Italy 3-1 France: Esposito Double Inspires Azzurri Comeback at San Siro
· Yahoo Sports
Pio Esposito scored twice as Italy came from behind to beat France 3-1 in the UEFA Nations League, ending Les Bleus’ unbeaten run and moving level with them on points in Group A1.
Michael Olise gave France an early lead following a mistake from Gianluigi Donnarumma, but Pio Esposito restored parity before half-time.
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Italy then took control in the second half, with Davide Frattesi putting the hosts ahead before Esposito converted a penalty to complete the comeback.
As it happened
France threatened inside the opening three minutes when Bradley Barcola’s cutback from the left flank found Désiré Doué inside the box, but his effort struck the side netting.
Les Bleus’ early pressure paid off in the 10th minute when Michael Olise capitalised on a mistake from Donnarumma. The Italian goalkeeper attempted to play out from the back, but his pass was intercepted by the French winger, who calmly slotted the ball home.
The visitors continued to press high and attack down the flanks, enjoying the greater share of possession and creating the better chances. However, Italy remained within touching distance despite France’s attacking dominance.
The home side drew level in the 26th minute when Cambiaghi sent a low cross into the penalty area, where Pio Esposito met it first time, steering his effort through Mike Maignan’s legs and into the net.
Zidane’s side continued to have the better of the attacking opportunities, with Barcola striking the post in the 35th minute before the visitors finished the half with nine shots to Italy’s two. Nevertheless, both sides headed into the break level at 1-1.
Both teams picked up where they left off after the interval, with neither manager making a change at the break. France continued to pose an attacking threat early in the second half, while Italy looked to catch the visitors on the counter.
The Azzurri had a golden opportunity to take the lead at the hour mark when Cambiaghi won a penalty following a challenge from Malo Gusto inside the box. However, Sebastiano Esposito blazed the resulting spot-kick high and wide.
The hosts made amends three minutes later as Davide Frattesi slotted home Federico Dimarco’s cutback in the 63rd minute, with Dimarco making an immediate impact just a minute after coming on for Cambiaghi.
Mancini’s side had another chance from the spot, and this time Pio Esposito stepped up and made no mistake, slotting his penalty into the bottom-left corner past Maignan in the 75th minute.
Zidane’s side kept pushing forward but struggled to create as many clear-cut chances as they had earlier in the contest.
The result brought France’s unbeaten Nations League run to an end and sent Italy top of Group A1 on 10 points, level with Les Bleus and one point ahead of Belgium heading into the final round of fixtures.