Davide Zappacosta scores a stunner for Chelsea vs. Qarabag

Davide Zappacosta was called a “panic” signing for Chelsea by many observers at the end of the transfer window, with the Italian fullback coming into the club with little heraldry despite being a solid player in Serie A for the last three years. After the goal he scored against Qarabag in the Champions League, though, a lot of his doubters will be silenced.

Zappacosta’s finish was ridiculous, a wide-angle shot that easily beat the goalkeeper to the far post. It’s not a shot most fullbacks even try — in fact, some fans thought it was meant to be a cross at first — but Zappacosta made it look easy. He made a good run with the ball to help set it up, then when he looked to see who was where for a potential cross in, he quickly saw that the goalkeeper wasn’t in an ideal position to make a save and ripped off his shot.

It was an impressive bit of all-around attacking play for a fullback, and really showed off just how good Zappacosta can be going forward. And he’s had an impressive day in defense, too, showing that even if he was a panic buy, he was a pretty damn good one for Chelsea.