Tuesday morning’s edition of Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport wasted no time in pairing Fiorentina’s Federico Chiesa and Nicolò Zaniolo of A.S. Roma together before they face each other in a mouthwatering Coppa Italia clash on Wednesday. 

“A Match Between Italy’s Two Jewels,” the headline read. 

While a direct comparison between the two young stars is perhaps a little unfair at this stage—the 19-year-old Giallorossi man two years younger than 21-year-old Chiesa—the caption could not be called out as factually incorrect as Azzurri boss Roberto Mancini has already stated his faith in both players.

Chiesa has of course, got more experience under his belt. The son of Enrico already has more than 6,000 Serie A minutes to his name, while Zaniolo has just 777 since bursting on the scene at Roma this term.

The latter player is Tuscan-born, originating in the Fiorentina youth sector, and this previous post discussed his clear potential after a superb season so far. 

Since the beginning of the 2018-19 campaign, both players have registered two assists, however Chiesa has outscored his Roma counterpart seven goals to two. What’s interesting is that the younger man has found a slightly greater shooting accuracy in his game, registering 1.4 shots on target per 90 minutes in comparison to 1.3 from the Fiorentina star.

“Match between Italy’s two jewels”

writes @Gazzetta_it regarding the meeting between youngsters Federico Chiesa and Niccolò Zaniolo as Fiorentina take on Roma in the Coppa Italia quarter-final tomorrow pic.twitter.com/dNskBmi65B

— Chloe Beresford (@ChloeJBeresford) January 29, 2019

The introduction of Luis Muriel at Fiorentina has significantly lifted the burden on Chiesa, as the Viola no longer solely rely on him to provide creativity going forward, and for this reason his rate should improve. Such comparison between the two introduced by Gazzetta of course links in the transfer market, in which two talented Italian-born players are highly coveted.

Fiorentina and Roma are currently scoring and conceding lots of goals, making for an enthralling matchup at the Stadio Artemio Franchi in their Coppa Italia tie. For those who are keen to see two of Italy’s best young stars, this game is also a must-watch. Federico Chiesa and Nicolo Zaniolo are ready to entertain you.

Chloe Beresford specializes in Serie A for a number of outlets and can be found on Twitter and on Facebook via her page CalcioByChloe.