidate primary assets, Tommaso Augello and Emil Audero.

During a Serie A career now spanning 18 years, the highest fee paid for Candreva’s services was €22M ($23.78) in 2016 when he left Lazio for Inter. He boasts 81 league goals, 23 of which were match-winners. Whenever he scores, his team avoids defeat 96.15% of the time. The brace against Roma was the fourth of his career, a journey which has detoured through nine top-tier clubs. He’s old enough to have been coached by Ciro Ferrara and Alberto Zaccheroni at Juventus, yet still young enough to catch Luciano Spalletti’s eye as a potential backup for the Italy’s European title defence. If he’s able to do so, he could add to his seven international goals and 54 Italy appearances. Last called up in 2018, Candreva will turn 37 years of age 106 days before the beginning of the Euro 2024.

Osimhen drops the mask to reveal the true warrior

With a scarcity of world-class strikers in circulation, Victor Osimhen’s greatness becomes more evident. Following a standout 26-goal-season, the Scudetto winner has moved to the top of every wish list in the Middle East alongside Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland.

Newly promoted Frosinone learned that containing the Nigerian powerhouse is unachievable in his current form. Osimhen’s 42nd-minute finish smashed Stefano Turati’s fight-or-flight responses to pieces, provoking warm memories of prime Gabriel Batistuta, the Argentinian dynamo who spent a decade terrorising goalkeepers up and down the peninsula.

90s pedigree permeates throughout the second division

If Serie A is the Ferrari of Calcio, Serie B purrs like a Maserati. Parma midfielder Adrian Bernabé delighted home fans at the Stadio Ennio Tardini with an angled left-footer. The ex-Manchester City man’s seventh career goal may lead to another Spain U21 call-up come September.

Leading into match-day two of Serie A, Osimhen leads the league with two goals, joined by Roma’s Andrea Belotti, Inter’s Lautaro Martinez and Candreva. After resisting big-money offers from Al Hilal, the former Lille attacker will accomplish the 100-goal milestone (in all competitions) by getting on the scoresheet against Sassuolo on Sunday.

Made-In-Italy

The money may have left Italy but elite players still remain. Serie A is to soccer fans what NBA is to basketball lovers; it’s the original flavour. The league may be economically debilitated but it’s enriched by prodigious commodities of all ages. This is why football fans flirt with other competitions and flock back to Italian football.

Brace yourselves for another grand season of Europe’s most esteemed league.