BARCELONA (Reuters) - Valencia forward Simone Zaza has overcome his Euro 2016 penalty shootout trauma and a disastrous campaign in the Premier League to become second top scoring striker in La Liga this campaign, only trailing Lionel Messi. Zaza said in an interview with Italian daily Gazzetta dello Sport that the penalty "traumatised" him and led to severe weight loss. Italian coach Cesare Prandelli played a big role in offering Zaza an escape route to Valencia although resigned before the player joined up with the club. "I'm not thinking about catching Messi, I'm just excited about the game which comes as a great time for me and the team. We have to enjoy the evening, it will be a very difficult challenge but we have already shown that we can compete with anyone."

Source: The Star November 23, 2017 17:26 UTC