Italy is the sensation team of the Euro Cup so far and Manuel Locatelli , until now a semi unknown to the average fan, the emerging footballer of the tournament. The Sassuolo midfielder led the transalpine team to another victory, the second of two, which puts him mathematically and in a privileged position in the round of 16. Switzerland was the victim (3-0) on this occasion of a young team, led wonderfully by Roberto Mancini and who, from a low profile, presents their candidacy for the Eurocup.
Two goals from Locatelli , a regular organizer who has emerged as a major player in Mancini’s Italy, and one from Inmobile in the last minutes of the match made up a new victory for the Italian team, which ensures the round of 16 from a privileged position . Nobody will want to cross this Italy, full of young talent, with Barella and Locatelli unleashed from the center of the field and the Insigne-Inmobile-Berardi trio unbalancing in attack. Finally, Donnarumma feels protected by the dynamic duo of the defense in the last decade, Bonucci and Chiellini who live a new youth in search of the title.
The Azur team reaches a not inconsiderable figure of 29 games without losing and continues to scare, against the odds if we attend to the expectations placed on the national team, their rivals with a fun, vertical and very lucky football in these struggles. In the heat of his audience at the Olympic in Rome, Roberto Mancini’s team showed infinite hunger and never stopped looking to expand their lead on the scoreboard.
Italy soon found the way to hurt the Swiss with the combinations between Berardi and Locatelli, with the ball kissing the grass, but also with the centers to the area of Spinazzola and the shots of Immobile, who was the one who gave the first warning with a sensational head. Italy is not just scary singing the anthem.
With another header, although it was invalidated by hand, he came very close to taking advantage, this time from Chiellini. The veteran Juventus central defender finished off a corner from Insigne with his head but his foreshortening was worthless after tame the ball with his forearm. The VAR ‘cheated’ the referee about the infraction. Minutes later, Chiellini left the field injured.
The Italian team followed their own and achieved the deserved 1-0 a little before half an hour in an exquisite play by Locatelli and Berardi that was initialed with a shot, on goal, by the Sassuolo player. The first goal caused madness to explode in an Olympic with just 16,000 spectators due to the limitations derived from the coronavirus, but very noisy.
In the second half, Mancini’s men resolved quickly with another genius from Locatelli thanks to a cross shot from the edge of the area that puzzled Sommer. The 2-0 crushed a Switzerland that barely offered arguments to react to the Italian downpour and that has conditioned its future in the European Championship after the draw in the first match against Wales.
Italy, for its part, did not take their foot off the gas and – thanks also to the changes – could put the icing on the cake with third in the last stage of the game. Immobile was in charge after owning a ball on the balcony in the area and shooting Sommer with another tight missile.
