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Cape Town - Real Madrid’s Mariano Diaz made up for
lost time on Wednesday as he netted a superb goal after coming on as a
substitute in their 3-0 Champions League win over Roma.
READ: Ronaldo controversially sent off on UCL debut
The 25-year old marked his debut for Los Blancos in the competition with a stunning injury-time goal as he cut inside and curled a shot into the far corner to add the icing to the cake win.
Speaking afterwards, Madrid's new number seven said he was glad just to get the opportunity to play.
"I am very happy for the debut at home, in the Champions League, and with a great victory against a great rival that last year was a step away from the final," said the striker.
"I'm very happy for the goal I scored, thanks to Marcelo's pass and the work of my team-mates."
Asked about nerves, Mariano added: "Not at all, I felt ready, but I was not in a hurry, I just wanted to work to have the opportunity from the coach."
Mariano has been at Madrid since 2012, but went out on loan to Lyon last season where he scored 18 goals in 34 league appearances.
Boss Julen Lopetegui praised the player for taking his chance to shine.
"His time had come and he made the most of it," the former Spain coach said.
"I'll take the team's triumph against a rival like Roma, who last year eliminated Barcelona and went far [the semi-finals].
"We knew they were going to make things difficult for us, but the team was very good, we made a great match, both defensively and offensively."
Mariano Diaz scored his first ever goal in #UCL with a beautiful curler that saw Real Madrid run out 3-0 victors against Roma. pic.twitter.com/ye3Ia92XKw
— SuperSport (@SuperSportTV) September 20, 2018
