Akor Adams scored his first Serie A goal on Friday as Venezia lost 4-2 to Fiorentina at the Stadio Pier Luigi Penzo, Afrik-Foot reports.

The Nigerian striker struck in the 22nd minute, giving Venezia the lead after Gianluca Busio carried the ball forward before finding Adams on the right. The 26-year-old took the chance with his right foot and fired a diagonal finish beyond David de Gea.

It was a landmark moment for Adams, who had played three Serie A matches without scoring since joining Venezia from Sevilla in July.

Fiorentina turned the game around through Franco Mastantuono’s quick double in the 29th and 30th minutes. Mateo Pellegrino made it 3-1 in the 66th minute before Mastantuono completed his hat-trick in the 84th. Antoine Hainaut scored Venezia’s second six minutes later.

Adams’ goal did not earn Venezia a point, but it placed the Nigeria international in an exclusive group of players from the country to have found the net in Serie A.

Serie A: Adams joins Kanu, Martins, Osimhen, Lookman

Nigeria’s relationship with Serie A stretches back decades.

Nwankwo Kanu was one of the early Nigerian forwards to play in Italy, scoring once in 12 Serie A appearances for Inter Milan between 1996 and 1999. Obafemi Martins later built a much stronger record at Inter, scoring 28 league goals in 88 appearances.

Simy became another major Nigerian scorer in Italy. The former Crotone and Salernitana striker finished with 34 Serie A goals in 116 appearances.

Victor Osimhen then took the record to another level. The former Napoli striker is the highest-scoring Nigerian in the history of Serie A, after registering 65 goals in 108 matches. Ademola Lookman follows with 41 goals in 105 appearances, while Simy and Martins occupy third and fourth place with 34 and 28 respectively.

Stephen Makinwa and David Okereke have 16 each, while Victor Obinna scored 14. Gift Orban has seven, while Cyriel Dessers has six.

Where Adams fits among Nigerian Serie A forwards

Adams now joins the scorers’ list with one Serie A goal.

His first strike puts him alongside other Nigerian forwards who have made their mark in Italy, including Jerry Mbakogu, Umar Sadiq, Chukwubuikem Ikwuemesi and Rafiu Durosinmi, all of whom have one or two Serie A goals. The challenge now is to move up that list.

Adams arrived in Venice after scoring 10 goals for Sevilla during the 2025-26 campaign. Venezia signed him permanently in July and handed him a contract until June 2030.

His first Serie A goal gives him a starting point in another chapter of Nigeria’s long history in Italian football.

With Osimhen at the top and players such as Simy, Martins and Lookman already well established among Nigeria’s leading Serie A scorers, Adams has a clear target to turn his breakthrough goal into a sustained scoring run.