Spain dominated Italy and secured a 1-0 win in the second round of the EURO 2024 Group B: here are the player ratings from Gelsenkirchen.
Donnarumma 7.5 – Three key saves in the opening 28 minutes. A couple more in the second half. Let us ask again: where are the haters?
Di Lorenzo 4 – The Napoli captain will see Nico Williams in his nightmares.
Bastoni 6.5 – Best defender in the country for a reason. It wasn’t an easy night, but he won almost every duel. Five from six on the ground, plus 91% passing accuracy. Italy’s defensive leader for the next decade.
Calafiori 5.5 – The build-up could not be as fluent as against Albania and Spain’s defenders attracted him outside the defensive line quite often. Unlucky with the own goal.
Dimarco 4.5 – Struggled against Yamal just as much as Di Lorenzo vs. Williams and never had a chance to run forward. A tough night.
Jorginho 5 – Couldn’t play tidily due to Spain’s ferocious pressing and was often forced inside the box, so Cristante came in during the break. (46′ Cristante 5.5)
Barella 5 – Frustrated by Spain’s pressing. He did find space in the middle of the park a couple of times in the first half, but movements from the rest of the team were not quick enough. He looked discouraged in the second half.
Chiesa 5 – Nullified by Cuccurella, it was not surprising to see him subbed off. (64′ Zaccagni 5)
Frattesi 4.5 – Same as Jorginho. Spain’s pressing prevented him from playing the ball as he wanted. Like Jorginho, he was subbed off at the break. (46′ Cambiaso 5.5)
Pellegrini 5 – Tried to link up attack and midfield but he was also ground by the Spanish blender. (82′ Raspadori N/A)
Scamacca 5.5 – It’s not easy to win one-v-one duels, imagine dealing with two defenders simultaneously at all times. The Atalanta star squeezed past the Spanish centre-backs only once, but the following pass for Barella was quite poor. (64′ Retegui 5.5)
Coach: Spalletti 5 – He wanted to prove Italy were an ‘important school of football’, but the Azzurri finished with no big chances, just three shots and 0.16 xG against Spain’s 1.68. Not enough intensity and technical quality to hope for a better outcome. The plan was ambitious, but it didn’t work out.
Spain: Unai Simon 6; Carvajal 7, Le Normand 6.5, Laporte 6.5, Cucurella 7; Pedri 7 (71′ Baena 6.5), Rodri 7.5, Fabian Ruiz 7.5 (93′ Merino N/A); Yamal 7.5 (71′ Torres 6), Morata 6.5 (78′ Oyarzabal 6), Nico Williams 8 (78′ Perez 7).
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