Breakthrough goal cheers Taddei

Brazilian Rodrigo Taddei was delighted to have scored the goal that opened the floodgates for AS Roma's 4-0 Matchday 1 victory against FC Shakhtar Donetsk.

Debut goal
With hosts Roma struggling against a probing Shakhtar side, Taddei broke the deadlock in the 67th minute with a powerful angled shot, much to the player's delight. "It was my first UEFA Champions League game, and I scored just as I scored in my Serie A debut with [AC] Siena three years ago," he told uefa.com.

Midfield strength
Having joined Roma in the summer of 2005, the 26-year-old has come on a long way, thriving alongside Simone Perrotta and fellow Brazilian Mancini in the strong midfield that helped the capital club claim a Serie A record eleven successive Serie A victories last season. Under coach Luciano Spalletti, Roma have also mastered the ability to hold their nerve in tense matches.

'Fewer mistakes'
For Taddei, it was just that quality that helped Roma overcome a nervy first half to triumph against Shakhtar. "In the second half we managed to do what Spalletti asked us at half-time - be more attentive and close down space, and we also made fewer mistakes," said Taddei.

Late flurry
Once Taddei opened the scoring, Roma pressed their advantage, with Francesco Totti, Daniele De Rossi and David Pizarro scoring in the last 15 minutes of the match. It put a rather dramatic gloss on the result. "It was a difficult game, but when you score one, the rest come easier," Taddei said.

'Getting started'
However, despite a very positive start to the campaign, Taddei refused to get overconfident about the remainder of his side's Group D prospects, with a trip to Valencia CF to come on Matchday 2. "This is a very difficult group," he said. "We are just getting started and there is still plenty of room for improvement."