They paved us. On the pitch and even more so in the numbers that summarize the progress of the match. Last night there was a footballing abyss between Spain and Italy. A difference that the final 1-0 for La Roja certainly does not photograph correctly. If Donnarumma hadn’t shown one of his best performances in the blue shirt, the gap would have been humiliating. As the statistics of the match certify.
NEVER DANGEROUS
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Let’s start with the shots: Italy actually never played Unai Simon. The statistics include a shot by Cristante, headed in the 86th minute after a corner, but it was a kind of pass to the Spanish goalkeeper. For the rest three conclusions out, the first at the end of the first half with Chiesa. And Spain? Nine shots on target, with eight saves by Gigio, plus eight shots that ended up wide and three blocked (we have zero, also in the rejected category). The total? Maybe it’s better not to do the sum, but… for strong hearts it’s twenty to four. And twelve of those shots came from inside our area. Yet another sign that they could do us much, much more harm.
POSSESSION
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To further define offensive production, let’s look at ball possession. Spain closed the first half at 61.1% with us at 38.9%; the recovery was more balanced, with La Roja at 53.1% and us at 46.9%. Also because in the end our opponents lowered their center of gravity and preferred to control rather than hurt with the continuity and intensity shown for at least two thirds of the match. But be careful: in the first fifteen minutes of the second half Carvajal and his teammates had 80% possession and had finished five times, once every three minutes. A kind of training, of… shooting at the blue target. The number of passes certifies the data on possession: 591 for Spain, with an impressive 90.9% precision, 439 for Italy, with a “success” percentage of 83.1%. We, under pressure, made more mistakes than against Albania; they moved more and always had time to rely on a free man.
CENTER OF GRAVITY
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Another piece of data that illustrates the progress of the race and makes it clear that they have paved us is that of the average center of gravity: very high, that is, at 56.4 metres, that of Spain; very low, i.e. at 45.6 metres, that of Italy. The fact that we were shorter on average as a team, i.e. 24.8 metres, is not positive, on the contrary… It certifies that they jumped on us and that we never had the strength to start again and make them run backwards. Nothing but possession and an enterprising game to put them in difficulty as Spalletti had said the day before… And then there is the percentage of balls played on the flanks: 62% those of the Iberians who were looking for Yamal and above all the wild and elusive Nico Williams; we stopped at 55% only because we dared something more with the entry of Zaccagni.
DRIBBLING WANTED
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We also knew on the eve of the game that we didn’t have two arrows capable of targeting the man and dribbling past him like Yamal and Nico Williams. Of course we hoped that Chiesa would have given us a little more, let’s say like in the first half against Albania and instead… All things considered, the percentage of successful dribbles is merciless: 13 to 2. There’s no need to add anything else…
SINGLES
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That Rodri, probably the best playmaker in the world, would be a point of reference for our opponents was very likely and that he completed more passes than anyone else (93) is not news. The problem is that the Spaniard has scored more than Frattesi (5), Jorginho (25), Cristante (20) and Barella (40) combined (90). And the blue player who has the most successful passes is central defender Bastoni (59), followed by Calafiori (57). There is also another piece of data that photographs the performances of the individuals: Fabian recovered 14 balls, as many as Barella (5), Cristante (3), Jorginho (4) and Frattesi (2) combined. Is it necessary to add anything else?
