Matteo Darmian left Manchester United on a quiet note in 2019 when he joined Parma for £1.4 million.

Four years after his £8 million transfer to United from Torino, Darmian’s spell was largely disappointing, having been brought in by Louis van Gaal to replace fan favourite Rafael.

Darmian’s one year at Parma earned him a shock move to Inter Milan in the summer. He became the latest Premier League old boy recruited by Antonio Conte.

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(Photo by INA FASSBENDER/AFP via Getty Images)

The move was a little perplexing considering Inter paid big money for Real Madrid right-back Achraf Hakimi too.

Conte though likes Darmian and selected him ahead of Hakimi in last night’s Champions League clash with Borussia Moenchengladbach.

Darmian repaid his manager with a goal to open the scoring. It was his first ever Champions League strike, a day before his 31st birthday.

Darmian rifled the ball into the net low from the right side, after some good hold-up play from his former United teammate Romelu Lukaku earlier in the move.

Inter lined up with Ashley Young on the opposite flank, while Alexis Sanchez was a second half substitute. Lukaku netted twice in the second half in a 3-2 win.

 

Darmian’s night ended early. He was substituted for Hakimi after 59 minutes, but it was a case of a job well done; he played his part.

It’s worth noting Darmian now has one more Champions League goal than United’s current right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka.

Darmian scored once in 92 appearances for United. This was only the 11th club goal of his professional career.

Wan-Bissaka scored his first United goal last month against Newcastle on his 50th game. Hopefully he won’t have to wait until he is 30 to score a Champions League goal.

It could happen tonight. Stranger things have happened. Just like Matteo Darmian netting a Champions League goal in 2020.

Here is a look at how surprised United fans reacted to the Italian defender’s surprise contribution…

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