Italy 1-1 Netherlands
Italy and the Netherlands shared the points tonight in a 1-1 draw in the UEFA Nations League Group A1 tie at the Gewiss Stadium in Bergamo.
Roberto Mancini’s Azzurri and Frank de Boer’s Netherlands are two teams on the up, and they both showed attacking flair and ambition tonight in an entertaining clash, particularly in the first half.
At 12th and 13th in the FIFA World Rankings, these are two well-matched teams and our pre-match Italy vs Netherlands betting tips backed a tight match.
And so it was as Donny van de Beek equalised Lorenzo Pellegrini’s opener as the two teams took a point apiece.
In other UEFA Nations League 2020 news, there was a win for Poland in Group A1, when Robert Lewandowski was on target twice as the Poles beat Bosnia to take top spot ahead of Italy and the Netherlands.
Highlights of the game
In a lively opening half, Holland striker Luuk de Jong was the first to show his intent when he met a cross from Daley Blind but his header was blocked.
Then, Italy struck the first real blow on just 16 minutes when Lorenzo Pellegrini latched on to a through ball from Nicolo Barella and slotted it low into the bottom-left corner giving Jasper Cillessen no chance.
But in a hectic first quarter of the game, the Netherlands were back on terms 10 minutes later after a sustained period of pressure. Memphis Depay took a pass from Blind and had his shot blocked, but Donny van de Beek smashed his effort high into the top-right corner.
Italy were close to regaining their lead when Danilo D’Ambrosio took aim from outside the penalty area but Cillessen saved well, low to his left, to keep the scores level at the break. And De Jong ended the first half as he began it, meeting a cross from Blind but this time heading narrowly wide.
De Jong carried on in the second half where he left off from the first and he forced an early save from Gianluigi Donnarumma. Italy’s main man, Ciro Immobile, then met a corner to fire a shot towards the bottom corner, but Valencia stopper Cillessen was equal to it.
Italy probed, but the Dutch defence — marshalled by Virgil van Dijk — stood firm. Roberto Mancini rolled the dice, bringing on Allesandro Florenzi to replace Pellegrini, but there was little opportunity against a resolute Dutch backline and the Netherlands came closest to snatching a winner when Gini Wijnaldum drove narrowly wide.
Key statistics
We expected a shootout when Italy faced Poland last weekend but we endured a goalless draw, as did the Netherlands against Bosnia and Herzegovina. But this game was more like it and the first half produced six shots for each, though in terms of on-target efforts Italy were ahead by five to one.
By the final whistle the Dutch had dragged that back to six to three and De Boer’s team deserved the point.
What’s next?
International football returns in early November when Italy have a friendly at home to Estonia, before entertaining Poland in their next UEFA Nations League game. Meanwhile, the Netherlands have their friendly against Spain, who were stunned by injury and illness ravaged Ukraine last night, before they take on Bosnia in Group A1 action.
In the meantime, we’ll be back with news, views and SBOTOP tips in all the big domestic leagues as the action kicks off again this weekend.
Virgil Van Dijk’s Liverpool took a 7-2 thumping at the hands of Aston Villa before the international break, and they have the Merseyside derby to look forward to on Saturday. Carlo Ancelotti’s Everton will really fancy their chances having won all four of their games so far, but expect Liverpool’s defence to be back to something like its best, though keeper Alisson is a big miss.
Donny van de Beek will be boosted by his goal tonight and he’ll be hoping for a start for Manchester United away to Newcastle United on Saturday. He was the Red Devils biggest signing in the summer and he could be the man to kick-start their season.
Ciro Immobile’s Lazio are away to Sampdoria in Serie A where there are some huge games this weekend. The action starts with a fifth versus first clash when Napoli host Atalanta, and then on Saturday afternoon it’s the Milan derby. Both Milan teams have started well; I Rossoneri are alongside Atalanta with three wins from three while Inter are close behind, in fourth place, on seven points.
The big news emerging from Serie A this week is the announcement that Juventus’ Cristiano Ronaldo has tested positive for COVID-19, and we join the world of football in wishing the great man well.
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