There was plenty of skepticism when Selangor confirmed his signature during off-season, and all of them stemmed from the fact that he looked below-par during friendly matches.
But tonight, Mauro Olivi proved his mettle with a scintillating performance as Selangor clinched a 4-3 win over Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi in Dhaka. He was easily Selangor’s best player on the pitch and while that was due in no small part to the fact that he notched two goals, there was evidently a lot more to his performance.
Selangor came into this match on the back of a frustrating run of games, and that was relatively evident on the pitch today, as they huffed and puffed for 90 minutes, conceding three goals along the way. But if not for Olivi’s energetic runs all over the pitch, Selangor could have potentially picked up their second AFC Cup defeat tonight.
But of course, he will be mainly be remembered for his two fantastic finishes, besides the fact that he also assisted Patrick Ronaldinho’s opening goal with a terrific cross. This victory will now give them the momentum they desperately need to bounce back domestically and Olivi’s heroic performance will undoubtedly be a timely confidence boost for the man himself.
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