Spalletti’s first victory with Italy! The result of the match against the Ukrainians was decided with ridiculous goals
Anatoly Romanov September 13, 2023, 00:05 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.
But the locals were on the verge of losing the game, which was easy for them.
Italy defeated Ukraine in a Euro 2024 qualifying match at San Siro. This is Luciano Spalletti’s first success in the national team.
The second game of the former Zenit coach at the head of the Squadra Azzurra was decisive in many aspects for his team. Most likely, the Italian and Ukrainian teams will only fight for second place in their qualifying group, as they are behind the British. Before this round, the Italians had four points after three rounds and the Ukrainians had seven points after four. In case of failure, the current European champions risked being left without a ticket for Euro 2024. In addition, Spalletti’s team has away games ahead of them with England and Ukraine itself.
During the first 40 minutes of the match at San Siro, the Italian team truly played like a European champion. The Squadra Azzurra simply crushed their opponent. Spalletti’s team created one chance after another and quickly opened the scoring. It’s true that the goal was fun. Midfielder Sudakov dropped to the right flank of the defense to make a play, but he fell out of nowhere when he saw Tsakanyi adding to the pressure and gave the ball to the Italians. Tsakagni passed the ball to Frattesi and he scored: it was the home team’s first shot on goal, goalkeeper Buschan.
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At the end of the half hour of play, when the Italian team scored 2:0, they were already leading 9:0 in shots! But it turned out that Spalletti’s team scored the second goal with a second shot on goal. And again the goal was somewhat ridiculous. The ball, after being hit from outside the area, hit Frattesi, who was on the line with the defenders, then bounced towards the Ukrainian and from him to Frattesi. At first, the referee disallowed the goal for offside, but modern technology corrected the referee’s mistake: there was no offside position.
Only then did the team of former Rubin striker Sergei Rebrov start playing football. The Italians seemed to have lost concentration. Dovbik fired the first shot for the Ukrainians and before the break the visitors suddenly recovered. And here the defender made a mistake. Yarmolenko made a fine pass to Dovbik, but the striker’s shot was saved by a save from Donnarumma. The ball then flew to Dimarco, who, instead of clearing it, made… a direct assist to Yarmolenko.
After conceding a goal, the Italian team no longer controlled the game as much as before the break. In the first minutes of the second half, Dovbik almost tied the score. Sudakov could have compensated for the “bring” with a brilliant assist, but the center forward missed from a killer position. Open football began. The Squadra Azzurra also did not know how to take advantage of dangerous opportunities. In one of the episodes, Buschan made a mistake when playing with his feet and gave the ball to Zaniolo. He cut out a pass to Raspadori, but the striker missed slightly and shot low into the far corner.
Donnarumma did not let himself be fried like that, even though his stands made him nervous: San Siro booed the goalkeeper for “old sins.” Then, the Italian team, thanks to Spalletti’s timely changes, once again gained a big advantage in the match. The coach managed to restore concentration and balance to the team. The hosts created several more chances, with the most memorable coming midway through the half. In an attack, the Squadra Azzurra hit the crossbar and received a penalty for handball. However, the Italians were unlucky neither with the rebound of the ball nor with the referee’s decision.
And the last minutes of the game were nervous for the entire Italian team. Rebrov’s team, after a series of substitutions, tried to apply pressure to avoid defeat. The locals tried to keep the ball, get out of the pressure with a pass and take advantage of the free spaces. In the end, everything turned out the way Spalletti wanted. Italy maintained a minimal victory, not allowing its rival even a shot on goal during the half and surpassing the Ukrainians in terms of points scored.
