Up and down: Spain striker Álvaro Morata had a tough time ahead of the game. His difficult relationship with the fans at home had already shown in the first group match when he was whistled in Seville. And it was precisely this Morata that brought Spain level in the European Championship semi-finals against Italy. And then that: As Spain’s number four shooter on penalties, he failed because of Italy’s goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma. Then Jorginho scored – and the game was over.
The result: Italy won 4: 2 (1: 1, 0: 0) on penalties against Spain. Italy is in the final of the EM. You can find the match report here.
Exploitation of opportunities in Spanish: The game shouldn’t have been decided on penalties given the chances. Spain’s Mikel Oyarzabal first tripped the ball (13th), then shot the sky from a good position (39th) before hitting Gianluigi Donnarumma’s arms (58th). Then he dived free-standing in front of the goal just under a flank (65th). But Oyarzabal was not alone in wasting his chances: Dani Olmo also failed to Donnarumma (25th) and shot past (67th).
Exploitation of opportunities in Italian: What the Spaniards can do, we can for a long time, the Italians may have thought. Emerson hit the crossbar (45th), Busquets aimed a few centimeters over the crossbar from the edge of the box (52nd) and Domenico Berardi shot Simón (68th).
The 1: 0: But not every attempt went by the gate that evening. Donnarumma brought the ball into play quickly in the 61st minute, it wasn’t long before Aymeric Laporte had to clear Lorenzo Insigne in the Spanish penalty area, but Federico Chiesa had called and slipped into the right corner to take the lead. A very nice hit.
The 1: 1: Now came the appearance of Morata. The attacker, who only came into the game in the 62nd minute, played a one-two with Olmo and then pushed the ball into the penalty area on the left, Donnarumma was already on the way to the other corner (80th). It was his sixth goal at the European Championships, making him the sole record goal scorer in Spain and when he celebrated in front of the Spanish fans, everything looked like a possible reconciliation.
The extension: Was relatively uneventful. Donnarumma blocked a free kick from Olmo, but Morata couldn’t get the margin into the goal (98 ‘). An alleged hit by Berani was legitimately not given because of an offside position (110th). Otherwise it could be seen from the two teams that they didn’t want to make any more mistakes.
Keeper in focus: The goalkeepers on both sides had shown some appealing saves during the game, but also uncertainties. Unai Simón wandered around in some actions in the penalty area, Donnarumma also appeared unsavory a few times, often waited a very long time to play and risked a lot as a result.
The penalty shootout: In the grand finale of the semifinals, both keepers could then excel. Unai Simón stopped the Italians’ first attempt and was almost there again. Donnarumma held against Morata. The coolest appearance, however, was made by Jorginho, who casually pushed the final and decisive penalty into the right corner.
You can not get in here: At the party that followed, one of the stewards couldn’t quite keep track of which people in the Italian jersey were on the fan ranks and which belonged to the national team. Defender Leonardo Bonucci was stopped for a short time – but was then allowed to go back onto the pitch.
Ball possession vs. counterattack: Maybe a bit shortened, but still fitting: At least in the regular season, the Spaniards dominated, had significantly more possession. The Italians, on the other hand, were waiting for quick advances. Both teams created some scoring opportunities with their tactics. “We played against a powerful opponent. We suffered, but we brought it home, ”Jorginho said afterwards. Now it is on Sunday in the same place against the winner from the game between Denmark and England (Wednesday, 9 p.m., live ticker SPIEGEL.de, TV: ZDF).
