Italy started the defence of their UEFA European Championship title on a winning note after a come-from-behind 2-1 win over Albania on Saturday evening.
EURO 2024
Result: Italy 2-1 Albania
Date: 15 June 2024
Venue: BVB Stadion Dortmund
The Azzurri had four survivors in the line-up from the previous final against England three years ago, goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, Jorginho, Giovanni Di Lorenzo and Nicolo Barella.
Albania had a dream start after Nedim Bajrami gave them the lead just under the first 22 seconds, the fastest goal in the history of the tournament, after he latched onto a bad throw in by Federico Dimarco in the box and fired home a high strike at the near post.
However, it took only ten minutes for Italy to redeem themselves after Alessandro Bastoni made it 1-1 with a free header on the far side of the box from a cross by Lorenzo Pelligrini.
Luciano Spalletti's charges gained momentum and just six minutes later Nicolo Barella gave them the lead with a well executed volley from a rebound on the edge of the box.
Italy continued to keep Albania in their own half and just after the half-hour mark, Davide Frattesi came close to giving them a two-goal cushion with a chipped effort at the near post that was parried into the post by shot-stopper Thomas Strakosha.
The Red and Blacks struggled to get out of their own half and had Strakosha to thank for going to the break trailing only by one goal after he kept out a header by Gianluca Scamacca.
Italy took time to get going in the second stanza as they only got close to making it 3-1 on the hour-mark after Federico Chiesa's curler missed the far post by inches.
The game was on the edge later in the game, as the Azzurri were no longer willing to take risks and for fresh legs in the last quarter of an hour, Spalletti made a double change, as Andrea Cambiaso and Bryan Cristante replaced both Chiesa and Pelligrini.
Albania were still in the game in the dying minutes, as they pressed the Azzurri high and Rey Manaj almost snatched the equaliser in the last minute after he went through on goal but his chip over Donnarumma took a slight deflection and missed the open goal just wide, as the defending champions held on for the win.
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