AS Roma coach Luciano Spalletti heaped praise on his player Mohamed Salah, insisting the Egyptian winger would be a good boost for the team in Wednesday’s anticipated match against Real Madrid.
Mohamed Salah
The Chelsea loanee has proved to be a vital scoring source in pushing for a European spot in Serie A as Roma have won their last four out of six games. He has scored 8 goals in 24 appearances and could potentially cause a lot of problems for Madrid’s strong back four.
The Italian club will host the Spanish giants in round 16 of the UEFA Champions League.
Salah was doubtful for the match due to a muscular injury that he picked up in Friday’s 3-1 league win over Carpi, but he was later cleared as fit for the Real Madrid test.
“He’s a very good person. I would have been hurt if he was not available,” Spalletti told the Spanish newspaper AS on Tuesday.
“He has a great quality. He has the ability to change the game with a play.”
The 23-year-old joined Roma from English champions Chelsea last summer after spending the second half of last season on loan at Fiorentina, where he produced superb displays.
Salah, who spent a month on the sidelines due to injury late last year, ended a seven-match goal drought in the Serie A when he scored an early goal to set Roma on their way to a 2-0 victory over Sassuolo early this month.
Against Carpi, he continued to recapture his best form; scoring a goal and creating two others. He sustained an injury in stoppage time and was replaced with Emerson.
He has scored seven Serie A goals and one UEFA Champions League goal so far this season.
Cristiano Ronaldo
Since Zinedine Zidane took over the helm of Los Blancos at the Bernabeu, Ronaldo has found a new spring in his step with many saying he is enjoying playing football once again.
The Portuguese forward Ronaldo will have one thing on his mind when he heads to Italy, to go back to his once peak self. Madrid have a score to settle as Roma overcame Madrid 4-2 on aggregate in their previous meeting, Ronaldo will be key to make sure his side are firing on all cylinders.
4 for 4: Real Madrid and Roma have faced each other 8 times in the UEFA Champions League both winning four and losing four. It will prove vital whoever comes out on top of this head to head 8 years after they faced one another in the competition.
