After the disappointing Nations League draw at home against Bosnia, Italy bounced back immediately with a precious away win in the Netherlands. Managing to dominate most of the match, Roberto Mancini’s men could have scored on many occasions, but eventually had to survive a late Oranje flurry and preserve a well-deserved 1-0 victory.
Here are our Azzurri player ratings from tonight’s Netherlands – Italy game.
Gianluigi Donnarumma: 6.5
Almost a spectator for most of the match, the young Milan shot-stopper managed to maintain a clean-sheet after an impressive fingertip save in the 55th minute.
Danilo D’Ambrosio: 6
While his fellow full-back was given a license to roam forward, the Inter man had strict orders to remain at the back and act like a third center-back at times, which explains his solid but unspectacular performance.
Leonardo Bonucci: 7
The Juventus defender looked revived with the return of his old partner in crime Chiellini. He kept Memphis Depay at bay for most of the match and made some crucial tackles when needed. His ball distribution from the back was helpful as well.
Giorgio Chiellini: 6.5
The captain started shakingly with a bad back pass to his goalkeeper, but then put his stomp on the match with his well-timed tackles. He started to lose the running battles with the younger Dutch attackers after getting physically exhausted during the later stages of the match but made for it by stealing some shrewd fouls thanks to his illustrious experience at this stage.
Leonardo Spinazzola: 8
A simply stunning performance by the Roma left-back. He won almost every battle at his flank, especially those against his former Atalanta teammate Hans Hateboer, getting past his marker with ease and providing some delicious crosses to the box. His contribution to the match’s sole goal should not be underestimated. He should definitely become one of Mancini’s automatic picks.
Jorginho: 7
The Chelsea man had one of his best performances for the Azzurri so far. He started several attacks from his favorite regista role, casually linking Italy’s lines, but his movements to the left were the main factor in the build-up for Barella’s goal. Despite getting exhausted by the end of the match, he was still able to drive his teammates forward with his excellent long-range passing.
Manuel Locatelli: 6.5
Playing slightly outside of his preferred position, the young Sassuolo midfielder kept it clean and simple. He helped Jorginho in protecting the defense and at the same time kept the ball moving in midfield without mistakes.
Nicoló Barella: 7.5
His orders were to man-mark Frenkie De Jong and prevent him from roaming freely in midfield, and thus he committed most of his energy in his single battles with the Barcelona man. And yet, he still found time to score the match-winner with a well-taken header. While most of the players faded with exhaustion by the end of the match, the Inter midfielder could still be seen running everywhere on the pitch.
Nicoló Zaniolo: 6
Unfortunately, Italy’s big night was marred with sad news as it’s reported that the Roma youngster has once again torn his ACL. He almost scored with an incredible overhead kick before his early exit.
Lorenzo Insigne: 6.5
A decent outing for the Napoli captain. He terrified the Netherlands defense with some of his vintage strikes from just outside the box but was unfortunate not to find the net and also had an important role to play for Italy in the slick move that led to Barella’s goal.
Ciro Immobile: 7
A striker who failed to score on multiple occasions including a 1-on-1 with the goalkeeper rarely receives a high score. But the reigning Golden Shoe winner had such a positive effect on his side, providing the assist for the match-winner, as well as creating a scoring opportunity for Kean, and chasing the ball all night. He might have dropped too deep at times during the first half which made him less likely to score.
Substitutes:
Mois Kean: 6
At times he tried to do things on his own instead of linking up with his teammates. The young Everton forward wasted a golden opportunity in stoppage time after rounding the goalkeeper but then failing to shoot on target.
Bryan Cristante: N/A
He was introduced late to help with the dirty work in midfield, and immediately got himself a yellow card in the process.
Federico Chiesa: N/A
He only received a few minutes on the pitch but could have added a second goal with a last-minute strike.
The Manager – Roberto Mancini: 7
After orchestrating one of the best Italy displays in quite some time, the former Inter and Man City boss must be praised for his work, managing to preserve the balance of his side between the attack and the defense and also keeping the Netherlands’ most dangerous players, including Depay and De Jong at bay all night. He loses some points for waiting until the last few minutes to make his much-needed substitutions, as Italy needed some fresh legs on the pitch and the match could have slipped from its hands after the late Dutch revival.