Fearless Zaniolo's Double Sends Roma to UCL First-Leg Victory

Published on 12-Feb-2019 by srijan213

Soccer    Soccer Daily Update

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Fearless Zaniolo's Double Sends Roma to UCL First-Leg Victory

It's not like FC Porto didn't know who Nicolo Zaniolo was.

The 19-year-old has raced to Italian football's elite level in what seems like record time.

Dude was called up to the national team last year before even appearing in Serie A and wound up with AS Roma as part of a £33million transfer from Inter Milan.

In his first 21 matches for the Giallorossi -- Yellow and Red -- Zaniolo's been good for five goals. Now, in Champions League play, he's already potted two.

 

AS Roma hosted FC Porto at the Stadio Olimpico on the first leg of Round of 16 competition in the UEFA Champions League, where all the scoring occurred within nine second-half minutes.

When the dust cleared, Zaniolo's double overtook an Adrián López strike to give his side a 2-1 result.

 

In a tactical first half, chances were scarce. The Italian side took most of the offensive initiative, threatening goalkeeper Iker Casillas through Edin Džeko and Zaniolo, but the match remained goalless until the second half.

After the break, the Romans took advantage of the fact they were playing at home, and they finally broke through in what became whirlwind of goals.

Zaniolo struck first in the 70th. Stephan El Shaarawy set up Dzeko inside the box, and when the Bosnian attracted Porto' defenders, he dished to an unmarked Zaniolo, who did the honors:

 

The kid was on the glory end of a score in the 76th minute, thanks again to Džeko.

Bosnia and Herzegovina's national team captain took possession in midfield, drove forward, and unleashed a heatseeked from mid-range that caromed off the post and fell to Zaniolo. Right time. Right place:

 

 

Three minutes later, Porto struck, as Tiquinho Soares' attempt from distance wound up being an assist to López.

The referee double-checked with the VAR, which confirmed he had it right:

 

Meanwhile, Zaniolo and Džeko had already confirmed they'd had themselves a night.

Odds are they'll need another one like it in three weeks' time.

Click on a photo to enlarge.