Italy drew 1-1 with Spain in a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier at the Juventus Stadium on Thursday night. Vitolo had given Spain the lead in the 55th minute and La Furia Roja looked all set to come away with a historic result.
But Sergio Ramos conceded a penalty to allow Daniele De Rossi to equalise in the 82nd minute to ensure both teams came away with a point. Italy’s unbeaten run at home in competitive games now extends to 40 matches, last losing a game in 1999!
Here are the major talking points from the game.
#1 Possession vs counter-attack
It was a game with two contrasting formations and it predictably set both the pace and the type of game that was to follow over the course of 90 minutes. Spain set up in a 4-3-3 formation with Sergio Busquets anchoring the midfield alongside Andres Iniesta and Koke while David Silva and Vitolo flanked Diego Costa.
Italy, on the other hand, played a traditional 3-5-2 with Alessandro Florenzi and Mattia De Sciglio on either flank supporting Graziano Pelle and Eder in attack. The midfield three of Marco Parolo, Ricardo Montolivo and De Rossi looked to crowd out Spain in midfield while sitting back and not allowing too much space between the lines to expose the three defenders.
The away side dominated possession with the Azzurri barely making any forays into Spain’s half. David De Gea was hardly troubled as Giampiero Ventura’s side had a grand total of zero shots on goal in the first half. At the other end, Spain had nine corners in the first 45 minutes.
#2 Italy maintained their shape well to frustrate Spain
Julen Lopetegui had set his team up nicely and their passing was crisp, especially in the first half. But in spite of 73% possession and 91% pass success, they simply couldn’t break through the Italian defence.
The Azzurri were deployed in a 5-3-2 off the ball and there was little Spain could do to find a way through, especially in the first half. Alessio Romagnoli, Leonardo Bonucci and Andrea Barzagli were well protected and Iniesta was at times the lone midfielder looking to thread a ball through under pressure from all sides.
With little to no space between the lines, Spain struggled with their passing in the final third as Italy camped inside their own box for most of the first half. Their tactics saw Spain resort to crosses into the box with their big men Ramos and Pique coming closest to scoring with headers in an eventful first half.
Spain’s passing game saw Koke as the fulcrum as Iniesta, in a more advanced position, was heavily marked by Italy whenever the ball made its way to him.
# Silva and Vitolo trouble Italy
While Spain had a tough time finding a way through a crowded box, it was David Silva and Vitolo who were carving them open with their movement and passing. Time and again, both Spaniards were able to find space by making the correct runs to receive the ball, thereby creating space themselves.
With the defence sitting deep most of the time, there was no question of the offside trap catching them off guard and they used it to their advantage. Nacho (who came on for Jordi Alba) did well to stretch Italy on the left as Florenzi stayed back in his half to protect Barzagli at right-centre-back.
Together, Silva and Vitolo looked to combine with Diego Costa and create chances. Silva, especially, had the right ideas but lacked the execution with his first touch deserting him on a couple of occasions, albeit under severe pressure from defenders closing in.
Barzagli, in particular, could be seen sweating when the Spaniard had the ball in the box with his dancing shoes on, ultimately relieved when he forced Silva to the goal line and even won a goal kick instead of conceding a corner.
#4 Buffon’s mistake proves to be costly
Even though the score was 0-0 at the break, one could sense that the second half could spring a couple of surprises based on the first few minutes. The game was a lot more open as Italy ventured forward, leaving voids in midfield for Spain to exploit.
Sure enough, the first goal saw Busquets release Vitolo and the Sevilla man chased the ball even though it looked like Buffon would comfortably make a clearance. However, to the utter disbelief of the fans at the stadium, the 38-year-old misjudged his kick and missed the ball entirely.
There was no time for the defence to recover and Vitolo ran through, opened his body and passed the ball into an empty net to give Spain the lead. A terrible season in La Liga has not affected his form for the national team.
#5 Spain lose their way towards the end and pay for it
Once Spain had the lead, they were in control only for the next 10 to 15 minutes. Ciro Immobile came on for Pelle while Andrea Belotti replaced Parolo. The substitutions worked as Italy attacked with more purpose while Spain started to lose steam.
Whenever Spain lost the ball or turned it over, Italy seemed to find space all over the park as static Spanish players watched on helplessly on more than one occasion. One particular counter saw only Iniesta stand in their way and the 32-year-old had to put in a desperate tackle to put the ball out of play and allow Spain to recover.
But Italy got their breakthrough as Ramos’ terrible form for his club did not differentiate between a white shirt or a red one. A late challenge saw Eder fall to the floor and the assistant signalling that it was a penalty.
De Rossi stepped up and sent De Gea the wrong way to tie it up at 1-1 and set up a tense final 10 minutes. They almost doubled the lead too, if not for the offside flag. In the end, 1-1 was a fair result after a thoroughly exciting game.
