Pique: I couldn't believe Florenzi's goal
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| AFP |
Gerard Pique has led the tributes to the "crazy" goal scored by Alessandro Florenzi that earned Roma a 1-1 draw with Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday.
"It was crazy!" the Spain defender wrote on Twitter in a reply to a fan who had asked for his reaction to Florenzi's long-distance strike, which caught goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen off guard. When I saw the goal, I couldn't believe it! One of the best goals I've had scored against me in my career."
On what was his 100th Champions League appearance, Lionel Messi had been hoping to close the gap on rival Cristiano Ronaldo's new record tally for goals in the competition. Both had been tied on 77, but a hat-trick by the Real Madrid attacker in a 4-0 win over Shakhtar Donetsk on Tuesday saw him pull three goals clear of the Barcelona No10.
Enrique takes blame for 'lucky' goal
Messi was a class act throughout an entertaining Group E encounter at the Stadio Olimpico, where Roma were forced to defend for most of the night and take their chances on the counter-attack. But the Argentinian was upstaged by Florenzi's strike, which sports daily La Gazzetta dello Sport calculated at a distance of 55.49 metres. After collecting the ball in his own half, Florenzi carried it over the halfway line near the right touchline, looked up and, when he saw Ter Stegen 15 metres out of his goal, launched a drive that went over the German and in off his far post. The 24-year-old admitted to stunning himself.
"It was a great goal, you could see that by the reaction on my face after it went in," he said, admitting he decided to take a pot shot after realising he had no other choices. "I saw [Edin] Dzeko but couldn't get the ball to him. So I said to myself, 'Shoot'. The worst thing that can happen is it goes out of play. Then I saw it go in the back of the net."
Luis Enrique, for his part, said he was partly to blame and claimed Florenzi had been fortunate.
"He is a good player, but he was a little lucky," said the Barcelona coach, who spent a season at the Roma reins in 2011/12. "He took a chance and scored a great goal. Hats off to him, but it was partly my fault because we tell our goalkeepers to play like that. But that will be the last goal like that we concede."
Florenzi's strike has relaunched debate about where exactly he should play. Known for his versatility, at Roma he has played on the wing, in midfield and at right-back.
Team-mate Daniele De Rossi said: "He's scored a goal that is going to be televised over and over. He can become one of the best right-backs in the world."