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Italy, trailing by two goals at the break, had to play the
entire second half with 10 men after captain Leonardo Bonucci
was sent off but showed real determination as they sought to
avoid their first loss since a September, 2018 defeat by
Portugal.
"This what matches are like, sometimes certain episodes can
influence them," Italy coach Roberto Mancini said. "This is a
disappointment. We should have stayed with 11 men, we made a
mistake that you can’t make at this level," he added.
Spain will face the winners of Thursday's semi-final between
France and Belgium in Sunday's decider. Torres put Spain ahead
in the 17th minute, steering a left-wing cross from Mikel
Oyarzabal past Italy keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma into the far
corner.
Donnarumma, booed by AC Milan fans angered at his recent move
from the club to Paris St Germain, nearly gifted Spain a second
when he fumbled a harmless Marcos Alonso effort against the post
but Bonucci scrambled the ball clear.
Any lingering questions about the importance of the match had
been blown away by the blistering start and it was by no means
one-way traffic, as Italy started to open up the Spanish defence.
Federico Bernardeschi went close to an equaliser with a low
drive from the right which Spain keeper Unai Simon pushed
against the post and Lorenzo Insigne missed a great chance,
firing wide when in space on the edge of the box.
The Azzurri, who beat Spain on penalties in the Euro 2020
semi-final in July, went a man down in the 42nd minute when
Bonucci was sent off for a second yellow card after elbowing
Sergio Busquets.
FINE CROSS
Torres sent Luis Enrique's side in with a two-goal lead at the
break when he was left unmarked to head in another fine cross
from Oyarzabal. Italy brought on Giorgio Chiellini at the break,
the veteran defender and leader having been a surprise omission,
and despite Spain playing with real swagger, the Azzurri stayed
in the game.
Spain had given a debut to Barcelona's 17 year-old midfielder
Gavi, who became their youngest ever player after just three
starts for his club -- but there was no hint of his inexperience
in a confident and composed performance.
Enrico Chiesa was the source of Italy's brightest moments and he
hit the post from a tight angle in the 61st minute
Oyarzabal headed wide after excellent work from another
teenager, winger Yeremi Pino, and Marcos Alonso should have
sealed the win in the 78th minute but his low shot was well
saved by Donnarumma.
Italy ensured a tense end to a quality match when they pulled a
goal back seven minutes from the end, as Chiesa took advantage
of hesitant Spanish defending, broke from the halfway line and
slipped the ball to substitute Lorenzo Pellegrini to convert.
But Italy's run was over and with it ended the dream of a
Nations League title on home soil to follow their Euro triumph.
For Spain though, the revenge for the Wembley loss was sweet.
"We knew it was a special game, we went out in the semi-finals
of the Euros and what better way to beat them at home in other
semi-finals," Torres said.
(Reporting by Simon Evans, additional reporting by Alasdair
Mackenzie, Editing by Toby Davis and Ed Osmond)
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