'I'm happy for Evan Ferguson' - Gian Piero Gasperini may keep Irish striker at Roma

Before Ferguson's brace against Celtic, speculation was growing that his season-long loan spell at the Italian Giants was set to be cut short.

FERGIE'S TIME: Roma's Evan Ferguson leaves the pitch following his brace against Celtic. Pic: Andrew Milligan/PA Wire.

Goals change games but they can also change the trajectory of a young footballer’s career.

In the lead-up to Roma’s Europa League clash away to Celtic, speculation was growing that Evan Ferguson’s season-long loan spell at the Italian Giants was set to be cut short and that he would return to Brighton & Hove Albion in January.

Roma manager Gian Piero Gasperini refused to deny the reports when asked about the 21-year-old’s future at his pre-match press conference in Glasgow.

But just a few days later and the situation appears to have changed as two well taken goals in the first half at Celtic Park has seen the Bettystown native force his way back into Gasperini’s plans.

"Well, he doesn't have to be a player for me, he has to be a Roma player, which is the most important thing,” Gasperini said when asked if Ferguson was now “more of a Gasperini player” ahead of their home match against Cesc Fabregas’s Como on Monday.

“Is he useful to Roma? The other night, undoubtedly. The same goes for the others. Are they there to play at a certain level, for certain objectives?

“That's always the point, or is it the coach's way of playing? Roma comes first, above everyone. When players are useful to the team, they have to play.

"It's not like we had this much variety against Celtic. I'm very happy for [Niccolo] Pisilli, [Devyne] Rensch had already provided some answers, [Neil] El Aynaoui even more so, I'm happy for Ferguson, [Stephan] El Shaarawy has been here forever.

“It's clear that as a team we need to play at the high levels we're playing at in Europe and in the league.

“Up to a certain level, that's fine, but then we'll have to raise the bar even further when we have more competitive, stronger matches and teams, to reach ever greater heights. We have some young players who are developing, so that's good.

"Overall, the team has been a leader so far, both in the core group and those who came after.

“They've always had opportunities, everyone, to play, and everyone will have them to carve out spaces. But there will always be hierarchies."

Meanwhile Inter moved to the top of Serie A with a 2-1 victory at Genoa thanks to first-half goals from Yann Bisseck and Lautaro Martínez. The result put Inter on 33 points, one ahead of their city rivals Milan and two ahead of Napoli, both of whom failed to win earlier in the day. Genoa are 16th with 14 points.

Inter’s match was preceded by unrest outside the stadium as supporters of both teams clashed, with several vehicles set on fire before police restored order. The incident did not delay kick-off.

In Germany, Bayern Munich needed an 87th-minute penalty from Harry Kane to rescue a 2-2 home draw against bottom-place Mainz but still managed to extend their lead at the top of the Bundesliga to nine points.

Goals from Lee Jae-sung and Kacper Potulski had put the visitors in the driving seat after Lennart Karl’s first-half opener for the Bavarians, before Kane was brought down and then netted his 18th league goal of the season to save the hosts’ blushes.

Bayern are in top spot on 38 points, with RB Leipzig second on 29 following Friday’s 3-1 loss at Union Berlin and Borussia Dortmund in third, on goal difference, after their 1-1 draw at Freiburg where Jobe Bellingham was sent off.

In France, Odsonne Édouard scored with a header in each half as Lens beat Nice 2-0 at home to move back ahead of Paris Saint-Germain at the top of Ligue 1.

Finally in Spain, Real Madrid cut Barcelona’s lead back to four points with a win over Alavés.