Match Reports
Napoli man MOTM, Barcelona duo also impress – Italy 1-1 Spain Player Ratings
Italy reached the Euro 2020 final after a tense penalty shootout victory against Spain. Spain had the better of the early exchanges, twice creating chances to open the scoring. Mikel Oyarzabal was played through on goal by Pedri but his touch let him down, and Ferran Torres saw his shot from outside the box dribble wide. Italy got their first opportunity of the game, and it was one that they may feel they should have done better with. Emerson got in behind after a one-two with Lorenzo Insigne and squared for Ciro Immobile. Goalkeeper Unai Simon out of his goal, but neither Immobile nor Nicolo Barella were able to get a shot away. The best chance of the half came shortly afterwards. Pedri and Oyarzabal were again influential, working an opening for Dani Olmo, but the RB Leipzig man’s shot w...
Serie A full-backs impress again, Tottenham and Chelsea men also perform – Czech Republic 1-2 Denmark Player Ratings
Denmark defeated Czech Republic 2-1 in an eventful quarter-final in Baku on Saturday. The Danes made the perfect start to the game, taking the lead in the fifth minute. Jens Stryger Larsen’s corner found Thomas Delaney unmarked ten yards out, and he planted his header into the bottom corner. They looked to extend their lead and twice came close in the next ten minutes. First, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg floated a beautiful through ball over the top for Mikkel Damsgaard, but he couldn’t finish when through on goal. Then Delaney found himself in another good position from a Stryger Larsen cross, but the Borussia Dortmund midfielder couldn’t direct his effort on target. But it wasn’t all one-way traffic. Petr Sevcik volleyed over the crossbar from inside the box, and Kasper Schmeichel was forced in...
Bundesliga man shines, Barcelona and Liverpool players impress – Spain 1-1 Switzerland Player Ratings
Spain qualified for the semi-finals of Euro 2020 following a penalty shootout against Switzerland. Spain had the better of the opening exchanges and took advantage of their dominance in the eighth minute. Jordi Alba struck a shot from range which deflected kindly into the top corner off the right boot of Denis Zakaria. It was later ruled as an own goal. There wasn’t a whole lot of first-half action outside of the goal. Cesar Azpilicueta headed straight into the arms of Yann Sommer, and Manuel Akanji and Nico Elvedi both missed the target from Xherdan Shaqiri corners. The whistle went with Luis Enrique’s men 1-0 up. They had enjoyed 71% possession but only managed three attempts to Switzerland’s four. The Swiss came out in the second half fighting for the equaliser. Zakaria almost atoned fo...
Inter Milan duo get on scoresheet, former Premier League defender disappoints – Belgium 1-2 Italy Player Ratings
Belgium have been knocked out of the European Championships after losing 2-1 to Italy on Friday. Italy thought they had taken an early lead when Leonardo Bonucci bundled home at the back post from a free-kick. However, replays showed that he was marginally offside, and VAR intervened to overturn the decision. Belgium responded with a couple of chances of their own. Gianluigi Donnarumma twice had to be at his best, denying Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku. And moments later, Italy got themselves in front. Jan Vertonghen made a mess of a clearance, and it fell to Nicolo Barella in the box. The Inter Milan midfielder wriggled away from Thomas Vermaelen and Thorgan Hazard and slammed into the far corner. They continued to push for a second, and they were rewarded with a fantastic goal just be...
Man City man shines, Bundesliga midfielder scores again – Sweden 1-2 Ukraine Player Ratings
Ukraine reached the quarter-finals in dramatic fashion, defeating Sweden 2-1 with a goal in the last minute of extra time. Both sides came close to opening the scoring in the first 20 minutes. Emil Forsberg and Alexander Isak both struck wide for Sweden, while Roman Yaremchuk had an effort saved for Ukraine. In the 27th minute, Ukraine managed to get themselves in front. Andriy Yarmolenko found Oleksandr Zinchenko with the outside of his left foot, and the Manchester City man struck a powerful effort into the far corner, with goalkeeper Robin Olsen getting a hand to it. This lead lasted until just before half time, when Forsberg managed to hit his fourth of the tournament. He picked up the ball from outside the box and saw his long range shot deflect kindly off Illia Zabarnyi and into the ...
La Liga duo and Man Utd man impress, but young superstar disappoints – France 3-3 Switzerland Player Ratings
Switzerland pulled off a huge upset as they defeated France in a thrilling round of 16 fixture on penalties. The World Cup champions squandered a glorious chance to take the lead in the second minute. Antoine Griezmann’s corner found the head of Raphael Varane, but he skied his effort over the crossbar. And he was made to pay for his miss not long afterwards when Switzerland took a shock lead. Steven Zuber lifted a cross into the box, and Haris Seferovic beat Clement Lenglet to the ball and planted his header into the bottom corner. Les Bleus were struggling to find a way through the Swiss defence in the first half, coming closest with a long distance strike from Adrien Rabiot that whistled just past the post. But they were unable to get a goal, and the half time whistle went with the scor...
Man City man stars, Barcelona and Juventus players also impress – Croatia 3-5 Spain Player Ratings
Spain progressed to the quarter-finals of Euro 2020 following an exhilarating clash with Croatia on Monday. Spain had the better of the opening stages, creating two excellent chances to take go ahead. The first came when Pedri slipped a ball through to Koke, but his finish was too close to Dominik Livakovic in goal. Soon afterwards, Ferran Torres swung in an inch-perfect cross for Alvaro Morata at the back post. However, the forward’s header was blocked by Domagoj Vida when he really ought to have scored. Spain were made to rue their missed chances in comical fashion just moments later. Pedri overhit a backpass to Unai Simon, who failed to control the ball and allowed it in for 1-0. It was the ninth own goal of the tournament – as many as every other European Championships combined. It was...
Bundesliga forward bags again, Juventus man’s nightmare – Netherlands 0-2 Czech Republic Player Ratings
Czech Republic pulled off a shock victory in the round of 16, knocking out Netherlands with a 2-0 win on Sunday. The Dutch began the game on the front foot, dominating possession in the middle of the park. They almost took the lead when Matthijs de Ligt’s back-post header missed the target, although replays showed that the Juventus man was offside anyway. Czech Republic worked their way back into the game, with Tomas Soucek glancing a header wide and Antonin Barak having a shot deflected over by De Ligt. The two sides went in goalless at the break, but it was an open half nonetheless. Early in the second half, Netherlands had a huge chance to take the lead. Donyell Malen skipped past two defenders and went through on goal but was tackled when he tried to round goalkeeper Tomas Vaclik....
Bundesliga forward bags again, Juventus man’s nightmare – Netherlands 0-2 Czech Republic Player Ratings
Czech Republic pulled off a shock victory in the round of 16, knocking out Netherlands with a 2-0 win on Sunday. The Dutch began the game on the front foot, dominating possession in the middle of the park. They almost took the lead when Matthijs de Ligt’s back-post header missed the target, although replays showed that the Juventus man was offside anyway. Czech Republic worked their way back into the game, with Tomas Soucek glancing a header wide and Antonin Barak having a shot deflected over by De Ligt. The two sides went in goalless at the break, but it was an open half nonetheless. Early in the second half, Netherlands had a huge chance to take the lead. Donyell Malen skipped past two defenders and went through on goal but was tackled when he tried to round goalkeeper Tomas Vaclik....
Former Premier League men star, Ronaldo quiet – Belgium 1-0 Portugal Player Ratings
Belgium reached the quarter-finals of Euro 2020 after a tight 1-0 win over Portugal. The first chance of the game fell to Portugal, and they will have been disappointed with the end result. Renato Sanches embarked on a brilliant driving run before feeding Diogo Jota, but the Liverpool man dragged his shot well wide. For much of the first half, Belgium were struggling to create anything of note, finding themselves limited to an ambitious effort by Thomas Meunier. But they managed to take the lead shortly before half time in fine fashion. Thorgan Hazard picked up the ball from 25 yards out and unleashed a powerful strike into the far corner. Although the ball moved a lot in the air, Portuguese goalkeeper Rui Patricio will feel like he should have done better. There was an early blow in the s...
Barcelona and Tottenham men impress, Serie A player MOTM – Wales 0-4 Denmark Player Ratings
Wales were eliminated from Euro 2020 after a ruthless Denmark performance in the round of 16 on Saturday. It was a bright start from Wales, who had the better of the opening 20 minutes. They twice came close to opening the scoring when Gareth Bale struck wide from distance. But Denmark managed to take control of the game and got themselves ahead in the 27th minute. Kasper Dolberg, who was standing in for the injured Yussuf Poulsen, curled one into the far corner from the edge of the box after being fed by Mikkel Damsgaard. Things went from bad to worse for Robert Page’s men when right-back Connor Roberts picked up a groin injury. He was substituted off and replaced by Liverpool’s Neco Williams. Denmark continued to dominate the first half and almost got themselves a second just before the ...
Roma man impresses again, ex-Premier League forward also does well – Italy 2-1 Austria Player Ratings
Italy made it to the quarter-finals of Euro 2020 after a tough evening against Austria. The first chance of note came in the 17th minute. Leonardo Spinazzola got down the left and played a low cross to Nicolo Barella, whose shot was denied by the right foot of Daniel Bachmann. Austria responded with a chance of their own. Marcel Sabitzer floated a ball over the top for Marko Arnautovic, but the former West Ham United forward fired over on the half-volley. The closest either side came to opening the scoring came through Ciro Immobile. The Lazio man hit a shot from 30 yards which clipped the outside of the post. Italy had the better of the first half, registering 11 attempts to Austria’s one. Nonetheless, the two sides went into the break level. Austria came out in the second half showing mu...
