Italy VS Turkey

8pm GMT Kick Off, Stadio Olimpico, Euros 2020 Group A

An Impressive Second Half From Italy Saw Them Cruise To A 3-0 Victory In The Euros Opener

Italy put on a dominant performance in the Euros opener, beating Turkey 3-0. The opener was an own goal from Merih Demiral, with Ciro Immobile and Lorenzo Insigne adding two more goals later in the game.

Much of the early play was dominated by Italy, but they couldn’t get any real chances. For Turkey, the early minutes were used to get a foot into the game.

The first big chance came to Lorenzo Insigne. He played a great ball into the midfield which he got back. He tried to bend it into the far corner, which was just wide of the target.

Then Italy had another chance, this time it was Giorgio Chiellini. From a corner, the veteran defender had a free header in the box, which forced a world class save from Ugurcan Cakir which kept the score level.

Turkey’s first chance came from Burak Yilmaz. He was on the counter, and tried to cross it towards the back stick, but it was parried away by Gianluigi Donnarumma.

Towards the end of the first half Ciro Immobile found himself space just outside the box, which forced Cakir into another save.

Just after the half time whistle, Italy took the lead thanks to an own goal. Domenico Berardi beat the defender and fired the ball into a dangerous area, Merih Demiral couldn’t get his body in the right position, and turned it into his own net.

Leonardo Spinazzola nearly doubled their lead just after, as he found space on the left wing, made his way into the box and sent it goalward, which made Cakir make another big save. Then Manuel Locatelli drove forward and had a go from distance, which was saved once again.

In the 65th minute, Italy doubled their lead, and it was Immobile who got the goal. Spinazzola had his shot saved, the Lazio forward was there to put away the rebound from close range.

Things got even better for the Italians, when Insigne added a third. Immobile slotted the ball into the path of the winger, who curled it into the far corner, out of the keepers reach.

Yilmaz had a to pull one back late on, but Chiellini was there to make a spectacular block, as the Lille striker looked certain to score. Italy held onto a 3-0 victory, and made a statement in their first game.

Man Of The Match: Leonardo Spinazzola

Much of the attacks that Italy had came through the left wing were on the left wing, and Spinazzola was influential in that.

He created a number of chances, and helped grab the second goal. He worked hard in defense and attack, as he covered so much of the pitch, and made space for his team mates multiple times.

“Stadio Olimpico Torino Italy” by mitsurinho is licensed under CC BY 2.0

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