Roma's star winger Cengiz Ünder, 20, continued his fine run of form after he became Roma's second youngest Turkish player to score a Champions League goal Wednesday. Ünder is behind Antonio Cassano just for a matter of days. Even though Roma lost 2-1 against its Ukrainian rival Shakhtar Donetsk, Ünder once more shined by giving the Italian side a lead shortly before halftime. Cengiz Ünder is playing a big role in Roma's Serie A revival, scoring his fourth goal in three matches as Roma won 2-0 at Udinese last Saturday for a third straight win. He is having a breakout month in Serie A. First, he scored after 43 seconds when Roma ended a five-match winless streak by beating Hellas Verona 1-0. Then he scored a brace and delivered an assist in a 5-2 win over Benevento last weekend. All this success comes after not being involved in any goals in his first 14 matches for Roma.
"He plays far more for the team than himself," Roma coach Eusebio Di Francesco said of Ünder. "His greatest strength is being able to prepare his shot with great speed, making him difficult to close down."
"He needs to improve his decision-making. Sometimes he plays with his head down and doesn't see the options. He's got fabulous technical ability as you can see. The thing he does best is setting himself up for the shot, he shows such quick feet," he said.
Meanwile, Ünder's teammate Diego Perotti said, "He's very humble and he doesn't speak Italian but he's well behaved and is a great kid. He deserves all of this."
"He's doing a great job, he's out there on the pitch trying to do what the boss asks and then away from it he is learning Italian. Now you are all talking about him, but he needs to keep his feet on the ground and continue what he has been doing, working hard and putting in great performances," he added.
The Turkish wunderkind rose to prominence last season when he scored seven goals in 32 appearances for Istanbul's Medipol Başakşehir. He scored his first goal for the Turkish national team against Moldova last March. Football pundits have likened Ünder to Juventus's 23-year-old Argentine forward Paulo Dybala, both in appearance and his rapid rise to fame as a talented player.