By Anna Italia
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Italian Soccer Serie A
Italy Head Coach Roberto Mancini commenting on the UEFA Nations League Semifinal defeated by Spain on Wednesday 6 October 2021 at the San Siro Stadium. “It’s a shame to lose like that, but this game will give us strength in spite of the final result and will help us to understand that this really is a great team. Sometimes, certain events can decide games; it could’ve been 1-1 at the end of the first half.” Italy stopped their 37 unbeaten record after falling in San Siro.
✅ UEFA Nations League Semifinal: Result ITALY 1 – 2 SPAIN, Wednesday 6 October 2021
👉 Regarding the whistling, boos, and attitude of some fans against former AC Milan goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, Mancini said, “He was playing for Italy tonight and Italy comes first.”
👉 On the sending off of Leonardo Bonucci in the 42nd minutie: “I didn’t see it but Leo needed to pay attention before – when he got booked for dissent. We did well in the second half to score with ten men, and not to concede another.”
Spain Head Coach Luis Enrique said it beforehand: “Italy will need to lose sooner or later.” He was right, too, because, after an unbeaten run of 37 games and a European title, the defeat came to a young and talented Spain side, who they had beaten three months prior. Yet strength can be drawn from defeat too and the Azzurri have shown that before, not least in the wake of missing the World Cup in Russia.
Federico Chiesa never gave up tonight. First, he hit the post and then he gifted Pellegrini the goal to make it 2-1. “We’ve lost for the first time after a lot of matches. We set a world record and, sooner or later, the defeat had to arrive. Spain deserved it tonight. We could’ve been more clinical; we’ll take all the good stuff we did. We ran hard until the end for Italy and for the coach. We won’t stop now. We’ll think about getting back to winning ways and bringing more trophies home.” Bonucci’s sending off complicated Italy’s plans in a game that was poised on a knife-edge until that point: “It was a harsh red card. That first yellow should never be given in international football. To the captain as well. Spain caused us issues when it was 11 vs. 11 though, but the game can always change. Going down to ten men killed it off.”
Lorenzo Pellegrini came off the bench and continued his current goal scoring form, scoring his third for his country: “We’re really disappointed. There’s a lot of regret but these games are decided by the little moments and it didn’t go our way today. We believed until the very end. Spain were better than Italy today but we have a bright future ahead of us.”
Giorgio Chiellini came on after the break too, when Italy were already down to ten men: “We knew that it was going to be a tough game and we need to accept that our opponents cause us problems. We gave it a go until the game but it wasn’t enough today. It’s a shame because we were playing at home. It was an important step for this team ahead of the World Cup.” The third-place playoff is this Sunday but the captain is already looking to the future: “We need to think about this next game and then we have games in November when we need to make it to the World Cup.”
A performance full of pride and love for the shirt 🇮🇹#ITAESP #NationsLeague #Azzurri #VivoAzzurro pic.twitter.com/n6SwR24iab
— Italy ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (@Azzurri_En) October 6, 2021
