Much to the delight of football fans everywhere, Euro 2020 kicked off on Friday, as Italy hosted Turkey at the Stadio Olimpico in Roma.
The azzurri’s defense featured the center back duo of Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci, whilst their Juventus teammate Merih Demiral started for the Turkish national team.
Whilst the veteran Italians put on a solid showing, the young Turk was unfortunate to score the first goal of the tournament in his own net.
Ciro Immobile and Lorenzo Insigne each added a goal, as the opener ended 3-0 in favor of Roberto Mancini’s men.
Whilst Bonucci earned decent grades by the media for his showing, Chiellini was amongst the Italian players to get the highest ratings – alongside the likes of Leonardo Spinazzola, Jorginho, Ciro Immobile, Lorenzo Insigne and Domenico Berardi.
Here are the full Azzurri ratings as posted by ilBianconero:
La Gazzetta dello Sport – G. Donnarumma 6.5, Florenzi 6 (Di Lorenzo 6.5), Bonucci 6.5, Chiellini 7.5, Spinazzola 8, Barella 6.5, Jorginho 7, Locatelli 7 (Cristante 6), Berardi 8 (Bernardeschi N/A), Immobile 7.5 (Belotti N/A), Insigne 7.5 (Chiesa N/A). Mancini (ct) 8.
Corriere dello Sport – G. Donnarumma 6.5, Florenzi 6 (Di Lorenzo 6.5), Bonucci 7, Chiellini 7.5, Spinazzola 7.5, Barella 7, Jorginho 7.5, Locatelli 6.5 (Cristante N/A), Berardi 7.5 (Bernardeschi N/A), Immobile 8 (Belotti N/A), Insigne 7.5 (Chiesa N/A). Mancini (ct) 7.5.
Tuttosport – G. Donnarumma 6, Florenzi 5 (Di Lorenzo 6.5), Bonucci 6.5, Chiellini 6.5, Spinazzola 7.5, Barella 6.5, Jorginho 6.5, Locatelli 6.5 (Cristante N/A), Berardi 7 (Bernardeschi N/A), Immobile 7 (Belotti N/A), Insigne 7 (Chiesa N/A). Mancini (ct) 7.
Ilbianconero.com – G. Donnarumma 6, Florenzi 6 (Di Lorenzo 7), Bonucci 6.5, Chiellini 7, Spinazzola 8, Barella 6, Jorginho 6, Locatelli 6.5 (Cristante N/A), Berardi 7.5 (Bernardeschi N/A), Immobile 7 (Belotti N/A), Insigne 7.5 (Chiesa N/A). Mancini (ct) 7.5.
As for Demiral, ilBianconero reports that his rating in the Italian media varied between 4 and 4.5, and was described as the weak link in defense.