After his first match, against Palermo, in the next matchday Pazzini found the back of the net for the first time with the "blucerchiati" against Udinese in the Coppa Italia. He scored his first goal in Serie A with his new team on 1 February 2009 in the match against Chievo, which finished in a 1–1 draw. His rejuvenated form continued when he hit his first brace with Sampdoria in a 3–0 hammering against Italian champions Internazionale in the Coppa Italia, and his second consecutive brace arrived in the Serie A encounter against Roma (2–2). He combined well with Antonio Cassano up front, forming arguably one of the most effective partnerships of the season in Serie A, and drawing comparisons with Sampdoria's former Gianluca Vialli and Roberto Mancini strike-pairing of the late 1980s and early 1990s. At the time, Pazzini was considered the best Italian striker.