Donnarumma 6.5 – Big save on Merino in the second half, but he didn’t punch the ball too well later on, so Rodri came close to scoring with an overhead kick.
Toloi 6.5 – Tough old-style defender. Not as fast as Spain’s strikers, but more experienced.
Bonucci 4.5 – His best days are gone apparently. There couldn’t be a worse place to lose possession and the Juventus veteran didn’t even win back the ball, leading to Yeremy Pino’s opener. (46 Darmian 5 – Outjumped by Merino only a few minutes after his introduction, but Gigio was there to save him. He’s had better nights.)
Acerbi 5.5 – Alvaro Morata is not Erling Haaland but still gave Acerbi a hard time. The Inter defender also kept Joselu on side for Spain’s winner.
Di Lorenzo 6 – Probably not his favourite role, but the Napoli captain was up to the task defensively.
Frattesi 7 – Mancini surprisingly picked him ahead of Marco Verratti and the Sassuolo man proved Mancio right. Spain struggled to cope with his late runs. He had one goal disallowed in the first half and a massive chance later on, saved by Spain’s keeper Simon. (76’ Verratti 5 – Not difficult to guess why Mancio didn’t start him.)
Jorginho 6.5 – Top class performance in the first half, but Mancini replaced him with Bryan Cristante when Italy needed to be more defensive. (60’ Cristante 6 – Italy were more a little more balanced after his introduction.)
Barella 7 – In Italy, we call these players ‘Moto perpetuo’, somebody who never stops running. The Inter midfielder has finished the season on a high note.
Spinazzola 5.5 – La Roja pushed down his flank in the first half, so Spina didn’t have many chances to counter attack. (46′ Dimarco 5.5 – Not too different from Spinazzola.)
Zaniolo 6.5 – The ex-Roma forward played his first Italy game since February’s transfer to Galatasaray. He earned a penalty kick and looked comfortable in the first half. The assist for Frattesi in the second half was perfect, but Unai Simon had other plans.
Immobile 6 – Converted from the spot, but then struggled to hold up the ball. (60’ Chiesa 5 – Allegri has already tried him as a centre forward at Juventus, but Chiesa looks like a fish out of water when he’s not on the wing.)
Spain: Unai Simon 7; Navas 6.5, Le Normand 6.5, Laporte 6.5, Alba 6; Rodri 7, Merino 5.5 (74’ Fabian Ruiz 6.5); Rodrigo 5 (46′ Asensio 6.5), Gavi 6.5 (68′ Canales 6.5), Yeremi 5.5 (74’ Ansu Fati 6); Morata 5.5 (84’ Joselu 7).
Mancini really needs to go this is getting hard to watch
True Mike. Sad to see that Italy is no longer playing the exciting brand of football they were playing two years ago. They have been very average since the Euros.
Surely last night Spains second goal had to be offside??,also remember Spain are not a bad side,we’re still developing with new players. Mancini will get it right.👍💪🇮🇹
Italy’s front 3 should be,
Grifo raspadori orsolini
Pellegrini
Christante fratessi
Berrella needs to be asked are you and attacking midfieder or defensive midfieder, same with verratti because they both look like masters of non .