501 and no end in sight
On Saturday Daniele De Rossi celebrated his 500th appearance in the yellow and red with a goal in the routine victory over Empoli. But the Rome-born legend said he did not enjoy the occasion as fans boycotted the game, so De Rossi only had a half-empty stadium for his big day.
Jump to halftime in the Bayer Leverkusen game and the whole world was saying his name. Trending worldwide on Twitter, De Rossi had dragged his side from 2-0 down to a level scoreline. Against the German side, De Rossi finally got the recognition and occasion he deserved for the fantastic service he has given his boyhood club for over a decade.
Marvellous Miralem
Miralem Pjanic learned from the best when it comes to free-kicks. During his time at Lyon he was understudy to Brazilian Juninho, who holds the record for the most scored in the Champions League history. In the build-up to the Leverkusen game, the focus was on Pjanic and Hakan Calhanoglu as the battle of the set-pieces takers – two of the best dead ball specialist in the business.
With his goal against Empoli at the weekend, Pjanic officially became the best free-kick taker in Europe this season, status that was reaffirmed with a brilliant effort against the Germans which left keeper Bernd Leno motionless and gave Roma the lead at 3-2. It is not only here where Pjanic is a specialist though. The Bosnian makes Roma tick and controls the momentum, his superb form will delight fans far and wide, however, with interest from the likes of Barcelona they will hope he is in the Italian capital for the long term.
“Video: Pjanic Stuns Leverkusen with 25-Yard Freekick” via @TeamStream https://t.co/22lcf1MOjn
— SportsCentral (@Fundamentals21) October 20, 2015
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