Germany beat Italy on Tuesday in a clear experimental phase with an unappealable 5-2. For Germany the victory is important for historical reasons – it is the first victory against their black beast in an official match. And for circumstantial reasons since the three draws in the first three days of the League of Nations had left many doubts.
For Italy the defeat is painful but in part it can be seen as an accident at a time when Roberto Mancini is testing new players and constantly rotating in search of the bases for a new start.
Against Italy, the German superiority was noticeable from the first minute. Hansi Flick’s team took control of the match from the opening whistle, seized the ball, put it in the opposing half, created chances and permanently hindered the Italian exit with permanent high pressure.
The first play from the area soon followed with a diagonal pass from Thomas Müller that Timo Werner did not take enough advantage of taking too long to finish off.
In the 7th minute Leroy Sané had a good chance with a shot from the edge of the area that went slightly wide.
In minute 9 Italy showed signs of life, with a shot by Raspadori, to Politano’s center from the right, before which Manuel Neuer reacted with a great save.
However, most of the game was played close to the other goal and in the 10th minute Germany opened the scoring through Joshua Kimmich.
The play began with a diagonal ball into the area from Niklas Süle for Werner who opened to the left for David Raum to launch a cross that reached Kimmich for him to define with a left-footed shot from close range.
Throughout the first half the game changed little. Germany sent and arrived frequently while Italy only did so very intermittently.
On the Italian side, offensively, the only thing worth noting is a header by Cristante over the crossbar in the 22nd minute.
Germany had at least three clear chances – Jonas Hofmann in the 32nd, Sané in the 39th and Werner in the 40th – before Ilkay Gündogan scored the second from a penalty in the third minute of injury time in the first half.
The penalty came from a clear push by Bastoni against Hofmann inside the area.
At the beginning of the second half, Italy had an attempt to react and a good chance, with a deflected shot by Cristante from the edge of the box.
Germany needed 5 minutes to get out of their half and have a long possession. But that possession ended in the third goal scored by Müller
The fourth came in the 68th minute, marked by Werner in a play that originated with a pass from Müller to the second post that Serge Gnabry returned to the center. A minute later, Werner himself scored the fifth, after a loss of the ball by the Italian defense at the start.
In the 78th minute, Italy, who continued to play with the same attitude as if the match was 0-0, achieved the discount through Gnonto and the last moment of the discount made up the debacle a bit with the second headed by Bastoni in a serve corner.
