Italy beats Albania 2-1 in the opening match of Euro 2024: Barella is the driving force, he scores the match goal
Shocking start with Bajrami's goal after just 23 seconds, then Bastoni's header and a jewel from the Sardinian midfielder turn the match around
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A completely unexpected shock start and a final thrill, but it's a good first at Euro 2024 for Spalletti's Italy, who comeback to win against Albania and convince at least for an hour. The Italian national team always keeps control of the game, shows good plots and creates several scoring opportunities, but is unable to close out the match, slows down the pace in the second half and risks a mockery at the end.
At the Westfalenstadion in Dortmund it ended 2-1 , and Nicolò Barella was decisive, scoring the winning goal following Bajrami's Albanian opener , which came after just 24 seconds, and Bastoni's equaliser .
THE FORMATIONS
Spalletti dispels the doubts about the Sardinian midfielder from the day before, puts him on the field and lines up the team with a 4-2-3-1: Donnarumma; Di Lorenzo, Bastoni, Calafiori, Dimarco; Stretcher, Jorginho; Chiesa, Frattesi, Pellegrini; Scamacca.
Sylvinho's national team responds with an identical formation, full of players who play in Serie A: Strakosha; Hysaj, Ajeti, Djimsiti, Mitaj; Asllani, Ramadani; Bajrami, Asani, Seferi; Broja.
THE NEWS
Shocking start for the Azzurri, who are already down after 23 seconds . The fastest goal conceded in the history of the national team starts from a wicked back pass following a lateral foul by Dimarco which becomes an assist for Bajrami , who doesn't think twice and finishes on goal, beating Donnarumma.
Italy's reaction was immediate with a great play by Chiesa, Pellegrini wasted the spot by kicking high over the crossbar. In the 11th minute the deserved equalizer came with a header from Bastoni , placed at the far post following a cross from Pellegrini from a corner. In the 17th minute Nicolò Barella's billiard shot , in doubt until yesterday: the Sardinian midfielder, who had already scored against Belgium at the previous European Championships ( it was the first Sardinian goal in the history of the final phase of the European Championships or World Cup ), collects it at the limit a first-intention rejection by the Albanian defense with a great counter-ball right winger finds the winning trajectory . It's the play that will decide the game.
The Azzurri show excellent ball movement and dominate the match, Barella (best on the pitch in our opinion) is the man everywhere, he doesn't skimp on the quality and quantity of his offensive and defensive plays , while Chiesa (who received the UEFA award for best in field) is at times unmarkable. After half an hour there is a huge opportunity for Frattesi , who, assisted by Scamacca, beats the goalkeeper with a valuable shot underneath, but the ball hits the post . Azzurri still close to scoring at the end of the first half with Scamacca (one-to-one save by Strakosha) and Pellegrini (header wide). In the middle, an attempt by the Albanians with Asani.
In the second half, Italy continued to control the match without too many problems but slowed down the pace and the scoring opportunities decreased, so the result remained in the balance until the end. The Azzurri create the conditions several times, much less real chances to score. Scamacca and then Chiesa try in the 59th minute, with a great left-footed shot just wide of the post .
The first to shuffle the cards with two changes midway through the second half is the Albanian coach (Laci for Seferi and Hoxha for Asani). After a few minutes the center forward also changes: Manaj comes on for Broja, canceled out by the Azzurri centre-backs. Spalletti (we are at 77') instead brings on Cristante for Pellegrini and Cambiaso for Chiesa , who had just suffered a knock.
So it's Dimarco with a personal action and a shot from outside that commits Strakosha. Two more changes in the 83rd minute, Darmian for Dimarco and Retegui for Scamacca. Shortly afterwards a shiver runs down the backs of the Azzurri fans when Manaj has excellent control behind Calafiori and comes face to face but is neutralized by Donnarumma's body who manages to deflect just enough . Great chance which is a warning to a good Italy who lowered the pace in the second half and were unable to close out the match. And Spalletti knows it, after the first excellent hour of play the coach started to get nervous on the bench.
Luckily Manaj's shot is the only real danger, then there is time for a pitch invasion and for the final substitution, Folorunsho replacing Barella. The last attempt before the final whistle, without pretensions, is from Mitaj. It ends like this, 2-1, and now we turn to Spain , who beat Croatia 3-0 and who the Azzurri will face on Thursday 20 June at 9pm .
(Unioneonline/L)
