The absence of Cristiano Ronaldo did not hurt as Portugal beat Italy 1-0 at the Estadio da Luz in Lisbon and moved to the top of Group 3 League A phase in the UEFA Nations League. A goal from Sevilla forward Andre Silva in the 48th minute was enough to secure the win as the struggles for the Italian national team piled on.
Portugal dominates the first half but lack end product
Portugal were without superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, who was rested for this international break by manager Fernando Santos. The first half saw the Portuguese hold the edge against a hesitant Italian side but were unable to capitalize on their opportunities and failed to find the back of the net.
Bruma and Andre Silva created a couple of decent chances but Bernardo Silva and William Carvalho possibly had the best chance of giving Portugal the lead but unfortunately for them, their shots narrowly went wide.
Bernardo Silva’s claims for a penalty were denied by the referee when the Manchester City midfielder rushed into Ciro Immobile but was blocked and pushed back by the Lazio striker just inside the 18-yard box.
Lack of support from the Italian midfield
Except for Jorginho, the rest of the Italy midfield was rotated by Roberto Mancini for the encounter against Portugal. Lorenzo Insigne was one of many relegated to the bench and in came the likes Giacomo Bonaventura, Bryan Cristante and Federico Chiesa.
But these changes did not produce any different outcome as there was minimal assistance from the newcomers throughout the game. Chiesa had a torrid game and completed just 68% of his passes whereas Jorginho also looked slightly off colour.
Portugal’s resolute defence
After taking the lead early on in the second half, Portugal decided to drop back and defend their advantage. This resulted in Italy having a higher share of possession but the Portuguese defence were ready for the task ahead and successfully kept a clean sheet in their opening game.
The backline comprised of Pepe, Ruben Dias, Joao Cancelo and Napoli’s Mario Rui. All four of them made it extremely hard for the Italians to penetrate through into the box and did not allow for any kind of opening.