Stronger than injuries, even stronger than Covid. Roberto Mancini’s Azzurri continue to offer one convincing performance after another despite being crippled by multiple absences among their lines.
Italy dominated Poland in Reggio Emilia and took all the three points on offer in their penultimate Nations League Group Stage test, courtesy of a Jorginho penalty and a late Domenico Berardi goal.
The Azzurri thus re-took the lead of Group A – one point ahead of the Netherlands – but have yet to qualify to the final round of the UEFA continental competitions. To secure their ticket to the Nations League Finals, Italy will still need to make a full score next Wednesday in Sarajevo as they face Bosnia Herzegovina, while Poland will take on the Netherlands.
Coach Roberto Mancini, who tested positive for Covid a few days ago, couldn’t be of the game. His backup Alberico Evani was on the bench. However, Mancio was still giving instructions via an “all-Sampdoria connection” as his former Blucerchiati teammates – now Azzurri staff members – Gianluca Vialli, Attilio Lombardo, and Fausto Salsano helped him communicate with Evani.
In absence of the likes of Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci, tonight’s captain was Alessandro Florenzi who played right-back with Emerson Palmieri covering the opposite flank. Francesco Acerbi and Alessandro Bastoni were the center-backs.
Thomas Locatelli and Nicolò Barella took place in midfield alongside Jorginho, with Marco Verratti being another notable absentee. On the front-line, Andrea Belotti gritted his teeth and played as center-forward despite being in precarious shape, supported by Lorenzo Insigne and Federico Bernardeschi on his sides.
Italy had an aggressive started and controlled the proceedings for the whole first half. On 7 Minutes, a combination between Nicolò Barella and Federico Bernardeschi – with Inter’s midfielder serving the ball with a fine back-heel pass – set Juventus’ winger free to shot, but his teammate Wojciech Szczesny pushed his effort back.
In the 20th minute, Bernadeschi returned the courtesy and served Barella who served Lorenzo Insigne in the box. The Neapolitan found the back of the net, but referee Clément Turpin disallowed the goal on grounds of an Andrea Belotti charge on the goalkeeper. It seemed like a fair decision.
It wouldn’t take long, however, for the Azzurri to break the deadlock as, from a Bernardeschi cross, Belotti had the best out of his marker Grzegorz Krychowiak and forced him to push him down in the box. Turpin pointed the penalty spot, which was flawlessly buried by Jorginho.
It could have soon been two for Italy but Bellotti’s volley from an Insigne service failed to hit the target. At half time, it was still 1-0 for Evani’s side with the fearsome Robert Lewandowski kept at bay by the Azzurri troops but not adequately served by his teammates either.
Poland’s coach Jerzy Brzeczek sent Piotr Zielinski in after the break and things seemed to change for the visitors, with Lewandowski getting more support from the Neapolitan, as well as from Torino’s Karol Linetty. It didn’t last long, however, as the Azzurri soon regained control of the operations.
Jorginho could have stepped to the spot again as Andrea Belotti’s shot was deflected by Filip Bednarek with his hand but the referee didn’t seem to notice that.
In the 74th minute – guess who’s back? – Napoli outcast Arkadiusz Milik made his entrance to the pitch as Brzeczek added a second striker in an attempt to rebalance the game. His hopes were short-lasting, however, as a few minutes later substitute Jacek Goralski saw yellow for the second time in less than 30 minutes and received his marching orders from Turpin.
With a one-man advantage, it was thus easier for the Azzurri to turn their domination into their second goal – which was wrapped by Domenico Berardi just a few minutes after taking Federico Berardeschi spot – and extend their non-losing streak to 22 games.
MATCH REPORT
November 15, 2020 – Nations League 2020-2021 Group A
ITALY-POLAND 2-0
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ITALY (4-3-3): Donnarumma; Florenzi (88′ Di Lorenzo), Acerbi, Bastoni, Emerson; Barella, Jorginho, Locatelli; Bernardeschi (61′ Berardi), Belotti (80′ Okaka), Insigne (88′ El Shaarawy) (Sirigu, Cragno, Calabria, Pessina, Romagnoli,, Tonali, Soriano, Ferrari) Coach: Evani (for unavailable Mancini) |
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POLAND (4-2-3-1): Szczesny; Bereszyński, Glik, Bednarek, Reca; Krychowiak, Moder (46′ Grosicki); Szymański (46′ Zielinski), Linetty (74′ Milik), Jóźwiak (45′ Goralski); Lewandowski (Skorupski, Fabianski, Bochniewicz, Walukiewicz, Kedziora, Milik, Rybus, Placheta, Piatek) Coach: Brzeczek |
REFEREE: Turpin (France)
NOTES: Yellow Cards: Belotti (I), Krychowiak (P)