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'Smalldini' - Chris Smalling Dropped A Defensive Masterclass In Europa Conference League Win

Nasir Jabbar

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'Smalldini' - Chris Smalling Dropped A Defensive Masterclass In Europa Conference League Win

​Chris Smalling produced a defensive masterclass in AS Roma's Europa Conference League triumph, with his individual highlights making for brilliant viewing.

Smalling starred at the back as Roma beat Feyenoord​ 1-0 in the Europa Conference League final on Wednesday. 

He kept Cyriel Dessers​ quiet and made vital blocks in an excellent, assured defensive performance.

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The Englishman was a commanding presence all game, won his aerial battles and dominated his one-on-one duels in a showing that earned him the 'Man of the Match' award. 

A stunning compilation of his outing shows he was a defensive beast for Jose Mourinho

Smalling's masterclass in defence sent social media wild, with Manchester United fans weighing in on their former player.

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One Twitter user wrote: "Puts £80m Maguire to absolute shame."​

A second tweeted: "Looking back we should have kept him and not even bothered looking at Harry Maguire."​

A third joked: "That man SmallDINI​."

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It's Smalling's second European title of his career under Mourinho following his Europa League win for Man United in 2017.

Speaking after his side's win in Albania, the 32-year-old said: "We knew how much it was going to mean to everybody in Rome, and you can see how together we are, everybody fought until the end.​

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"We had to do that on a few occasions this year (fighting hard), we dropped a bit deeper than we maybe wanted to but we knew we had to do everything. You could see, strikers running back, everybody defending and we knew we had to win​

"Even when I first came to the club it had been a long time since they won a trophy, you can hear the fans. We knew how much it was going to mean, you can see we've got some of the best fans."

Featured Image Credit: UEFA/BT Sport

Topics: Chris Smalling, Football, AS Roma

Nasir Jabbar
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