Pio Esposito has finally scored his first goal in Serie A. Certainly a nice moment that needs to be put into perspective, without slipping into extremes: neither exaltation nor discrediting in a mocki...
Pio Esposito has finally scored his first goal in Serie A. Certainly a nice moment that needs to be put into perspective, without slipping into extremes: neither exaltation nor discrediting in a mocking manner, as seen on social media.
The goal from the 2005-born striker was awaited by the entire Inter world and Chivu's reaction testifies to this, as you can see below.
Mister Chivu sul gol di Pio Esposito 🔥 pic.twitter.com/B1w7EbrwP3
— Alessandro (@90ordnasselA) September 27, 2025
4th youngest Italian scorer in Inter's history
The goal against Cagliari made Pio Esposito the 4th youngest Italian scorer for Inter at 20 years and 91 days. Before him were his brother Sebastiano, Mario Balotelli, and Davide Faraoni.
20 - Francesco Pio #Esposito (20 anni, 91 giorni) è il 4° giocatore italiano più giovane a trovare il gol con l'#Inter in #SerieA negli anni 2000, dopo il fratello Sebastiano (17 anni, 172 giorni), M. Balotelli (17 anni, 238 giorni) e M.D. Faraoni (20 anni, 74 giorni). Impatto.
— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) September 27, 2025
The rise of the former Spezia player is creating high expectations around the boy, which is why Chivu wanted to downplay the situation post-match. "He's a 2005-born, we need to go slow, he's working well, he's never missed a training session, he's also mentally strong".
Beyond the goal, so much more
Pio Esposito is using his physical attributes very well: over the past 365 days (including his year in Serie B) he has been among the best players in Europe for passes in the penalty area. That is, ball protection and distribution that occurs in the last 11 meters, but not only.
In fact, Pio Esposito has been involved by Spezia - and also by Inter in this start - with great continuity in the last third of the field: only 2% of strikers in Europe have done better than him in the last year.
His aerial skills also stand out: 4.82 aerial duels won per game. Only 12% of European strikers win more every 90 minutes.
There are many areas for improvement such as the percentage of successful passes, the ability to carry the ball forward on his own, and the skill in providing assists. Now there is only need for time and stability: "There is a risk of burning him by raising expectations and I wouldn't want that to happen", Chivu told DAZN, and so it must be in the near future.
Data: Fbref.
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇮🇹 here.
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Category: General Sports
