You never know quite what to expect from European games, but sometimes Roma have made an instant impression in them.
Here, Giallorossi Yorkshire looks at all the goals Roma have scored in continental matches inside the first minute.
Edoardo Bove (26/10/23 – Europa League)
Like his last goal of the 2022-23 season, Edoardo Bove’s first goal of 2023-24 came in the Europa League. On matchday three, he put his side ahead against Slavia Prague within a minute by curling the ball in from the edge of the box. Roma went on to win the game 2-0 thanks to a second Stephan El Shaarawy-assisted goal, this time by Romelu Lukaku.
Stephan El Shaarawy (31/10/17 – Champions League)
One of Roma’s most fun results on their journey to the Champions League semi-final in 2017-18 came in the group stage against Chelsea, whom they put to the sword in a 3-0 win. After an impressive 3-3 draw in the away leg, Roma stunned their visitors back in Italy when El Shaarawy fired in from the edge of the box early on.
Francesco Totti (27/8/09 – Europa League)
Francesco Totti scored three first-minute goals in his career, but quicker than the ones he got in Serie A and the Coppa Italia was his opener against Kosice in the 2009-10 Europa League, which kickstarted his hat-trick in a 7-1 win. Coming after just 18 seconds, it remains Roma’s quickest goal in a European tie.
Alberto Aquilani (15/9/05 – UEFA Cup)
Roma’s last ever UEFA Cup campaign, before it became the Europa League, commenced with a 5-1 win over Aris in September 2005. Shortly after the game started, Alberto Aquilani prodded home his first goal for the club – which was ultimately the only time he scored in Europe for Roma (he later did so as well with Liverpool, Fiorentina and Sporting).
Own goal (6/11/91 – European Cup Winners’ Cup)
Roma’s last ever win in the European Cup Winners’ Cup came in November 1991 and it was a convincing one. The first leg of their round of 16 tie against Ilves from Finland was a 1-1 draw, but an own goal by Pekka Mattila gave the Giallorossi an early advantage in the second leg in Rome. Remarkably, Ruggiero Rizzitelli then made it 2-0 in the second minute; Ottavio Bianchi’s side eventually won 5-2, but lost in the next round to Monaco.
Andrea Carnevale (19/9/90 – UEFA Cup)
Part of Andrea Carnevale’s quickfire start to life at Roma before he was banned not long after was a first-minute goal against Benfica in the first round of the 1990-91 UEFA Cup, which would culminate in a runners-up finish.
Pedro Manfredini (7/11/62 – Inter-Cities Fairs Cup)
No player ever scored more goals for Roma in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup than Pedro Manfredini. One of the best days of his career was also one of Roma’s best ever matches; Manfredini was responsible for a four-goal haul in a record 10-1 win over Altay in the round of 32 in 1962-63. His first goal came within a minute and set him on his way to being the competition’s joint-top scorer that season.
Francisco Lojacono (2/12/62 – Inter-Cities Fairs Cup)
The player Manfredini was tied with was his teammate Francisco Lojacono – who coincidentally scored in the first minute of Roma’s next Fairs Cup match, away at Real Zaragoza. It was the third consecutive match in the competition in which he had scored and would end as a 4-2 win, which also featured John Charles’ only cup goal for Roma.
Lamberto Leonardi (29/6/63 – Coppa Delle Alpi)
After the 1962-63 Serie A season, Roma went into the Coppa Delle Alpi (which art the time was contested between Swiss and Italian sides only). In the third-place play-off, they beat another Serie A rival, Inter, 5-1, with Lamberto Leonardi setting things off in the first minute.
Pedro Manfredini (27/5/61 – Inter-Cities Fairs Cup)
Roma went all the way to win the Fairs Cup in 1960-61, a season in which Manfredini scored 34 goals in 42 games across all competitions. Part of the process was a triple-header against Hibernian in the semi-final, since the two-legged tie went to a replay. Roma this time were a class above; Manfredini’s opener in the first minute was his first of four goals on the night in a 6-0 win.
Dante Di Benedetti (12/7/36 – Central European Cup)
The 1936-37 league season was preceded by Roma’s involvement in the Central European Cup (which came to be known as the Mitropa Cup in later years). They were knocked out in the quarter-finals by Sparta Prague, despite Dante Di Benedetti putting them ahead in the first minute of the second leg. Sparta equalised within a minute and there was no change to the score thereafter, so Roma were out 4-1 on aggregate.
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