Nigeria-born striker equals Batistuta and Montella’s record

Nigeria-born Roma forward Tammy Abraham admits the fans have been reminding him non-stop that he’s equalled Vincenzo Montella and Gabriel Batistuta with 21 goals in his debut Roma season, the one against Vitesse booking their Conference League quarter-final spot.

Once again, the England international was decisive in stoppages, this time with a header from point-blank range on Rick Karsdorp’s assist to seal the 1-1 result on the night with Vitesse.

It had been going to extra-time following Maximilian Wittek’s fantastic volley off the outside of the left boot, levelling up the 1-0 first leg Roma win.

But this goal means Roma go through to the Europa Conference League quarter-final.

“I have to give credit to my team, together we had a good game against an excellent opponent, we all fought and had already seen in the first leg how tough it was,” Abraham told Sky Sport Italia.

 “This victory was important for us and for the fans. It wasn’t our best performance, but we scored and went through.”

It also means Abraham has now equalled the record of 21 goals in all competition in his first Roma season, the same as legends Batistuta and Montella.

“I see it all over my Instagram every day! My only objective when I arrived was to score and help the team, I hope to score many more.

“There’s nothing better than scoring and seeing how the fans react.”

Roma are in the Conference League quarter-finals, so who would Abraham like to face?

“Whoever comes our way, we have to be ready. Leicester? Why not a Premier League team? The lads and I will be watching the draw tomorrow.”