Italy secured a commanding 4-1 victory over Turkiye in a rain-soaked match held in Bursa, boosting their hopes in the Nations League Group A1.
Following a disappointing home defeat to Belgium on Friday, which was met with jeers from the Roman crowd, Roberto Mancini saw his team respond emphatically on foreign soil. The Italians dominated the first half despite the challenging weather, as Turkiye’s defense faltered early on in their muddy penalty area.
Turkiye’s goalkeeper, Altay Bayindir, struggled to deal with several dangerous crosses from the right flank. Just nine minutes into the game, he managed to push a drive from Pio Esposito narrowly wide of the post, but trouble soon followed.
Italian Precision Overwhelms Hosts Early
From the ensuing corner, Bursa-born Turkiye defender Zeki Celik, who plays for Juventus, misjudged a low near-post cross, inadvertently deflecting the ball to Alessandro Bastoni of Inter Milan. Bastoni seized the opportunity, lunging forward to power a shot into the top corner of the net.
Shortly after, another identical cross from Brentford’s Michael Kayode caught Bayindir off guard, allowing Lazio’s Davide Frattesi to capitalize and double Italy’s lead at the 23rd minute.
The Italian squad’s precise and intricate passing around the penalty area consistently created space on the right side. When Kayode again found himself free in this zone, his shot slipped past the diving goalkeeper, extending Italy’s advantage to three goals before halftime.
Turkiye briefly rekindled hope early in the second half. In the 47th minute, Gianluigi Donnarumma was drawn out by Oguz Aydin beyond the far post, allowing Aydin to set up Baris Yilmaz, who eagerly slotted the ball into an unguarded net.
However, this spark was short-lived. Tottenham’s Sandro Tonali soon responded for Italy, hitting the post in a promising attack before completing the scoring to cement the visitors’ dominance over Turkiye in challenging conditions.