On a wild night in Dortmund, the Azzuri showed their mettle and refound their class after a chaotic first minute of a famous match at Euro 2024
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Albania stunned Italy with the fastest goal in Euros history, coming after just 23 seconds, as Federico Dimarco left his throw-in short and Alessandro Bastoni melted into the ground and then before anyone could understand what was happening Nedim Bajrami had thumped a strike inside Gianluigi Donnarumma’s near post. Bajrami raced away, falling into the embrace of a stadium losing its head.
Italy trudged back to halfway and in that moment it seemed the latest twist in the cycle of turmoil that has followed the Azzurri since they defeated England on penalties to win the Euros. Luciano Spalletti, parachuted into the job less than a year ago after the European champions failed to qualify for the World Cup under Roberto Mancini, may have watched on and wondered what he had got himself into after quitting his sabbatical at his Tuscan farm.
But what followed was a different story, one not of Albania resistance, but of Italy discovering themselves again. Italy have not acted like champions since that night at Wembley but here were the first embers of something familiar. Just as they did in the Euro 2020 final against England after conceding an early goal, Italy assumed control and shut down the narrative. After turning the game around by half-time, the holders ensured the second was a non-event. Until Rey Manaj chested down a long punt forward and forced Donnarumma into a vital touch to send the ball narrowly wide in the 90th minute, Albania had not offered a hint of threat since Bajrami had the holders rocking.
Italy 2-1 Albania: On a wild night in Dortmund, the Azzuri showed their mettle and refound their class after a chaotic first minute of a famous match at Euro 2024
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