Opinion: How did our Primavera trio get on?

With Group A already in the bag before Roma travelled to Bulgaria to take on CSKA Sofia, Paulo Fonseca handed professional debuts to Mory Bamba and Pietro Boer on Thursday night - as well as a first full start to Tommaso Milanese.

Here, we look at how the Primavera trio fared as they took a major step in their development with the Giallorossi.

PIETRO BOER

Boer only made the step up to the Primavera side this summer and the 18-year-old kept two clean sheets in his five appearances with the Giallorossi’s second string youngsters before the league was put on hold just six games in.

Some mild concerns surrounding the fitness of Antonio Mirante led Boer to be handed a surprise first team debut and, from the first whistle, his teammates were evidently confident in Boer’s ability on the ball as he took possession - and used it extremely well - in tight situations.

He will undoubtedly be disappointed to have conceded from Sofia’s first shot of the match after just five minutes, but Boer didn’t let it faze him and just quarter of an hour in showed great awareness to race off his line and deny Ali Sowe with a well-timed slide tackle.

Boer wasn’t helped by his defence for Sowe’s subsequent brace but this experience will do wonders for his development with plenty of football - and opportunities to learn - still ahead of him.

MORY BAMBA

Also just 18, Bamba featured in just 13 minutes across the Primavera’s 100 per cent start to the season and he's more accustomed to featuring from the right flank than the left - as he did in Sofia.

Bamba is also far more familiar operating high up the pitch rather than doing the defensive work that Fonseca’s 3-4-3 demands of his wide-men.

The Ivory Coast teenager, however, is naturally left footed and has pace to burn to make up for any defensive lapses and it took him just 10 minutes to go beyond his opposite number and whip a devilish ball into the box that just evaded his forwards.

At times Bamba did find himself on the periphery of Roma’s play, but he barely put a foot wrong when called upon in either defence or attack and restricted Georgi Yomov on the CSKA right to a night penned in his own half.

TOMMASO MILANESE

Of the three Primavera that started in the Bulgaria capital, Milanese is the only one who has already experienced first team football in his burgeoning career - featuring twice from the bench in this season’s Europa League already.

Arguably, he also looks the most ready to make the permanent step up and his performance in midfield was dazzling at times, as Milanese had 56 touches of the football and made 41 of 47 passes in a nudge over an hour on the pitch.

Milanese injected pace into Roma’s play whenever he received the ball, looking for areas to get on the half turn and either drive beyond the Sofia midfield or find a forward pass for one of his teammates to break the hosts’ structural banks.

All of that was on full display even before Milanese superbly controlled on his right thigh and then fired home on the half volley to level the scores; bagging a first senior goal of what looks to have the potential to be a solid career for the youngster.