Nicolò Zaniolo admits he had ‘the perfect evening’ with his Roma hat-trick against Bodo/Glimt and thanked the fans for ‘showing me even more affection during the rough times than the good.’
The Giallorossi overturned the 2-1 first leg defeat in Norway and finally ended their Bodo/Glimt hoodoo after two defeats and a draw this season.
Tammy Abraham opened the scoring just five minutes in, then Zaniolo took centre-stage with a spectacular hat-trick, booking their spot in the Conference League semi-final against Leicester City, 5-2 on aggregate.
Conference League | Roma 4-0 Bodo/Glimt (5-2 agg): Zaniolo hat-trick books semi-final
“We did what the coach asked, we were perfect both attacking and defending,” Zaniolo told Sky Sport Italia.
“I am very happy that we won, as these wonderful fans are always ready to cheer us on. It’s a very important achievement, reaching the semi-final, but we don’t want to stop here.”
The 22-year-old showed the skill and power of old, so has he fully recovered after those two devastating anterior cruciate ligament injuries?
“In the good and bad periods, I always tried to keep my balance. This is the perfect evening, but the bad moments happen too, it’s important to treat them all the same way.”
Zaniolo was surprisingly benched for the Rome Derby against Lazio and many expected the same this evening, but instead he took centre-stage.
“I won’t lie that I wanted to play, but I respect the choices of the coach and he was right, as we won 3-0. I am ready to be at the disposal of the team when I am needed.”
He went off with cramp today and was given a standing ovation from the packed-out Stadio Olimpico crowd.
“The fans were always by my side throughout my injuries, in fact they showed me even more affection during the rough times than the good, so I really love them.”
𝙃𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙖 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙝𝙖𝙩-𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙠?
Zaniolo is having the perfect night! #UECL pic.twitter.com/2Pztcyci2g
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) April 14, 2022
Forza Roma! Forza Zaniolo!
Forza nicolo zaniolo italy need you. Hopefully your going to be great again