Italy have started their European Championship title defence with a 2-1 win over Albania on Saturday night in Dortmund, but it was far from perfect. Gli Azzurri managed to concede the fastest-ever goal in the continental showpiece after just 23 seconds as Dimarco’s woeful throw-in put Bajrami in a superb position to nail it under the crossbar for a shocking lead.23 seconds⏱️Nedim Bajrami with the fastest goal in European Championship history ⚡ pic.twitter.com/N9rlZ4YGIW— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) June 15, 2024 Thankfully for Luciano Spalletti, his team bounced back swiftly, scoring two goals in five minutes to turn things around within the opening 20 minutes.Bastoni levelled the score after an exquisite Pellegrini’s cross found him unmarked on the far post. Equally charming was Barella’s one, which soon followed, as the Inter Milan midfielder pounced on a loose ball to make it 2-1.Although many expected to see an avalanche of goals in the back of Albania’s net, the Italians were pretty clueless in the final third, missing a handful of promising opportunities.Moreover, the second half saw a drastic decline in tempo, and the third match of the day succumbed to a genuine lullaby.We didn’t fall asleep despite 45 minutes of low-key football, and Gli Azzurri were so lucky that the underdogs missed a sitter in the opening seconds of the stoppage time that could have made all the difference.##NAJAVA_MECA_8161499##Still, the EURO 2020 winners will have to play much better in the next game against Spain if they want to finish Group B as the leaders. Moreover, the last group match against Croatia will also be a tough challenge for the Italians and the level of their game needs to be significantly higher in order to get points against those two rivals.EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP – GROUP STAGEFridayGermany – Scotland 5-1 (3-0)/Wirtz 10, Musiala 19, Havertz 45+1, Fullkrug 68, Can 90+3 – Rudiger 87 og/SaturdayHungary – Switzerland 1-3 (0-2)/Varga 66 – Duah 12, Aebischer 45, Embolo 90+3/Spain – Croatia 3-0 (3-0)/Morata 29, Ruiz 32, Carvajal 45+2/Italy – Albania 2-1 (2-1)/Bastoni 11, Barella 16 – Bajrami 1/Sunday 16.00: (5.70) Poland (3.80) Netherlands (1.63)19.00: (5.00) Slovenia (3.50) Denmark (1.75)22.00: (7.50) Serbia (4.40) England (1.50)***odds are subject to change***
