Cristiano Biraghi Leads Italy Past Poland in UEFA Nations League with Late Goal | Bleacher Report

Italy grabbed their first win of the UEFA Nations League on Sunday, beating Poland 1-0 thanks to a late goal from full-back Cristiano Biraghi.  

The Azzurri dominated large stretches of the match and had numerous chances to open the scoring, but woeful finishing and a great outing from Wojciech Szczesny kept them from scoring until Biraghi struck.

Poland become the first team to be relegated from the Nations League A as a result:

Italy were held to a draw by the Poles in their first meeting and lost to group leaders Portugal. They hadn’t won a match since the 2-1 victory over Saudi Arabia in May.

Barella Is Ready for Big Move

Italy played their best match in months on Sunday, and the main reason for that was the dominance of the midfield triangle of Jorginho, Marco Verratti and Nicolo Barella. The three aggressively won back the ball from the start and completely shut down the hosts, drawing praise along the way:

The 21-year-old Barella more than held his own playing alongside stars from Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain, a welcome sight for the Cagliari man given what’s likely at stake. He’s been linked with a transfer move to one of the Serie A giants, and La NuovaSardegna (h/t Football Italia) believe Liverpool are also in the mix.

Barella did well in the draw against Ukraine, but Poland represented a step up in competition. The youngster passed this test with flying colours. A January move seems ever more likely, and based on what he has shown for the Azzurri, there’s no reason to think the budding star isn’t ready.

A trio of him, Verratti and Jorginho―with Lorenzo Pellegrini also in the mix―should set the Italians up for years to come, and Barella just might be the most talented player of the bunch.

Mancini Has to Go Back to Immobile

For all of Italy’s dominance on Sunday, a lack of efficiency in front of goal once again plagued the side. Federico Chiesa and Jorginho both hit the woodwork, while Federico Bernardeschi and Lorenzo Insigne had huge chances to break the deadlock but couldn’t get it done.

The three-man attack of Insigne, Bernardeschi and Chiesa created all kinds of trouble with its mobility, but the lack of an ace striker was evident once the ball was worked into the danger areas. Insigne has never been a great scorer for the national team, and both Chiesa and Bernardeschi are still working on that element of their game.

Meanwhile, Ciro Immobile once again started on the bench, despite his track record of scoring in recent Serie A seasons.

As shared by Football Italia, it hasn’t translated to the Azzurri of late, and that’s likely why Roberto Mancini went with Insigne:

It makes sense to shake things up, but Italy were effectively without a spearhead for much of Sunday’s contest. Their many crosses were wasted because there was no one there to control the box.

Immobile or Andrea Belotti has to start in the future alongside Chiesa and Bernardeschi, with Insigne functioning as a super-sub to bring off the bench. A bigger striker gives the wingers and full-backs something to aim their crosses at, and with a bit of confidence, both are likely to find their scoring touch again soon.

Szczesny Is Starting to Enter Elite Territory

Juventus goalkeeper Szczesny has quietly enjoyed another excellent start to the season playing behind the duo of Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini, and on Sunday, he faced his Bianconeri team-mates and didn’t budge.

The former Arsenal man has been consistently excellent since moving to AS Roma, where he kept Alisson Becker clustered to the bench. The Liverpool stopper is now considered among the world’s best but could barely get a look in while Szczesny did his thing.

There was nothing he could do about Biraghi’s late goal, and it shouldn’t be held against the 28-year-old, who has played at this high level long enough to be considered among the elite options at the position.

What’s Next?

Poland host the Czech Republic in a friendly on November 15. Italy will host Portugal in the Nations League two days later.