Italy Go Back to Basics with Graziano Pelle and Ciro Immobile to Beat Malta

Italy produced a professional 1-0 victory over Malta on Monday evening to continue their renaissance under Antonio Conte. Graziano Pelle scored the only goal of the game to mark his debut in style, and the Azzurri move into nine points in Group H, level with Croatia.

Let's take a tactical look at the game.

Starting XIs and Formations

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Malta selected a 3-5-2, trying to get an extra man in midfield and a second striker onto the pitch while still retaining a reasonable defensive clout. Former Coventry City striker Michael Mifsud started upfront.

Italy also went with a 3-5-2, classic Conte, with Pelle making his debut upfront alongside Ciro Immobile. Marco Verratti played instead of Andrea Pirlo in the engine room.

Back to Basics

Conte should be commended for picking exactly the right type of side to beat a stubborn, careful Malta outfit. Too often we've seen top sides flummoxed by low blocks and defensive outlooks, but Conte flexed his options well and picked an optimal XI.

The inclusion of both Pelle and Immobile, in addition to the fielding of wing-backs Antonio Candreva and Manuel Pasqual (both strong crossers), meant one thing: Basic, uncomplicated football was set to follow.

Ball into Pelle, flicked to Immobile and a chance is created.

True enough, inside the first three minutes, both Candreva and Pasqual were both able to steam down the flanks and fire a ball into their strikers' feet. Neither resulted in a shot on target, but the pattern was set.

Malta would clear the ball to Italy's back three, it'd be moved to a wing-back, and he would surge forward, covering plenty of ground and linking attack to defence via the ground. A cross would soon follow, and in total, the Azzurri managed a whopping 31.

The distance between the front two and the back nine was massive, but with Malta playing no wingers, Pasqual and Candreva were largely unopposed when dribbling forward from deep, meaning it didn't matter.

Lack of a Threat

Despite seemingly playing a 3-5-2 to ensure there were bodies available to attack, Malta really struggled to stitch the lines together and ended up lumping the ball more often than not.

At times, the distance between Mifsud and Andre Schembri and the rest of the players was huge, just like Italy's, but the key difference was that none of the Maltese midfielders or wing-backs possessed the ability to carry it forward.

Mifsud vs. the world.

It led to a severe disconnect, and it paired Mifsud and Schembri up against the likes of Matteo Darmian and Giorgio Chiellini—a battle they were not going to win.

Red Card

Mifsud's first-half red card left Malta in a 3-5-1, lacking the ability to cope with Italy's direct, uncomplicated approach and lacking the numbers to attack.

Malta's fifth and final shot of the match came in the 38th minute, meaning the hosts failed to threaten Gianluigi Buffon's goal throughout the entirety of the second half.

The Azzurri simply began slinging balls into the box, knowing they'd retrieve possession via sheer numbers if Malta tried to break. Pelle hit the bar after a wicked cross from Pasqual, then Chiellini did the same from the resulting corner.

It was, at this point, one-way traffic, and Conte even had time to bring off some players who are desperately needed at club level, like Roma's Alessandro Florenzi.

Quickfire Takeaways

• The central midfield three for Italy were largely bypassed in attack, which is rare to see. The Azzurri spread it wide and crossed it whenever possible.
• Immobile and Pelle formed a very old-school partnership that did well against a weak side. Food for thought for Conte.
• Mifsud's red card was harsh, and up until his removal, Malta were threatening on the counter-attack. A shame for the home side.
• The entire Conte approach looked very Stephan Lichtsteiner-Alessandro Matri-Juventus at times.

Stats via WhoScored unless otherwise noted. 

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