Milanese almost speechless at making Roma debut

Milanese, 18, has enjoyed a fine start to the season with the club’s Primavera – and got the nod from coach Paulo Fonseca midway through the second half at the Stadio Olimpico.

The midfielder replaced Bryan Cristante for the closing stages, looking comfortable on the ball as he partnered another of the club’s academy products, Lorenzo Pellegrini, in the centre of the park.

“It’s an incredible feeling – I don’t have the words to describe it,” Milanese, who joined Roma at Under-15 level, said.

“To begin with I couldn’t really believe it was happening, but then I slowly got my head around it.”

He added: “I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep tonight!”

Milanese’s cameo performance was capped off by a nice assist for Pedro’s fifth and final goal of the night.

“The coach told me to play calmly, to move the ball around patiently as I know how to do,” he said.

“I will keep working hard and I hope to get more chances in future.”