Gianluca Mancini admits even he ‘wouldn’t have believed’ he was capable of scoring that thunderbolt that allowed Roma to beat Juventus.
The centre-back got the only goal of the game, a ferocious right-foot strike from outside the box into the far bottom corner.
His reaction was one of incredulity and he admits that was precisely what he was feeling.
“I wouldn’t have believed it if someone told me I’d score that!” Mancini told DAZN.
“I try every now and then in training, but it all went well today and I’m really happy. Defenders don’t often get the opportunity to shoot like that, I gave it a go and it went well.”
Although Mancini is no stranger to goals, he does tend to get them more on set plays and using his height.
In fact, he had not scored in Serie A using his feet since Roma’s 3-0 win over Brescia on November 24, 2019.
Roma went from a 2-1 defeat to rock bottom Cremonese to beating on-form Juventus, confirming their unpredictable nature this season.
“We have to realise that we must always play like this. The moment we let our foot off the gas, we get results like Tuesday and it’s disappointing, because we could’ve had more points.
“Juventus hit the woodwork three times today, but that is football. We had the superior attitude and we wanted it more.”