Italy get a scare, which may help their Euros run

DORTMUND, Germany -- A 2-1 win for Italy over Albania won't necessarily cause the rest of Europe to sit up and take notice, but this was a tricky test navigated well by Luciano Spalletti's side.

Italy had the Inter Milan double act of Alessandro Bastoni and Nicolò Barella to thank as it was their first-half goals that got Italy the three points in a hostile atmosphere. But the first flurries of the champions' title defence started with an unwanted piece of Euros history.

Dortmund's stadium was painted red with thousands of Albania's fans outnumbering their Italian counterparts, and the crowd erupted after just 23 seconds when Nedim Bajrami scored the quickest goal in men's European Championship history, giving Albania a surprising lead.

This is a new-look Italy side -- most of the team that won the tournament three years ago are either retired, injured or been moved -- and they looked like strangers for the opener, as Federico Dimarco's loose throw-in was pounced on by Bajrami, who flashed a fierce shot past Gianluigi Donnarumma. You'll be hard-pressed to find a roar to match the decibels produced by the walls of red in Dortmund as the fans celebrated Bajrami's goal, but with the north terrace still covered in thick black and red smoke intermingled from flares, Italy found their feet and from there took control.

Barella, who missed their warmup friendlies with a muscle strain, was the chief orchestrator, dictating play and constantly pressing and prodding away at the Albania defence. Italy only needed a sniff of a chance to put Albania under pressure, Lorenzo Pellegrini firing wide, and then it was Bastoni who equalised, nodding in a brilliant Pellegrini cross at the far post after 10 minutes. They went ahead through Barella's wonderful first-time effort six minutes later, just reward for the pressure Italy were putting on Albania's defence.

The Italians could've added more: Gianluca Scamacca had a shot saved by Brentford's Thomas Strakosha, while he also managed to turn a neat, dinked effort from Davide Frattesi onto the post.

The second half was less convincing from Italy. Though they dominated possession, they lacked a cutting edge. Federico Chiesa flashed one shot wide on the hour mark but that was all they mustered. Despite having all the ball, it was Albania who gave Italy a late scare as Rey Manaj flicked an effort just wide.

You can see Spalletti's stamp on this team -- players interchanging at-will, and a quick-moving fluidity allowing Barella to sit in the middle while options presented themselves in front of him. Barella was an injury doubt for this match, but how thankful they must be to have him available. He has this ability to drift in and out of play, filling in when Riccardo Calafiori heads forward like a 2024 version of Leonardo Bonucci, keeping the team compact at the back.

Barella is the orchestrator -- telling his teammates to push forward, or pull back, depending on the tempo of the match, and from there, Italy build. And then there's his ability to finish with that wonderful first-time winner. Around him, Dimarco, bar the error, was lively on the left, and links well with Pellegrini while you can see Scamacca was playing with a tonne of confidence up front. The new-look centre-back partnership is building familiarity with Calafiori winning just his third cap alongside Bastoni.

This was, as Donnarumma put it prematch, a huge "banana skin" for Italy. Albania's fans were immense -- 50,000 or so have travelled to Germany for the tournament -- and Croatia and Spain will be in for similar treatment next up. For Italy, they have got their title defence off and running with a win.

It wasn't a vintage performance, but it's the type of victory that is essential for settling nerves and laying down foundations to build from with Barella the chief architect. -- Tom Hamilton

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