Italy 1-1 Netherlands: Player Ratings as European heavyweights play out entertaining draw | UEFA Nations League 2020-21
The Netherlands held Italy to a 1-1 draw in the UEFA Nations League in Bergamo on Wednesday night, as Poland took charge of Group 1 in League A.
Lorenzo Pellegrini opened the scoring for Italy, with an easy finish after being played through by a sensational Nicolo Barella through-ball.
The Dutch riposte arrived soon after, as Donny van de Beek put the finishing touches to a move orchestrated by Frenkie de Jong and Daley Blind.
Both sides had enough chances to put the game to the bed after that, with Ciro Immobile missing a sitter for the Italians, and Luuk de Jong missing an easy header for the Dutch.
In the second half, the Dutch did most of the heavy lifting and looked the better side for large periods of the game as well, but a winner was just not forthcoming.
Here's how each player fared for both sides in this game.
Italy Player Ratings
Gianluigi Donnarumma - 7/10
He had no chance of stopping van de Beek's goal, but made a sensational save to deny Memphis Depay. He got down quickly, and stuck his left hand out to divert a shot that was bound for the far corner.
Danilo D'Ambrosio - 5/10
D'Ambrosio left too much space for Blind to run into down the flank. He was also not effective going forward, rendering his selection for the day as rather moot.
Leonardo Bonucci - 6/10
Bonucci was assured and strong in defending against Luuk de Jong, while he also didn't allow Memphis's trickery to get the better of him.
Giorgio Chiellini - 7/10
Chiellini had an outstanding game for Italy. His positioning was spectacular, as he always seemed to know where to be in case he had to shut down any impending danger.
Leonardo Spinazzola - 7/10
Spinazzola had a terrific game down the left for Italy, just as he did in Amsterdam last month. He gave Hateboer a tough time with his dribbling, but lacked the quality final ball that is so needed once you get into that area of the pitch.
Jorginho - 5/10
Especially in the second half, Jorginho needed to step up for Italy, and help them calm play down. Instead, he was making mistakes when put under pressure by the likes of Frenkie de Jong and van de Beek.
Nicolo Barella - 7/10
That pass to play Pellegrini through for his goal, was timed to perfection, hit with the perfect pace, had the perfect angle - it was just a treat to watch. He had a couple of chances on the counter-attack in the secoind half, but he could not find a single killer pass in that time.
Marco Verratti - 4/10
Verratti picked up an early yellow card in this game, and he allowed that to get to him. He was making some daft 50-50 challenges that were inviting trouble. Sensing that, Mancini took him off with more than half an hour to play.
Federico Chiesa - 6/10
Chiesa always had the beating of Ake for pace, but he flattered to deceive with his overall performance. He couldn't really provide any sort of quality for Immobile to feed off.
Lorenzo Pellegrini - 7/10
Pellegrini scored Italy's only goal of the game, after being playe dhtrough by a beautiful pass from Barella. His set-piece delivery throughout the game was outstanding as well.
Ciro Immobile - 4/10
It just does not seem to be happening for Immobile in an Italy shirt. That chance he had early in the second half was an inexcusable miss. One also feels that it is the kind of chance that he gobbles up week in, week out in Lazio colours.
Substitutes
Moise Kean - 7/10
Kean had a great performance after coming on to replace Chiesa. His pace and power really troubled Ake throughout the time that he was on the pitch for.
Manuel Locatelli - 5/10
Locatelli, who made his international debut in the reverse fixture in Amsterdam, couldn't quite manage the same impact in this game. He struggled to contain Frenkie de Jong in the middle of the park.
Alessandro Florenzi - 6/10
After replacing Lorenzo Pellegrini, Florenzi played a couple of delightful crosses into the box, that unfortunately didn't meet an Italian foot or head.