Roma players whose first two goals came against the same opponent

Cristian Volpato scored his second goal for Roma on 31st October, 2022 – and coincidentally, it came against the same opponent as the first.

As fate would have it, a few other players across Roma’s history have opened their account against a certain team before doubling their tally for the club against the same side in a later game.

Not counting those who scored braces when getting off the mark for Roma, here is a selection of former players to have done the same as Volpato in scoring twice against one side for the club before any others.

Agostino Di Bartolomei (Bologna)

Roma’s captain from their second Scudetto season had originally emerged from their academy ranks in the early 1970s. He opened his account for the club on the opening day of the 1973-74 season, scoring the winner in a 2-1 triumph over Bologna.

The midfielder would go on to spend some time developing on loan before returning for the 1976-77 season, in which he first scored in the Coppa Italia – once again against Bologna. On this occasion, he equalised in a 1-1 draw with a penalty.

Di Bartolomei would conclude his Roma career – prematurely for some and against his wishes – with a total of 69 goals.

Carlo Ancelotti (Pescara)

Another member of the Scudetto-winning squad of 1982-83 was fellow midfielder Carlo Ancelotti. After joining from Parma in 1979, he first found the net in his new colours on the second matchday of his debut season, helping Roma to a 3-2 win over Pescara.

Later that campaign, he sank the same opponents with the only goal in a 1-0 victory, 52 minutes in.

Sinisa Mihajlovic (Taranto)

Brought to Italy by Roma in 1992, all seven of Mihajlovic’s goals for the club came in his first season – and five of them were in the Coppa Italia.

The Giallorossi lost the final of that season’s competition on away goals despite beating Torino 5-2 in the second leg, in which Mihajlovic scored, having already helped set his new team on their way with goals in both legs of the second round win over Taranto.

In doing so, he became one of a handful of players to score in each of their first two Roma appearances.

Damiano Tommasi (Dynamo Moscow)

Whereas Mihajlovic got off the mark in a domestic cup, Damiano Tommasi did so in a UEFA competition.

In the first round of the 1996-97 UEFA Cup, Tommasi put Roma ahead in the home leg of their clash with Dinamo Moscow. The midfielder would then put them in front again in the second leg, ensuring a 6-1 aggregate win.

Walter Samuel (ND Gorica)

Also utilising a UEFA competition to start scoring for Roma was Walter Samuel, who in 2000 scored away and at home against ND Gorica in the same competition.

Roma won the second leg 7-0, which was kickstarted by Samuel’s opener. He would also score in the third round of that season’s tournament, but only once in the Scudetto-winning Serie A campaign, instead proving his importance at his natural end of the pitch.

Lucas Digne (Carpi)

Representing Roma on loan in the 2015-16 season, Lucas Digne scored on the sixth Serie A matchday, when Rudi Garcia’s side beat Carpi 5-1. The Frenchman’s header was the final goal of the game.

A few months later, and now under the management of Luciano Spalletti, the left-back finished from distance with what was this time the opening goal of a 3-1 win over the same Serie A strugglers. There would just be one more goal to follow from him before his loan spell ended and he headed off elsewhere.

Cristian Volpato (Hellas Verona)

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Cristian Volpato first scored for Roma against Hellas Verona on 19th February, 2022, sparking a comeback that eventually resulted in a 2-2 draw.

In the process, he became the first player born on the continent of Oceania to score for Roma.

The first players born in each continent to score for Roma

It was just Volpato’s second appearance for the club, and by the time of his sixth, he would be finding the net again – versus Verona once more.

Likewise, he played his part in a comeback, putting Roma 2-1 up after they had originally fallen behind. They would go on to win 3-1, with Volpato also assisting Stephan El Shaarawy’s result-confirming goal and potentially earning himself some further opportunities down the line.