Hakan Çalhanoğlu makes Serie A history in Inter’s clash with Atalanta

Inter Milan star Hakan Çalhanoğlu has, on Saturday, etched his name into the history books of Italian football.

Inter, of course, are currently locked in action, in a Serie A meeting with Atalanta. Late in the 2nd-half, the Nerazzurri boast a 2-1 advantage, owing to strikes on the part of Lautaro Martinez, and the aforementioned Çalhanoğlu.

The latter’s marked the evening’s opener, from the penalty spot with 40 minutes on the clock.

As alluded to above, though, Çalhanoğlu’s latest strike did not only prove a significant one in guiding Inter into the lead in Bergamo.

10 – Since 2017-18 Hakan #Çalhanoglu has scored 10 out of 10 penalties in #SerieA, only fewer than Lukaku (14/14) among who never failed a penalty in the period; he also joined Sükrü Gülesin (36 goals) as the highest Turkish scorer in the competition. Pin.#AtalantaInter pic.twitter.com/zEWMVgraBd

— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) November 4, 2023

In addition, it saw the former AC Milan man secure for himself an altogether noteworthy piece of history.

As revealed by statisticians Opta, owing to his 36th strike in the competition, Çalhanoğlu has joined compatriot Sükrü Gülesin as the highest-scoring Turk ever in Serie A.

Not only that, but his conversion rate of 10 from 10 penalties since 2017/18 makes the 29-year-old the 2nd most consistent spot-kick taker in Italy’s top-flight across this period, behind only Romelu Lukaku.

Conor Laird | GIFN