Italy came away victorious against Belgium by 2-1 at Allianz Arena and placed them into the semi-final of Euro 2020
Italy broke the deadlock thanks to the goal from Nicolo Barella and Lorenzo Insigne doubled the margin on the 45th-minute mark. But right at the end of the first half Romelu Lukaku scored one back for the Red Devils. In the second half, Belgium failed to score another one despite creating multiple chances.
Roberto Mancini’s side will face Spain in the semifinal of Euro 2020 on Tuesday night at Wembley Stadium.
Belgium 1-2 Italy Team News:
Roberto Martínez went with his preferred 3-4-2-1 formation. Eden Hazard could not feature in this big clash due to a hamstring injury and Jeremy Doku replaced the Real Madrid man. Kevin De Bruyne started the game despite his injury concerns and Lukaku led the line for Belgium.
Roberto Mancini went with 4-3-3 formation and made two changes from the previous game against Austria. Federico Chiesa got the chance ahead of Dominico Berardi and Giorgio Chiellini returned to the deep defence.
Belgium 1-2 Italy Post-match analysis:
The game started pretty evenly as Italy tried to hurt the Belgian defence with their trademark passing football. On the other hand, Belgium opted to go for a counter-attacking style, by deploying this method they had few good moments and a couple of half-chances.
Italy first put the ball back into the Red Devils’ net, however, the goal was disallowed for offside. Eventually, the Azzurri broke the deadlock at the half-hour mark, Barella finished the chance brilliantly after dribbling past two defenders.
Lorenzo Insigne doubled the margin for Mancini’s side right at the halftime market from a brilliant long-range curling shot. Just when it looked like a mountain to climb for the Belgians, they got a gift from Giovanni Di Lorenzo. His stupid foul earned a penalty for Belgium and Lukaku put it away nicely just before the end of the first half.
In the second half, Belgium tried to pressurize the Italian defence, but they mainly tried to play on the counter attack. The best chance fell for Lukaku from a great De Bruyne cross. But the Inter Milan forward failed to connect it properly and the ball went wide off Leonardo Spinazzola.
Notable Performances:
Lorenzo Insigne: The Napoli captain had a great game, worked hard defensively to help out Spinazzola and scored an excellent curling long ranger.
Nicolo Barella: Has not had a great tournament thus far, but on the night he was superb and also scored the opener.
Jeremy Doku: The only Belgian who looked threatening. He caused trouble for Di Lorenzo with his pace and trickery and also earned the penalty.
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