Italy defeated Azerbaijan 2-1 on Friday night at the Stadio Renza Barbera in their Euro 2016 qualifying match.
Two goals and an own goal from defender Giorgio Chiellini confirmed the win for the Azzurri, which puts them top of Group H on six points.
The Azzurri will now travel to Malta on Monday night in hopes of maintaining their perfect start to qualifying under new coach Antonio Conte.
Did we get our ratings right? Give your say in the comments below.
Italy
Gianluigi Buffon – 4.5 – Poor
Was a spectator for the vast majority of the match. Horribly misread an Azerbaijan corner which resulted in calamitous own goal off Chiellini.
Andrea Ranocchia – 6.5 – Rigid
Like his goalkeeper, wasn’t particularly troubled by the Azerbaijan attack. Headed just over from an inviting Pirlo delivery.
Leonardo Bonucci – 7 – Troublesome
Surprisingly had three decent first-half chances, but none were converted. Also sent an accurate long pass to find Zaza free in the box, but the striker couldn’t convert. A quiet night for Bonucci, and he can expect the same against Malta.
Giorgio Chiellini – 7 – Triple Goalscorer
Lack of Azerbaijan quality left the Juventus defender without much to do for most of the match, but grabbed a very important goal to signal the breakthrough. Unfortunately, also grabbed a very important goal for Azerbaijan too. Topped off an incredible night by restoring Italy’s advantage with less than 10 minutes remaining.
Matteo Darmian – 6 – Light
Was given the nod over Antonio Candreva, but appeared to be limited by the muscle of Azerbaijan’s left side. Is lacking a skill in his locker to skin defenders.
Mattia De Sciglio – 7 – Outlet
Was slightly more active than Darmian, and had more of an impact in the first-half than the second. Arguably also suffered from being too weak in comparison to the opposition defenders. Looked dangerous when putting crosses into the box.
Alessandro Florenzi – 6 – Chance
This was a big chance for the 23-year-old to impress but endured quite a frustrating night. Will undoubtedly be given more time to shine.
Andrea Pirlo – 8.5 – Metronome
Kept the side ticking over nicely from the centre of midfield, providing a large handful of chances for his teammates. Was arguably lucky to avoid a first-half red card, and provided an excellent chance from which Ranocchia headed over.
Claudio Marchisio – 7 – Movement
Off the ball, the Juventus midfielder put in a typical excellent shift. Would have hoped for a bigger contribution considering the huge possession which Italy enjoyed.
Simone Zaza – 6.5 – Acrobatic
Was very unlucky to see an audacious and acrobatic overhead kick whizz just past the upright. Tried his luck again later on but saw the attempt deflected on the way through to the goalkeeper. Definitely should have doubled Italy’s lead with 20 minutes late but steered wide from a great position.
Ciro Immobile – 6 – Pacy
Terrorised the Azerbaijan defence with some searing displays of pace, but was ultimately wasteful with his shooting.
Substitutes:
Alberto Aquilani – 5.5- Weak
Quiet performance from the Fiorentina man, heightened by the fact that he replaced the best player on the field.
Sebastian Giovinco – 7.5 – Super
Was on for only 15 minutes but his influence cannot be underestimated. Much of the credit for Italy’s winner goes to the Juventus forward, who also struck the bar with a 25 yard strike late on.
Antonio Candreva – N/A
Azerbaijan
Kamran Agayev – 6.5 – Alert
Was probably one of Azerbaijan’s best players on the night, doing well to deny Bonucci’s long-range deflected drive. Had little chance of saving the goal.
Elnur Allahverdiyev – 5.5 – Slow
De Sciglio always looked to have the better of him, and was caught out of position a couple of times.
Badavi Huseynov – 6 – Tough
Found it very tough dealing with Zaza and Immobile, but kept their goal search fruitless.
Rashad Sadigov – 6 – Similar
The same as Huseynov. Both players were fortunate that none of Zaza or Immobile could convert, but a flattering stat nonetheless.
Ylkin Girtimov – 6 – Half
Only played for the first half of the match, but looked to have a good grip on Darmian.
Araz Abdullayev – 4.5 – Ineffective
Wasn’t in the game, rarely saw the ball.
Gara Garayev – 4 – Space
Was guilty of handing Pirlo acres upon acres of space.
Rahid Amirguliev – 4 – Space v2
Imitated Garayev by not pressuring Pirlo.
Dima Nazarov – 4.5 – Struggle
Really struggled to do much on the left side of midfield.
Rufat Dadasov – 4.5 – Wasteful
Wasted one of his side’s only half-chances.
Rauf Aliyev – 5.5 – Contribution
Contributed by applying the pressure on Chiellini which forced the defender to bundle the ball into his own net.
Substitutes:
Agabala Ramazanov – 4.5 – Quicker
The 21-year-old seemed to be quite quick, but wasn’t able to make an impact.
Javid Huseynov – N/A
Vuqar Nadirov – N/A
