Destro then started playing regularly, showing the goalscoring form from earlier in his career. As the season progressed, he scored twice in a 3–0 win over Sampdoria in February and a hat-trick in a 3–1 win over Cagliari in April 2014. Controversy followed the Cagliari game, during which Destro had punched defender Davide Astori but was not punished at the time by the referee. However, the league authorities later imposed a three-match ban on Destro (which became four matches for accumulated yellow cards). Despite this, Destro scored 13 league goals for Roma, finishing the season as the club's top scorer and helping his side to a second-place finish in Serie A, behind Juventus. He was ranked as one of the best strikers in Serie A. Only Sergio Aguero and Lionel Messi had a better goal-per-minute ratio than Destro across Europe's top five leagues.