Spain, Italy share spoils in entertaining 1-1 draw

GOALBOUND: Spain’s Cesc Fabregas (C) scores a goal against Italy during their Group C Euro 2012 soccer match at the PGE Arena stadium in Gdansk. (Reuters

Title holders Spain shared the spoils with their traditional continental rivals Italy in an entertaining 1-1 draw at Poland’s Gdansk Arena yesterday.
Italy substitute striker Antonio Di Natale and Barcelona midfielder Cesc Fabregas were both on target, in the 61st and 64th minutes respectively, in an action-packed, fast-paced group C opener that saw both sides squander plenty of chances.
The result left the two group C powerhouses with a bitter-sweet taste in their mouths. They will now have to build their qualification to the knock-out stages on their upcoming clashes with Ireland and Croatia.
“This was the toughest opponent in our group, it wasn’t easy falling behind but the draw was okay. We can still win the group with two wins,” said Fabregas.
In front of nearly 39,000 fans, Italy coach Cesare Prandelli fielded midfielder Daniele De Rossi as central defender, the experienced Andrea Pirlo as the director of the midfield, and the talented duo of Antonio Cassano and Mario Balotelli up front in a 3-5-2 formation.
Spanish coach Vicente del Bosque, for his part, surprised the pundits by fielding Fabregas and relegating Chelsea’s Fernando Torres to the bench, leaving the team with no natural strikers.
The decision seemed to play into the hands of the Italians, who after the first initial minutes of Spanish possession grew increasingly confident.
The first chance of the game nevertheless fell Spain’s way in the 11th minute, but David Silva was only able to manage an innocuous shot that Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon had no problem blocking.
And after a well-taken free kick from Pirlo deflected away by Iker Casillas, Cassano twice came within whiskers of scoring. In the 22nd, the AC Milan forward was served a golden through ball by Antonio Marchisio, but his twisting shot ended just inches wide. And just before half time, Cassano’s header from a favourable position was well blocked by Casillas.
In between, Iniesta proved to be Spain’s most dangerous man up front, challenging Buffon from long-range in the 30th and firing just over the crossbar from inside the box in the 44th.
Spain started the second half with more conviction, and twice came close to scoring within six minutes. In the 50th, Fabregas prompted a spectacular save from Buffon. Seconds later, Iniesta had his dangerous finish cross the goal and end up wide.
Italy, who had until then been contended with containing the Spaniards, soon had a chance of their own, with Balotelli stealing a ball from Sergio Ramos in attack.
But the Spanish defender skillfully tackled Balotelli and prevented the Italian from scoring as he fretted in front of goal.
A goal was now in the air, and it didn’t take Italy long to clinch it. Di Natale, who had replaced Balotelli only five minutes earlier, was served a delightful through ball from Pirlo and had no trouble piercing through Casillas on the break.
But the Azzurri’s joy was short-lived, with Barcelona’s Fabregas clinching the equalizer from short range after another delightful through ball in the area from Manchester City’s Silva. It was the first real lapse of concentration by the Italian defence, and it only served to boost Spain’s confidence.
In the 74th, del Bosque brought on Torres for Fabregas, but the Chelsea striker could only squander chances, first by being hypnotized by Buffon after beating the offside trap, and then by firing over the crossbar from a good position.
“We played well in one-on-one situations, we didn’t just stand  back in defence, we also pushed forward well ... It was disappointing that we only led for three minutes,” Prandelli said.