Nani Makes Instant Impact On Venezia Debut, Produces Moment Of Magic ONE Minute After Coming On
Nani made an instant impact on his return to the Serie A, recording a brilliant assist on his Venezia debut.
The 35-year-old is back in Europe following a two-year spell with Major League Soccer team Orlando City.
And he wasted no time in contributing for his new club, bagging a crucial assist in Venezia's 1-1 draw against Empoli on Sunday.
The former Manchester United winger started on the bench, but entered the fray in the 72nd minute with his side trailing 1-0.
He took just over a minute to make an impact, setting up David Okereke in the 73rd minute.
The Portuguese, wearing the No.20 shirt, played a clever one-two with Mattia Aramu then slid a brilliant ball to Okereke who slotted home to make it 1-1.
It didn't take long for Nani to make an impact on his Venezia debut 🔥
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) January 16, 2022
An assist just less than a minute after coming on as a substitute 👏 pic.twitter.com/8tEKb6yF9b
72': Subbed on 🔄
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) January 16, 2022
73': Assisted David Okereke's equaliser 🅰️
An instant debut impact for Nani at Venezia 💥 pic.twitter.com/cRhge1wMZS
Speaking after his cameo appearance, he told DAZN via Football Italia: "It’s a very good start!
"The team played well, we know this was an important moment for us, we need to pick up as many points as possible. We could’ve won here today, but it’s a long path ahead and we know that we can do much better.
"All our players did better in the second half, there was more aggression and it paid off. The equaliser boosted our confidence, but we didn’t get the opportunity to win it."
Nani, who enjoyed a loan spell at Lazio in the 2017/18 season, added: "I was a little nervous, as I haven’t had many training sessions and am not in the best shape, but when you want to do well, it goes your way.
"Serie A is the best, I think this a fantastic moment to play here. I need to practice my Italian a bit, it’s been a while!"
Venezia will be hoping to draw upon his experience to avoid relegation this term.
Nasir Jabbar