English-Congolese boy wins the game for Juve on his first start

For a few years now, English-born winger Samuel Iling-Junior has been considered a future star. But today, he decided he'd speed up his arrival - by winning Juventus' Serie A game at Atalanta with his first professional goal - in his first start for the team!

Born in England to Congolese parents, Iling-Junior started his football journey at Chelsea when he was just seven - even though he's a big Arsenal fan. There, he quickly drew the attention of coaches, scouts and agents, playing for youth sides.

At Chelsea, Iling-Junior looked up to Didier Drogba and Eden Hazard. But as he began to think more about his game, he found other role models. He enjoyed watching Leroy Sane at Manchester City and later at Bayern with Jamal Musiala.

But then - disappointment came. The Blues didn't believe he would succeed, so they only offered a scholarship contract to the then-17-year-old boy. To Samuel's father, who is also acting as his agent, it was a clear indication they should seek happiness elsewhere. With several high-profile clubs, including Bayern and Paris Saint-Germain, interested, the family accepted the call from Italy. In September 2020, the promising winger joined Juventus, signing a three-year professional contract - which was extended to 2025 in the meantime.

Training up close and personal with Argentinean ace Angel Di Maria has been a treat for Samuel - as he highlighted in an interview for The Athletic.

"It's the little things. First touches, touches around players if I'm beating my man, and then mentally, they're winners. You've got to have that winner's mentality. This club is about winning. They settle for nothing less."

This son of a nurse and a computer engineer from Kinshasa provided one of very few sparks in what's been a desperately cagey encounter between two teams in European places. For over an hour, neither team recorded shots on target. But the former Chelsea youngster will remember this day forever. He was handed his first start in a professional game by coach Massimiliano Allegri and he scored the goal which lifted Juventus over Lazio into the second place in Serie A.

Atalanta came close to salvaging a point, but Davide Zappacosta's 88th-minute shot from around 25 metres out had bounced off the post. It was a day for the young African Gunner.

Dusan Vlahovic added the second deep in added time to seal the points and give Juve fans a totally different outlook on the season.

SERIE A - MATCHDAY 34

Saturday

Milan - Lazio 2-0 (2-0)

/Bennacer 11, Hernandez 29/

Roma - Inter 0-2 (0-1)

/Dimarco 33, Lukaku 74/

Cremonese - Spezia 2-0 (1-0)

/Ciofani 41, Vasquez 77/

Sunday

Atalanta - Juventus 0-2 (0-0)

/Illing-Junior 56, Vlahovic 90+8/

16.00: (2.14) Torino (3.35) Monza (4.00)

19.00: (1.94) Napoli (3.50) Fiorentina (4.10)

21.45: (2.35) Lecce (3.20) Verona (3.60)

Monday

19.30: (1.58) Udinese (4.00) Sampdoria (6.25)

19.30: (2.35) Empoli (3.40) Salernitana (3.35)

21.45: (2.50) Sassuolo (3.50) Bologna (3.05)

***odds are subject to change***