Lucca's quest for form continues after penalty dispute and goal slump

The Genoa vs Udinese match that kicks off the Serie A weekend on Friday will provide a new opportunity for redemption for Lucca, who has been plagued by bad karma ever since he forcibly took the penalty that secured victory against Lecce on 21st February.

No teammate wanted Lucca to take the penalty that day, and with his coach also opposed to the decision, the striker was substituted immediately after converting the goal in the 32nd minute. Naturally, despite the win, this incident had consequences within the squad, and Lucca was forced to apologise.

For context, Florian Thauvin, the regular penalty taker, was on the pitch, but the Italian forward grabbed the ball and took the shot by force after a dispute with his teammates.

Lucca, who had been called up to the Azzurra during the last international break, was substituted straight after scoring, and his coach, who gave him a stern talking-to after the match, forgave him relatively quickly.

Lucca, who has scored 12 goals this season—ten in Serie A and two in the Coppa—has not found the net since and has only provided one assist in his side's 1-1 draw against Lazio.

The Moncalieri-born forward, who displayed his strong personality with that decision, may have been missing more trust from his teammates on the pitch. Since that forgettable incident, Lucca has only had nine shots, four of which were on target, in matches against Parma, Lazio, Hellas Verona and Inter Milan.

He is on track to have his best-ever goal-scoring season, surpassing his previous record of 14 goals in Serie C with Palermo in the 2020/21 campaign. At 24, he is seeking footballing maturity and struggling to settle into a team, despite his promising future.

After his breakout season with the Sicilian club, the striker moved to Pisa (35 appearances, six goals and four assists in 2021/22) and had a brief, somewhat forgettable stint at Ajax in 2022/23 (16 matches, two goals and an assist).

Last season, he was already one of Udinese's key players, scoring nine goals and assisting four times in 39 matches. Now, with 12 goals and one assist in 32 appearances, there is no doubt that he could improve his numbers significantly if his relationship with his teammates were stronger.