Italy vs. Romania: Winners and Losers from International Friendly
Italy and Romania played out a friendly in Bologna on Tuesday night that ended in a 2-2 draw.
A mix-up in the Italy defence saw Bogdan Stancu pounce to score from the edge of the box in the opening minutes of the game and Romania went on to be by far the more inventive and productive side in the first 45 minutes.
Soon after the break, however, Eder won a penalty and Claudio Marchisio clinically dispatched it to level up the scores. Manolo Gabbiadini then headed what looked like the winner from close range midway through the second half before Florin Andone snatched a draw with two minutes to play.
Here are all our winners and losers from the match.
Winner: Claudio Marchisio
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Italy fielded a variety of midfielders over their two games and one thing is for certain: Claudio Marchisio is their star man in the middle.
The Juventus man was one of the few, against Romania or Belgium, who played with a measure of control and poise, intent and aggression in the centre of the park, and his experience shows in his composure in possession and knowing when to press, challenge or hold off the opposition.
His penalty was expertly taken while he also provided the assist for Gabbiadini's goal, too—good end product to go with his all-round performance.
Winner: Anghel Iordanescu
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Romania might not have taken the win, but they certainly gave everything until the last possible moment to ensure they didn't lose either—a mentality that has been visible in Euro 2016 qualifying under Anghel Iordanescu, who is coaching the national team for a third time.
Under Iordanescu, Romania didn't lose a single match in qualifying, finishing second in their group, and it is now more than 17 months since they last lost a fixture.
In terms of playing European teams, it's even longer: September 2013 is the last time Romania lost to a nation from the same continent, well before Iordanescu took over.
Winner: Stephan El Shaarawy
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Italy played 4-4-2 in both their friendlies over this international break, and after Antonio Candreva impressed down the left last time out, it was important for Stephan El Shaarawy that he do the same against Romania to remain in the conversation for a starting place.
In the first half, he was comfortably Italy's best player; his dribbling and willingness to cut in from the flank made him one of the rare threats in the final third, and he got into the box a number of times, too, to reasonable effect.
After the break, he continued to be an outlet and was unlucky not to score with a volley inside the box, while also providing fans with a couple of real moments of technical quality in the dribble.
Per the national team's @azzurri Twitter account, El Shaarawy said: "We played better in the second half, when we were dominant. I would assess our game positively. I'm a bit annoyed because when you play like we did, you have to put the game to bed."
Loser: Eder
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Eder and Graziano Pelle were paired up front for Italy again, but neither really impressed this time out—and in particular, Eder can be disappointed with his outing.
He missed a couple of presentable chances to get on the ball inside the penalty area in the first half, and though he won the penalty for the equaliser after the break, he was a little fortunate with it and soon after was booked for diving in trying to win a second spot-kick.
Eder's (and Pelle's) replacement Manolo Gabbiadini (and Stefano Okaka) then came on to have a good impact on the remainder of the game, with Gabbiadini heading in to put Italy ahead for good measure.
Loser: Antonio Conte
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The Italy manager will have wanted a response from his side after a rather tame defeat to Belgium last week, and although Italy came close to the win, Romania were comfortably better in the first half and deserved their draw at least.
Whatever was said or changed at the break, Italy got themselves on the front foot again for the second half—Conte's side looked far more comfortable in possession, more dangerous in the final third and capable of getting players into the penalty box with regularity.
It wasn't to last, though, and a defeat to Belgium and a draw to Romania is not the ideal early preparation for next summer's finals.
