Status: 02.07.2021 11:07 p.m.
In what is perhaps the best game of this EURO, Italy made it to the semi-finals. In all parts of the team, the Squadra Azzurra underpinned their title ambitions, but also had an excellent opponent in Belgium.
The 2: 1 (2: 1) for Roberto Mancini’s team on Friday evening (July 2nd, 21st) in front of around 13,000 spectators in Munich was a great show in terms of tactics, passion, game culture and individual class – all in a category in which the German team, which failed in the second round to England, would have somehow only disturbed.
Even before this quarter-finals, many experts had spoken of an anticipated final. You were absolutely right. From the whistle on, a painting of a football game developed. Both teams wasted a pleasantly little time in midfield, they always went back and forth with the focus on generating final situations as quickly as possible.
Donnarumma parries excellently
And the final situations were tough. In the 13th minute, the ball was in the Belgians’ net for the first time, but video assistant referee Bastian Dankert stepped in: Before Leonardo Bonucci scored, Giorgio Chiellini passed the ball from offside.
Ten minutes later things got tight on the other side: Kevin De Bruyne, who, unlike Eden Hazard (muscle problems), got fit in time after an ankle injury, fueled his way through midfield and forced Gianluigi Donnarumma to make a world-class parade. Two minutes later, the goalkeeper of the Squadra Azzurra was challenged again – and also passed this test: Romelu Lukaku completed a counterattack with a precise low shot, which Donnarumma brilliantly took from the left corner.
Serious mistake by Vertonghen
Belgium countered superbly, but on the other hand had problems counter-pressing because Axel Witsel and Youri Tielemans were repeatedly outnumbered in the central midfield. A serious mistake by Jan Vertonghen then started the deficit. The captain dribbled in his own penalty area, then played a serious bad pass that Marco Verratti picked up and Nicolo Barella served to make it 1-0.
Shortly before the break, the outnumbered in the headquarters also retaliated before the 0: 2. Tielemans was already yellow-prone and did not dare to tackle Lorenzo Insigne, who casually rounded him and completed it from 20 meters with a wonderful flick from the edge of the penalty area into the right corner.
Referee Vincic creates tension
While the Italians would always have fallen into wall mode in their footballing past, this time they fell victim to their much more exciting and attractive direction. Instead of managing the two-goal lead at halftime, they moved up again, let Belgium counter again and suddenly found themselves exposed to a controversial penalty decision.
After a duel with Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Jérémy Doku went down – and the Slovenian Slavko Vincic, who was not always confident, decided on a penalty. Since Di Lorenzo had touched Doku minimally in the hip area, VAR Dankert did not want to intervene this time: Lukaku sank the gifted penalty to make it 1: 2.
Colleagues celebrate Spinazzola – he is seriously injured
Belgium was back in the race – and centimeters away from equalization after an hour. But somehow Leonardo Spinazzola at the far post managed to put a leg in Lukaku’s trajectory. If you wanted to get an idea of the passion of the Italians and their desire for the defensive, you only needed this scene: The defense colleagues Chiellini and Bonucci cheered and celebrated Spinazzola as if he had just scored 3-1.
Spinazzola continued to be a defining figure in this role. Immediately after his outstanding rescue operation, he suddenly appeared in the front of the storm, but just missed the gate. Twelve minutes before the end, he then apparently seriously injured himself during a sprint: pain and tears followed.
No more scoring chance for Belgium
This shock moment for Italy seemed to weld the team together even more. Belgium tried everything, overran the opposing penalty area, but did not get a dangerous chance. Ultimately, there was no question that Italy deservedly secured the semi-finals: there was simply no weakness from the goalkeeper to the striker, and there are good reasons to add two more to 32 undefeated games in a row.
Source: sportschau.de