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Tom Hamilton, Senior Writer
DORTMUND, Germany – Italy manager Luciano Spalletti said his side were “dead” for Albania’s record-setting early goal, but praised the way his side bounced back to win 2-1 in their Euro 2024 opener in Dortmund on Saturday.
Italy go into the match as the defending champions, and Spalletti said the team needed to be more clinical in front of goal if they wanted to repeat that feat, but also said the team made the Euros’ defense stop them from playing “good football.” In the end, goals from Alessandro Bastoni and Nicolò Barella were enough to earn Italy three points after an early scare.
Albania, supported by at least two-thirds of the support in the stadium, made Euro history when Nedim Bajrami scored the fastest goal in the history of the tournament after 23 seconds. The goal came on the back of an Italian error: Federico Dimarco took a throw-in on the left, but Italy was slow to react, Bajrami pounced and put an effort past Gianluigi Donnarumma.
“It could happen because we killed it,” Spalletti said in his post-match press conference. “But we have to respect the desire to try and play football even when things get difficult.
“We just have to keep things nice and tidy in there, because we’re in.”
Federico Chiesa said that the atmosphere of fear did not play a role in Italy’s slow start.
“From my point of view on the pitch, there are fewer Italians and more Albanians, but it’s very good,” Chiesa said. “It’s good to play ‘away from home.’ This did not affect us to concede the opening goal, which came from a throw-in, but we showed that we wanted to keep the ball instead of launching it long.
Spalletti was pleased with the way the team responded, and how the team got around Dimarco. From there, Italy became dominant. Spalletti said he believed “the scoreline doesn’t reflect the difference between the two teams” but also signaled caution to his side after Albania’s Rey Manaj came close to scoring the late equaliser.
“We have to improve – we think we are better than in certain situations,” said Spalletti. “We need to be meaner – we are neat and tidy in building it up – but we need to hurt the opposition. We thought we were brilliant in possession but that is something we need to do better.”
Spalletti’s Albanian counterpart Sylvinho hesitated to criticize the players for not taking an early lead against the champions from 2021.
“Yes, we can manage better, indeed,” he said. “But we don’t forget that we are up against a very good team, Italy set the tempo very quickly. Italy move the ball very quickly.
“This cannot be denied. It is not easy because they are a good team. If we do not concede the second goal, then it will be a good match for us. Unfortunately, we cannot hold the Italian team. The attack and 25 minutes were difficult for us. “
Spalletti praised Barella’s performance, after the Inter Milan midfielder was an injury doubt going into the match.
“I chose him even though he hasn’t practiced much because he’s the one,” he said. “When he drops deep and gets out of the crowded area, he’s even better. He stays in front of the defense in terms of quality. He keeps us moving. He has a great performance.”
Spalletti says Italy will play differently when they face Spain next, and Chiesa expects a tough task when the two meet in Gelsenkirchen.
“It will be a good match, Spain showed tonight and in the past, a very good team,” Chiesa said. “We are not worse than that. We will go out there and compete for every ball. The head coach wants tough players who will fight for every ball, as we must win the competition.”
Albania, meanwhile, will be looking to pick up their first points against Croatia in Hamburg on Wednesday, but admit they are sorry they didn’t give their fans more joy in Dortmund.
“I’m disappointed with the result,” said Sylvinho. “When you prepare for a match and against a team like Italy who are a good team, we work for 10 days straight to try to win this match, or get a draw.
“The people are incredible – we said two days ago the stadium would be red, and I saw a lot of pride of Albanians. It’s a shame we couldn’t equalize in the last minute – but this happened.”
