LONDON - Finally, Italy returned to type, and so did Alvaro Morata. Neither happened by design - far from it, really. But Roberto Mancini may be planning for Sunday's Euro 2020 final when the Azzurri beat Spain 1-1 in 120 minutes before winning the resulting penalty shootout 4-2 at Wembley.
Prior to these finals the general consensus was that Morata's form would largely define how far Spain could go. And this semifinal untangles the existential puzzle at the heart of Luis Enrique's approach: Morata was dropped from the starting lineup to facilitate more control in midfield, yet he went off the bench to produce a moment of magic. came which drew them to level in the 80th minute. , only to then inflate his spot kick, gave Jorginho a chance to roll in a penalty that sent the blue wall behind Unai Simon's goal into a frenzy and knocked Spain out of the tournament.
You had to feel for Morata, provoked by the Spaniards in Seville during the group stage, a scintillating performance against Croatia in the last 16. Few players endure roller-coaster tournaments like him.
In the midst of it all, the 28-year-old became Spain's all-time leading goal scorer at Euros, his sixth goal taking him ahead of Fernando Torres. It was a brilliant moment with 10 minutes remaining to combine speed and penetration, canceling Federico Chiesa's amazing effort at the hour mark. Yet the mental fragility that has often undermined Morata's career again found itself in the shootout, depriving Spain of the victory their overall performance deserved.
Morata was left out of the starting lineup as Luis Enrique was mindful of his long history with Italy's dogged centre-back duo Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci. Morata first faced the 22-year-old pair at Juventus on loan from Real Madrid. As teammates, Chiellini and Bonucci tried to toughen him up. As opponents, they still know his weaknesses.
Spain has faced Italy in the last four Euro knockout stages, and in 2016, Morata led the line, but Chiellini was the one who progressed to Italy's quarter-finals. Morata has better enjoyed other meetings with both Madrid and Spain, but is concerned that Chiellini and Bonucci could threaten Luis Enrique's No 7, perhaps pushing him to play without a centre-forward. Italy's midfield trio also had the notable advantage of helping to finish, with Mancini making a significant shift to a possession-based approach as synonymous with Spain.
And as it turns out, Spain is better than Italy for being Spain. He dictated much of the game, with Pedri challenging his teens to mix creativity, Dani Olmo going closest with two attempts from inside the box, the first blocked, the second cleverly saved by Gianluigi Donnarumma. .
Mikel Oyarzabal skidded the first shot from the edge of the box at the end of another fine move, and slowly the flip side of Luis Enrique's approach became apparent: the lack of anyone in Spain to translate his superiority to the scoreline. was.
Much has been made of Italy's more progressive style under Mancini - and the 32-game unbeaten run that came with it. But without left-back Leonardo Spinazola (in the race for Player of the Tournament before an Achilles injury against Belgium), he lacked the ability to maintain the ball or beat Spain's press on a counterattack. were dependent. Still breathtaking when everything clicked.
That's exactly what happened when Donnarumma started the 15-minute breakaway in the second period by swinging the ball forward. Marco Verratti received the ball to the left and slid a pass forward to Ciro Immobile, who was denied a run on goal only by Aymeric Laporte's last-ditch slide tackle. However, the loose ball fell to Chiesa, who made a brilliant shot over Simon.
The ball had yet to rest in Simon's net before Luis Enrique signaled his option, immediately pitching Morata for Ferran Torres. Mancini replaced Immobil with Domenico Berardi, a winger for a striker who only cited the initiative to Spain as he tried to find parity.
Italy may have been looking to repeat the final leg of their victory over Belgium in the previous round; Maintaining a 2–1 lead for the entirety of the second half, Mancini's side slowed down the game to such an extent that the ball was in play for only nine of the final 20 minutes. The problem was here, they couldn't get out of Spain to put it in the stands. And Morata had a point to prove.
Spain worked on their opponents looking for an opening, and Morata provided the spark: moving into a central position, Morata played a one-two with Olmo and a quiet left-footed finishing behind Donnarumma.
Extra time was a sterile affair, the amusing 90-minute betrayal that preceded it, as Italy was determined, moving back into it even threatening themselves to a winner, before a shootout in which Manuel Locatelli and Olmo were able to convert the opening two. Failed punishment. Morata was the only one who left the pitch to pat the players and staff on the back, as the rest of the squad, joined by Luis Enrique, saluted the 60,000-strong Spanish contingent, who usually faced poor English. summer evening.
Italy are just one step away from winning their first Euro since 1968, having reached this stage with a steady and resilient performance in keeping with their past. It wasn't quite a Catanacio, but he defended several times with back fives, backed out by Spain's superior technical quality: Luis Enrique's side had 70% possession and recorded 16 shots. Italy, averaging 20 before Tuesday, only managed seven.
Nevertheless he held a remarkable record of 10 wins from 12 semi-finals at Euros and World Cups. For Italy, returning to type is not necessarily a bad thing.