An uninspired Italy Under-21 side held their own against Serbia until Domenico Berardi's red card left them a man down, leading to a dire 1-0 defeat.

The Azzurrini might have approached the friendly emboldened by their convincing 2-2 draw against Germany, but the Serbians were no push-over team either.

Like the Italians, the Serbians are one of eight teams that will take part in June's UEFA Under-21 Championship, which also determines access to the 2016 Olympics.

An uninspired Italy Under-21 side held their own against Serbia until Domenico Berardi's red card left them a man down, leading to a dire 1-0 defeat.

The Azzurrini might have approached the friendly emboldened by their convincing 2-2 draw against Germany, but the Serbians were no push-over team either.

Like the Italians, the Serbians are one of eight teams that will take part in June's UEFA Under-21 Championship, which also determines access to the 2016 Olympics.

Italy started on the right foot in this meeting, showing initial vitality and determination, but early signs of vulnerability became evident when a Serbian header hit the post on a corner kick at the 12, and the Azzurrini were quick to lose their spirit.

Milos Jojic shot into the arms of Francesco Bardi, and from that point onwards the Serbians began growing. In less than 10 minutes they earned two corners and saw a shot by Aleksander Kovacevic deflected off the Italy defence.

Italy attempted to shake off some of their inactivity, with Berardi and Simone Verdi both trying shots one minute apart from each other at the turn of the half-hour. Marco Benassi seemed the most dangerous, with a nasty shot crashing against the defence, but the team in general seemed rather lacking in vigour.

The Serbians, however, appeared to be losing steam at a faster pace than the Italians. At the end of the first half Marcello Trotta added his name to the list of Italians attempting a shot on goal, but goalkeeper Marko Dmitrovic proved his worth with an agile response, and the first half sputtered to an end with a booking for Berardi and an off-the-mark free kick by Jojic.

Hopes for a better second half were rapidly crushed when Berardi picked up his second yellow card only one minute in, leaving his team a man down. Coach Gigi Di Biagio tried to compensate with fresh legs, changing four players before the turn of the hour, but it was to little avail.

Mere minutes after Di Biagio's last substitution, Luka Milunovic found a gap down the middle of the Italian defence and received the ball from Causic, defeating Bardi.

The result seemed inevitable and the Italians struggled to bring the game back to life. Andrea Belotti alone managed a couple of shots, which were mirrored on the other side of the pitch by Aleksandar Pesic and Filip Stojkovic.

Italy, to their credit, ended the game pressing forward, sustained by the lungs of their many substitutes – no less than seven over the course of the second half – but their efforts were not sufficient to change the final score.

Italy U21 0-1 Serbia U21

Milunovic 60 (S)

Italy U21: Bardi; Sabelli (Longo, 89), Rugani, Romagnoli, Biraghi (Zappacosta, 46); Benassi (Molina, 55), Baselli (Crisetig, 77), Sturaro (Cataldi); Verde (Battocchio, 77), Trotta (Belotti, 56), Berardi.

Serbia U21: Dmitrovic; Stojkovic, Kovacevic, Cirkovic (Lazic, 77), Pantic; Petrovic; Brasanac; Milunovic (Srnic, 68'), Jojic (Djurdjevic, 76), Causic; Pesic

Ref: Ali Palabiyik (TUR)

Berardi sent off 46

Byrob

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