Spain successfully defended their European Under-21 Championship throne for the second time in succession after they defeated Italy 4-2 in a footballing masterclass in Tuesday's final.
A pair of goals from captain Thiago, along with lone strikes from Isco and Koke crowned la Rojita
junior champions of Europe, despite Ciro Immobile and Fabio Borini's
attempts to cause an upset in Jerusalem, but the scoreline heavily
favoured the Italians who were dealt a harsh lesson in the basics of
possession play.
The Spaniards showed their intent earliest and
it was aptly rewarded when a fine interchange between Isco and Alvaro
Morata down the left flank resulted in the Real Madrid striker crossing
the ball onto the head of an unmarked Thiago in the box.
But
moments later, just when it appeared that Italy were reeling from
falling behind so prematurely in Jerusalem, a raking pass dropped at the
feet of Immobile who delightfully lifted the ball over a hapless David de Gea on the half-volley.
It
was game on between the giants of the U21 game, yet it was the
Spaniards led by Morata - top scorer in the tournament with four goals
prior to kick-off - who were more likely to find the back of the net
again.
Morata first saw a powerful header denied by the
fingertips of Francesco Bardi, before latching onto Thiago's
through-ball a split-second later and firing again at the Brescia
goalkeeper.
Nonetheless, he was to be the recipient of the
honour.The onus switched away from the Castilla hit-man as the first
half gradually came to a close, and Koke was the next to test Bardi via
Isco's free kick.
The Malaga star's free kick rebounded to the
midfielder, but his flick was stopped by Bardi's leg. The end-to-end
nature of the opening spells soon returned, and it was Alessandro
Florenzi who lifted the ball over his marker and hit a volley that took
several bounces before being parried away by De Gea.
But on the
half-hour mark, Spain deservedly regained their lead when Koke sent in a
lobbed pinpoint pass onto the chest of Thiago, and the Barcelona
starlet evaded Luca Caldirola before creeping a low shot over the line.
Eight
minutes later, Cristian Tello peeled inside from the left flank but was
brought down by Giulio Donati in the box, allowing Thiago the chance to
grab his second from the penalty spot through the middle of Bardi's
goal.
The second half started with a pair of snapshots from Isco
and Florenzi to get the juices flowing, but Spain were undeniably on top
as they continued to claim the lion's share of possession and dazzle
purists with their intricate passing game.
Spain then found a
deserving fourth - again from 12 yards out - when Martin Montoya's legs
were clipped by Vasco Regini, and it was wantaway No.10 Isco who was
entrusted with the burden of sending Bardi the wrong way.
However,
Italy did show signs of an improvement with time fast becoming a
precious commodity, and they managed to salvage some pride with just 10
minutes remaining as Borini scored in his second consecutive match
following an intelligent one-two with Lorenzo Insigne.
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» Spain successfully defended their European Under-21 Championship
Spain successfully defended their European Under-21 Championship
Written By alexanderkidz on June 19, 2013 | 6/19/2013 12:07:00 pm
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