Holder Spain was held to a 1-1 draw by a dogged and determined Italy at the Arena Gdansk here on Sunday in the opening Group ‘C' match at the European Championship.
Italy took the lead on 61 minutes through substitute Antonio di Natale only minutes before the world champion equalised through Cesc Fabregas.
Torres misfires
But Chelsea striker Fernando Torres missed two glorious late chances after coming off the bench to replace the goalscorer.
A draw was a fair result as Italy was the better side in the first half and was fearless in taking the game to the world champion.
Both coaches sprung a surprise with their team selections as Vicente del Bosque opted to go without a striker, playing Fabregas between Andres Iniesta and David Silva.
Italy's Cesare Prandelli opted for Juventus reserve Emanuele Giaccherini in the left wing-back position, a role the forward is far from used to playing. And the surprises continued until after kick-off as Italy was the better side in the first period.
The chance of the first-half came in time added on as Cassano crossed from the right and Thiago Motta's header from point-blank range was somehow kept out one-handed by Casillas.
Del Bosque must have said something to his players at half-time because within five minutes of the restart Fabregas had taken aim and brought a sprawling save out of Buffon.
Too casual
Soon after, Iniesta's shot from the left was deflected just past the far post. But then a Sergio Ramos mistake presented Balotelli with a free run on goal but the Italian was too casual and the Spaniard rushed back to redeem his error.
It was the carefree Balotelli's last contribution as he was promptly hauled off for di Natale, and not before time.
Di Natale's first act was to beat the offside trap on 61 minutes to meet Pirlo's precise through ball and clip home beyond Casillas.
That seemed to wake up the holder, though, and a clever move saw the ball shift quickly from Iniesta to Silva and then the breaking Fabregas to finish under Buffon.
The result
Spain 1 (Fabregas 64) drew with Italy 1 (di Natale 60)
TACTICAL REPORT
That Italy lined up 3-5-2 was not a huge surprise; it was discussed in the lead up. But that Spain played without a conventional striker was (it would never have happened had David Villa been fit, though). This approach meant that build-up play was largely slow without a direct option. Contrary to popular perception, Cesare Prandelli's men did not all line up behind the ball and were positive. Thiago Motta and Claudio Marchisio did a fine job of closing down Spain's attempts to find a way through the middle while Andrea Pirlo sought to feed Mario Balotelli and Antonio Cassano. The teams cancelled each other out in the first half. The game came to life in the second when Spain's movement off the ball visibly improved — there was a great urgency in getting behind the defence. However, Spain's fullbacks — who had been pushed up all game long — risked leaving space in their own half. With Italy fielding two strikers, that threat always lingered and all it would take for a goal was a good through ball from midfield and for an intelligent runner to be on the end of it; Pirlo and Antonio di Natale did that emphatically.
The Italian backline was caught out of place for the equaliser; for once Spain found room through the middle and Cesc Fabregas's run was not picked up. Jesus Navas's arrival and a tiring Italy offered Spain new outlets and more chances. Fernando Torres could have won it with better finishing. — Shreedutta Chidananda
