Roberto Gagliardini knocked out, Paolo Zanetti extols him: "Stratospheric"

Roberto Gagliardini had to leave the field after just half an hour of Verona-Cremonese, stopped by a painful shoulder injury. And at the end of the match, concluded on the result of 0-0, his coach Paolo Zanetti l’praised him with words of great esteem and confidence. The Gialloblù coach also made it clear that he still has his sights set on the former Atalanta, Inter and Monza midfielder, who arrived on the banks of the Adige River during the summer as an unemployed player.

“I wasn&#8220t able to see him after the game because he has already gone to the hospital to reduce the dislocation in his shoulder. But Gagliardini’s championship with Verona did not end today, on the contrary: it has just begun – guaranteed Zanetti -. He was working with us for just a week, he was playing as a starter and I think his performance was stratospheric. For us he is a very important footballer, on a human level I feel so sorry for him. But we are waiting for him, because we know he will give us so much”.

Regarding his Verona’s match against Cremonese, Zanetti has clear ideas: “I saw a great performance, and I think ending with a draw is not a result we deserved. We shot on goal 18 times, we deserved a lot more. A little bit sorry, but when this happens after a draw it means the signs are good. I see for this Verona a good future”.

Gagliardini’s injury was one of the most difficult moments in a match that saw Hellas Verona dominate territorially but fail to materialize. The Bergamasque midfielder, who had signed with the Gialloblù club just three days earlier after being released at the end of his time at Monza, was forced off at 26′ due to a dislocated shoulder, being replaced by Akpa-Apro.

Verona’s performance at the Bentegodi was characterized by a clear offensive supremacy, with as many as 18 shots towards the goal defended by Emil Audero. The Cremonese goalkeeper proved to be the great protagonist of the evening, making several decisive interventions that denied the joy of goal to the hosts. Particularly unlucky was young Giovane, who squandered at least three sharp chances during the course of the match.

The match also saw the Serie A debut of Jamie Vardy in the Cremonese shirt. The English striker, champion of England with Leicester in the historic 2015-2016 season, was entered at 58′ visibly excited for his first appearance in the Italian league at age 38. For the former Leicester man, who scored nine Premier League goals last season, it was little more than half an hour on the field with no particular opportunity to show off.