Tammy Abraham’s Derby della Capitale heroics has propelled him as a fan favorite among the Giallorossi faithful. The Englishman played a key role in dismantling Lazio’s defence with a quickfire brace, before Lorenzo Pellegrini netted a belter of a freekick before halftime to settle the match. However, he missed out on the chance to become just the fifth player in the Rome derby’s history to bag a hattrick.
15 – Tammy Abraham has now scored 15 Serie A goals this season, equalling his best top-flight league tally for Chelsea in 2019-20. In fact, since the start of 2022, only Robert Lewandowski (12) has netted more goals in the big-five European leagues than Abraham (9). Fantastico. pic.twitter.com/f9q9KqSUyo
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) March 20, 2022
Before he took onto the Stadio Olimpico pitch for Roma, Abraham spoke to CBS Sports and shared his thoughts on life in Rome under the tutelage of Portuguese manager Jose Mourinho.
Unbelievable! ? https://t.co/elaW0iMpeT
— Tammy Abraham (@tammyabraham) March 20, 2022
Moving away from European champions Chelsea was never going to be easy and the youngster took the major step to experience his professional life outside his home country at a tender age, speaking of which he has no regrets.
“At first, when they initially contacted me, I thought to myself, ‘This isn’t for me. But then, when people explain to your their ambitions, and show that they have faith you and make you feel valuable, that’s when you want to give them everything you can.” (via RomaPress)
Abraham said he ‘fell in love’ with the Italian capital as soon as he arrived.
“As soon as I arrived here. I fell in love with this place.”
Jose Mourinho’s presence has a played a key role in the forward’s development, as he has now etched himself as a surefire starter under the veteran coach.
“I still look up to him as an idol. And I never told him this, but every time I see him I’m still star-struck even though I see him every day. When he was at Chelsea, I was there but I was still a young kid. I trained with him a couple of times so I knew what he was like a little bit and since coming here, I call him my uncle of Rome.”
Abraham has now scored more goals across all competitions than any other English player thi season, with 23 goals from 40 games. He has also made history by scoring as many goals in his debut Roma season, more than Giallorossi icons Gabriel Batistuta and Vincenzo Montella could muster – 21 goals.
Tammy Abraham has scored 23 goals already for Roma this season, but Jose Mourinho still wants more ? pic.twitter.com/qUAJIIo9Ln
— GOAL (@goal) March 21, 2022