Italian press hails Donyell Malen as a ruthless goal machine

The Italian press has described Donyell Malen, the 27‑year‑old Dutch striker of AS Roma, as being in top form after his impressive performance against Torino, in which he scored his sixth goal of the season and also recently equalled a statistic of Francesco Totti.

The Dutchman again impressed at Torino and received glowing reactions from various Italian media, who praised his determination and sharpness.

Italian media praise Malen

Eurosport wrote: ‘He immediately misses a header chance, but then scores in his own way: with fire in his eyes. He almost puts Roma ahead with a brilliant lob.’

‘To everyone's surprise, Gasperini takes him off the field at the start of the second half,’ added another Italian source.

The Italian outlet rates the performance a 7, and Calciomercato headlined: ‘Malen always scores.’

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‘He had two chances where his powerful shot was blocked and he saw a header just go over. Then a goal was disallowed and his poor evening seemed to become a reality. However, he is in top form, which has lasted for months now, and managed with great determination to score the 1-0,’ according to a match report.

Roma Today also gave a 7 and wrote: ‘He almost hits the target with a header and then, with willpower, anger and cleverness, still finds the net by shooting while lying on the ground.’

Statistical milestones

His goal was already his sixth of the season, thereby equalling the record of Francesco Totti and Pedro Manfredini. He is the third player in Roma's history to have scored more than five goals in the first four matches.

Il Romanista sees a dream duo emerging between Paulo Dybala and Malen, while a fan site labels his performance as ruthless and gives him a 7.5.