Angel Di Maria scored possibly the goal of the tournament in the Europa League on Thursday, February 23
The Juventus star curled in an impossible shot from the edge of the box to help his side to an aggregate lead over Nantes
Juventus went into the second leg knowing they would get knocked out of the European competition if they failed to beat the French side

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Angel Di Maria turned up for Juventus when it mattered with a scrumptious goal on Thursday, February 23, to give his side the lead against Nantes.

The former PSG man pounced on a pass from Nicolo Fagioli to sweep in a superb curling effort which initially looked like it was going wide.

It only took Juventus four minutes to break the deadlock at the Stade de la Beaujoire and 16 minutes later, the Old Lady took the game out of reach of the hosts reach through Di Maria again.

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Di Maria, Juventus, Serie A — Angel Di Maria after scoring his team's first goal during the UEFA Europa League knockout round play-off leg two match between FC Nantes and Juventus on February 23, 2023. Photo by Daniele Badolato.
Source: Getty Images

The Argentine slotted in a penalty after Nantes’ Nicolas Pallois was adjudged to have handled the ball in the penalty area, as reported on BBC.

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Reactions to Di Maria goal

Di Maria’s first strike left fans marveling at his brilliance, despite being in the twilight days of his career.

“That was a green timed finish mixed in with the first time finesse shots we used to have back in fifa 18,” One fan said.

“Big game player, I really like what Real Madrid does to a players’ mentality,” another added.

“The best Juventus player and they want to get rid of him,”

“Second greatest Argentinian player ever, after Messi.”

Juventus on the ascendancy

Juventus have been the form team in Italy since they were slapped with a point deduction.

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Massimiliano Allegri’s side have climbed to seventh in the league, and their targets remains qualifying for Europe despite their financial controversies.

With the win over Nantes, Juventus will keep alive two routes to Champions League football.

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