Italy’s record run ends with defeat to Spain
MILAN: Spain ended Italy’s record unbeaten run of 37 matches by beating the European champions 2-1 in the Nations League semi-finals after Roberto Mancini’s team was reduced to 10 men.
Ferran Torres scored two goals in the first half for Spain, the second coming after Leonardo Bonucci was sent off for a second yellow card three minutes before the break.
“We’ve been playing good for a while now. We are a young team playing well and this victory is another step,” said Torres, who came off four minutes into the second half after picking up a knock but said he would be fit to play Sunday’s final against either world champion France or topranked Belgium. “Victory over Italy in Italy. Now we’ll start thinking about the final.”
Lorenzo Pellegrini pulled one back for Italy late on as the Azzurri threatened an improbable comeback. In the end though, Mancini’s side fell to its first loss in more than three years, since being beaten by Portugal in September 2018. Its unbeaten streak was a world record in international football.
“It (defeat) would have come eventually. And better tonight than the final of the Euros or a World Cup final,” Mancini said. “But this game will give us more strength despite the defeat and help us realise that we are really a great squad.”
In Milan, Italy were in the hunt for more silverware while Spain were looking for revenge after losing to the Azzurri on penalties in the Euro 2020 semifinals.
Barcelona teenager Gavi Páez started, making the 17-year-old the youngest player to make his Spain debut. Gavi, who only made his first-team debut for Barcelona a month ago, broke the national record set by Ángel Zubieta in 1936.
The match in front of a passionate, sell-out crowd of 37,000 at the San Siro was played with a high tempo from the start, with chances coming at both ends.
Federico Chiesa was the first to test the goalkeeper as Spain’s Unai Simón saved his effort from distance in the fifth minute and then denied Italy centre-back Alessandro Bastoni moments later.
Bastoni then made a decisive block at the other end in the 13th to deny Mikel Oyarzabal following an attack down the left wing.
Spain had been probing that left flank and it provided the opener in the 17th minute as Oyarzabal’s cross from the left was volleyed into the bottom right corner by Torres.
Spain almost immediately doubled its lead as Gianluigi Donnarumma fumbled Marcos Alonso’s shot, and the ball came out of his hands and off the left post before Bonucci managed to clear the rebound off the line.