Pellegrino's header record highlights Fiorentina's crossing paradox

What happened

Mateo Pellegrino has scored nine headed goals in Serie A since netting his first with his head in the Italian top flight on 8 March 2025, in Parma-Torino 2-2, according to Corriere dello Sport. The report states that across Europe's top five leagues only one other player, Croatia international Ante Budimir of Osasuna, has matched that tally over the same period. The newspaper notes Pellegrino stands 192 centimetres tall and describes him as a formidable header specialist.

Report details

The most recent of those goals came last Sunday against Juventus, the report says: Pedro Gonçalves delivered a corner, the ball reached the far post, and Pellegrino rose to head Fiorentina into the lead. Yet Corriere dello Sport argues the team's attacking approach does not systematically supply him with crosses. Citing Opta figures, it reports that Fiorentina are last in Serie A alongside Milan for crosses from open play, with 124 in 11 matches, a little over 11 per 90 minutes, compared with 198 for Juventus, who lead in that category.

The paper frames this as a tension in Vanoli's set-up. Fiorentina's wingers, Mastantuono on the right and Njie on the left, play with reversed feet, cutting inside to shoot rather than looking for a teammate, and the statistics cited reflect that emphasis: Mastantuono is second in total shots with 44, two fewer than Paz, though Paz has scored one goal fewer (four for Mastantuono, three for Nico). Pellegrino, meanwhile, already has four goals, double his tally from last season, even without many crosses.

Corriere dello Sport suggests a possible adjustment, perhaps temporary or partial, to the attacking play: occasionally swapping the wingers so they can cross with their natural foot, as Pasquale Iachini once did. The paper recalls that Fiorentina signed Iachini in the summer of 1983, the same summer Francesco Graziani, one of the league's best headers of the ball, was sold to Roma, and that Paolo Monelli reached 12 goals partly thanks to Iachini's assists. It acknowledges the idea may be considered old-fashioned, and the report does not state that any such change has been made.