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Manuel Akanji: Watching the others cheer
Photo:
Jean-Christophe Bott / dpa
Scene of the game:
In the days of the European Championship, when certain nations were complaining about a lack of offensive support from midfield, Italy's Manuel Locatelli played a fantastic ball into the path of Domenico Berardi on the right wing against Switzerland.
Locatelli not only enjoyed the beauty of his pass, but followed it in a full sprint into the opposing half.
50, 60 meters and a few seconds later Berardi put in the center, Locatelli inserted (26th minute).
The result:
Italy won 3-0 (1-0) against Switzerland.
Locatelli also scored the second (52nd), Ciro Immobile the third (89th).
Read the match report here.
Swiss ambition: in
2014, 2016 and 2018 Switzerland reached the round of 16 of a major tournament. Time for higher goals, thought the Swiss fans and the players, although the group travel plan Rome, Baku, Rome collects the most kilometers and therefore the load is high. The Swiss national team is running out of time because the same team that is considered the golden generation in Switzerland is still playing together. After losing one chance after the other against Wales, Switzerland now has to tremble for the round of 16: No win against Turkey on the last group match day - and Switzerland is out.
Derby:
Italian and Swiss football have a long history in common. The neighboring countries have met 59 times since 1911, and neither have played against any other nation more often. The problem for the Swiss: The national team won only eight times - the last time in 1993 in the World Cup qualifiers. The "Neue Zürcher Zeitung" took the game on Wednesday as an opportunity to look back on this historic victory, among other things. A certain Marc Hottiger scored the decisive 1-0 back then.
First half:
And that Swiss victories against Italy would remain something for history, was foreseeable early on. Italy was absolutely dominant, Switzerland barely managed to relieve the pressure, although the 3700 Swiss at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome let "Hopp Schwiiz" echo through the stadium. After a corner from the left, Giorgio Chiellini shot into the goal for the first time, but was subsequently called back due to a handball (19th). After Locatelli's goal, Sommer prevented Ciro Immobile (34.) and Lorenzo Insigne (41.) from falling further behind.
Italian worries?
In the 24th minute, the Italian euphoria threatened to stall. Chiellini held the ball on his own sixteen, then shot it out of the way. The 36-year-old indicated that he had to be replaced and immediately took off the captain's armband. Apparently the thigh pinched. For more than a decade, Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci have formed one of the best defense centers in world football. A long-term failure would weigh heavily.
Second half:
Seven minutes after the break, Locatelli showed how powerful he is. But above all, Immobile showed what an intelligent striker he is: When Barella passed the ball in the penalty area, Immobile pushed into the penalty area between three opponents. Not because he wanted the ball, but because he wanted to open the area before the sixteenth. The Swiss Remo Freuler followed Immobile, only then did Locatelli have the space for his graduation. After this team service, Immobile was allowed to meet himself shortly before the end (89th).
Double packer:
For the 23-year-old Locatelli it was the first double pack in the twelfth international match, previously only two Italians had succeeded in a European Championship match: Mario Balotelli in 2012 in the semifinals against - once being strong - Germany. And Pierluigi Casiraghi against Russia in 1996.
Without conceding a goal:
That the Italian defensive is stable even without Chiellini, it showed after his substitution. The 22-year-old Donnaruma exuded an unimaginable calm for his age, cleared once against Zuber when he first parried with his foot and threw himself into the following cross from the Swiss instead of staying on the line. Goalkeepers of the new generation are taught that they also have to defend the so-called second goal, which is thought at right angles to the goal line in order to intercept passes through the six-yard area. As a result, Donnaruma prevented a potential goal, after the game Italy are already ten games in a row without.