Miralem Pjanic’s 10 greatest Roma goals

On the day Miralem Pjanic celebrates his 26th birthday, asroma.com looks back on 10 of the Bosnian’s greatest goals in a Giallorossi shirt.

Everyone has a different favourite Pjanic goal. These are Wayne Girard’s…

10. Manchester United, 26.7.2014

A pre-season fixture in the International Champions Cup, Pjanic’s 60-yard goal against Manchester United was an incredible feat of skill. Not only did the lob amaze keeper Ben Amos as it looped over him, but it sparked a mini-resurgence as Roma mounted a valiant comeback from 3-nil down.

9. Napoli, 4.4.2015

In the 25th minute of Roma-Napoli, Pjanic broke the deadlock after some great team play. Radja Nainggolan started the attack with a tackle in the centre of the field, where Miralem then received the ball, quickly playing it to Juan Iturbe. After Iturbe played it down the flank to Alessandro Florenzi, the wingback crossed the ball into the centre of Napoli’s box where Pjanic arrived at the precise moment with his right instep to slide the ball past the keeper.

8. Empoli, 27.2.2016

After Empoli had leveled the match at 1-1, Pjanic lined up at the top of the box for a free-kick on goal. As the shot struck the wall, it bounced back only for the midfielder to volley it past Lukasz Skorupski. It was Pjanic’s super-fast instinct which made this goal so remarkable, as in seemingly one motion, he took the initial shot and then volleyed the deflection home.

7. Frosinone, 30.1.2016

In the 84th minute of a physical match against Frosinone, Francesco Totti connected with the Bosnian international, sending a perfect reverse through ball from near the half-way line in the path of the midfielder. Pjanic’s darting run was finished off by a successful shot from just beyond the 18-yard-line to seal a 3-1 victory.

6. Palermo, 4.10.2015

A 4-2 away win in a game that saw Miralem grab another opening goal. After breaking forward, the midfielder exchanged passes with Florenzi before finishing the move off with a tricky left foot flick past veteran Stefano Sorrentino.

5. Lazio, 11.11.2012

In the 86th minute of the Derby della Capitale, Miralem demonstrated his dead-ball expertise in a last ditch effort to secure a point for the Giallorossi. Although Roma ultimately came away unsuccessful, Pjanic still remarkably scored a free-kick from just inside Lazio’s half.

4. Juventus, 30.8.2015

The current season was only a game old when Pjanic struck a perfect free-kick over the Juventus wall and past Gianluigi Buffon.

3. Bayer Leverkusen, 4.11.2015

Although some may claim this goal is just a penalty kick, this particular penalty kick against Bayer Leverkusen will have been one of Pjanic’s most high-pressure moments of his career. After Mohamed Salah had been brought down in the 80th minute, Pjanic stepped up to the spot and millions of Roma fans held their breath. His cool shot fooled ‘keeper Omer Toprak and sealed a 3-2 win, elevating Roma to second place in Group E and ultimately into the knockout round of the Champions League.

2. Atalanta, 24.2.2013

Away to Atalanta, the midfielder proved that even a blizzard couldn’t stop his free-kick – as he managed to find the net from 25-yards out. In the 34th minute, Pjanic saw past the snow and curled the ball above the Atalanta wall and into the top left corner of the net to put Roma 2-1 up in a game they’d go on to win 3-2.

1. Milan, 25.4.2014

In the 43rd minute of the game against Milan, Pjanic unlocked the opposition defense to score what many fans – including myself - regard as his finest goal. After first slipping past Milan’s forwards, he then easily saw past the midfield before dribbling past the defence and coolly slotting it past Christian Abbiati. Clearly ecstatic, Miralem ripped his shirt off and ran towards the Curva Sud to celebrate with his teammates. We’d all have done the same!