Italian papers have highlighted Domenico Berardi’s impact after entering against Switzerland on Friday and the Sassuolo star is pushing for a place in the line-up against Northern Ireland.
Berardi replaced Andrea Belotti after 58 minutes, when Italy CT Roberto Mancini tried to turn things around after a lacklustre start to the second half.
Milan midfielder Sandro Tonali replaced Juventus player Manuel Locatelli in the same window and the two made an immediate impact on the pitch.
Berardi threatened going forward at right and eventually won a penalty in the final minutes, when Ulisses Garcia pushed him in the back inside the area.
Jorginho missed the target completely from the spot and La Gazzetta dello Sport highlights the situation was ‘just like in Basel’.
Il Corriere dello Sport claims the Neroverdi attacked brought ‘imagination’ and a ‘change of pace’ for the Azzurri.
The ratings are not surprising and all the three main sports pages in Italy agree that Berardi, who entered after 58 minutes, came on too late and expect him to be in the starting line-up at Windsor Park on Monday.
Berardi’s ratings in the Italian sports pages:
La Gazzetta dello Sport: 6.5
Il Corriere dello Sport: 7
Tuttospor: 6.5
Italian papers have highlighted Domenico Berardi’s impact after entering against #Switzerland on Friday. Should he start when #Italy play #NorthernIreland? https://t.co/UsCTVanxgT#WCQ #WorldCupQualifiers #NorthernIrelandItaly #Berardi #Belotti #Sassuolo
— footballitalia (@footballitalia) November 13, 2021
He was excellent when he came on. Italy’s best player.
He’s the penalty taker at sassuolo I wonder why he didn’t take this one,he rarely miss
Berardi amd Tonali were the bright spots to an otherwise poor performance. Italy will need some rethinking in midfield, and without a striker they won’t get too far at the World Cup. Defensively they had some large gaps in coverage.
they won’t even make the World Cup . They won’t be able to handle n Ireland away in Belfast
@ Tom??? N. Ireland? They stink