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Argentina, led by an in-form Lionel Messi, defeated Italy 3-0 on Wednesday night to lift the CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions trophy at the Wembley Stadium.
The EURO 2020 champions were outclassed by their well-drilled opponents and struggled against Argentina's attacking trio for the majority of the game.
Lautaro Martinez broke the deadlock in the 28th minute after Messi brilliantly held off a challenge from Giovanni Di Lorenzo and squared the ball in. The Inter Milan striker was in the perfect position for a simple tap-in, thanks to Messi's hard work.
Martinez would turn provider in injury time in the first half as La Albiceleste set off on a quick counter-attack. His perfectly weighted pass was chased down by Angel Di Maria, who sprinted past Giorgio Chiellini and chipped over Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Already 2-0 down, the Italians faced an uphill task in the second period.
The Copa America 2021 winners looked even better in the second half but the Italians learned their lesson and defended slightly better. Argentina were made to wait until injury time for the final goal of the game, as Messi was again involved in the buildup.
Paulo Dybala, who had only been on the field for three minutes, found himself in possession of the ball after Messi was crowded out by the defenders. He took the ball in his stride and struck a low-driven shot beyond the reach of Donnarumma to put the seal on an emphatic victory.
As Messi & Co. put in a solid performance to send out warning shots to their FIFA World Cup rivals, here we take a look at the five talking points from the game.
#5 Italy were simply unable to deal with Argentina's front three
Italy's famed defense fell short in this game and their struggles against the speedy attacking trio of Messi, Martinez, and Di Maria stood out in particular. The ease with which Di Maria was able to speed past Chiellini for the second goal blatantly exposed their shortcomings.
In the buildup to the first goal, Messi made his way inside the box, easily shrugging off a challenge from Di Lorenzo. That seemed to set the tone as the defense looked in shambles and there seemed to be no leader figure at the back organizing their efforts.
The defenders focused a lot on Messi, which explains why he was unable to score despite having eight shots on target. However, this special treatment allowed other players to get into good positions as Messi picked up two assists with his clever playmaking.
#4 Italy's starting XI was not their best and hampered their performance
Domenico Berardi, Ciro Immobile, Federico Chiesa, Lorenzo Insigne, Marco Verratti and Gaetano Castrovilli were the major absentees for Gli Azzurri in this game.
Roberto Mancini fielded Federico Bernardeschi, Andrea Belotti, and Giacomo Raspadori as the front three in the game. Unfortunately, the trio didn't have much chemistry going forward.
Verratti's work-rate and defensive contributions were sorely missed in midfield. Lastly, having Ciro Immobile, who scored 27 goals in Serie A this season, would have also provided them with much more firepower going forward.
The team was very different from the one that won the EURO last year at Wembley and proved to be no match for the South American side. Argentina, notably, headed into the game with an almost full-strength starting XI that had played together on numerous occasions.
#3 Giorgio Chiellini hangs up his boots in disappointing fashion
Veteran defender Giorgio Chiellini played his last game for Italy in the Finalissama, bringing an end to his illustrious international career. The defender was a mainstay during Italy's EURO 2020 triumph, but couldn't even complete the full 90 minutes in the match against Argentina.
While he gave his all in a combative performance, he was unable to keep up with the pace and movement of the opponents. The 37-year-old was left grasping thin air as Di Maria sped past him to score the second goal of the game.
Chiellini was substituted after the first half and was unfortunate to suffer a comprehensive loss in his final game for the national team.
#2 Lionel Messi rolls back the years with a splendid outing
Lionel Messi might not have scored a goal in the game against Italy, despite registering eight shots on target, more than anyone else on the pitch. However, his performance was still incredible, earning him the Player of the Match award in this game.
The Argentina skipper picked up two assists for the first and third goals, but there was much more to his performance. His work rate was impressive and he often dropped deep to collect the ball from the halfway line, throwing it back to his best days.
He maintained a 92% pass accuracy and also created four chances in the game. Messi additionally made three successful recoveries and was dribbled past just once. It was an all-round performance from the Argentine captain, who looked sharp in national colors ahead of the World Cup in November this year.
#1 Argentina extend undefeated run to 32 games
Argentina continued their fine form in international competitions with a statement 3-0 win against Italy in the Finalissima on Wednesday. With this victory, they are now undefeated in their last 32 games, and interestingly, they have not trailed in any of their last 22 games (as per Squawka).
La Albiceleste have hit rich form ahead of the FIFA World Cup and their win against Italy should serve as a warning to other contenders to not sleep on them this year. Lionel Scaloni's side will certainly enter the showpiece event in Qatar as one of the favorites to lift the title.
