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Spain advanced to the quarter-finals of Euro 2020 after beating Croatia 5-3 in a pulsating last-16 encounter in Copenhagen.
A mistake from Unai Simon allowed the Vatreni to grab an early lead. But the former champions responded with goals from Pablo Sarabia, Cesar Azpilicueta and Ferran Torres to lead 3-1 with 15 minutes to go.
It seemed all over for Zlatko Dalic's side. But late goals from Mislav Orsic and Mario Pasalic, who scored in the second minute of stoppage-time, brought Croatia level to force extra-time.
However, Spain netted twice inside the first 15 minutes of extra time, doing so through Alvaro Morata and Mikel Oyarzabal, to put the game beyond Croatia, who missed two good chances through Orsic and Ante Budimir.
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A rollercoaster contest ended with Spain going into the quarter-finals, where they'll face either France or Switzerland in St. Petersburg on Friday. On that note, here are the five hits and flops from the eight-goal thriller:
Hit: The game
This was surely the best game of Euro 2020 so far. Not just for the sheer amount of goals it produced but also the many twists and turns it had late on, which kept fans on the edge of their seats.
Unai Simon's uncharacteristic mistake gifted Croatia an early advantage, but Spain responded with three goals at the other end to virtually seal the match. However, the Vatreni mounted a late comeback with two goals to force extra time. Their celebrations proved short-lived, though, as La Roja netted twice more in the first 15 minutes of extra-time.
There were also numerous close misses by both teams. Morata squandered an early chance; Orsic blasted his close-range effort over the bar; Budimir dragged his effort narrowly wide, which only added to the excitement.
Nevertheless, it was a match to be remembered for years to come.
Flop: Unai Simon (Spain)
Regardless of the outcome of the game, Spain custodian Unai Simon cannot get away with his gaffe. The Spanish custodian made an embarrassing howler in the first half, which put Croatia in front against the run of play, although that was later registered as an own goal from Pedri instead.
Pedri made a seemingly innocuous backpass to Simon under pressure from a Croatian player. The Spain goalkeeper was expected to directly fire the ball back into play or take a touch first. He attempted to do the latter but didn't connect with the ball at all, letting it roll into the back of the net as he looked on.
Strange things have transpired at the Euros, but nothing may beat this one.
Hit: Pablo Sarabia (Spain)
Out of nowhere, Pablo Sarabia has emerged as Spain's most valuable player at the Euros. He was on target for La Roja again against Croatia, sparking a comeback with a well-taken goal and demonstrating how lethal he can be when chances are presented to him.
As a poacher, the PSG star was on hand to convert a rebound after Dominik Livakovic spilled Jose Gaya's shot into his path. It was his second goal of the Euro campaign. But more importantly, it was another reason to believe why picking him over Iago Aspas for the tournament was a good idea.
Sarabia isn't a regular starter for his club. But Luis Enrique pinned his faith in the player, who has duly delivered by turning himself into Spain's brightest attacking spark.
Flop: Croatia
Croatia, as a team, were well below their best. They rode their luck to score thrice and force extra-time, where their momentum dissipated again, and they went down without much of a fight.
Until the 85th minute, when Orsic scored Croatia's second goal, the Vatreni had barely any success going forward. However, a combination of Spain's defensive collapse coupled with an underperforming Simon in goal helped the Croatians spark an unlikely comeback.
But once the match headed into extra time, it was the same story for them. Croatia ran out of ideas off the ball and allowed Spain too much space to work with. And it's not that Croatia didn't have their chances either, but both Orsic and Budimir couldn't finish their chances.
It was a tough end to their European campaign, but Croatia were only impressive in spurts. They looked like a pale imitation of their 2018 World Cup selves.
Hit: Ferran Torres (Spain)
Here's another player who repaid his manager's trust. Enrique started Ferran Torres for the first time since the draw against Sweden. After a below-par outing in that game, the Manchester City star conjured his best form against Croatia, building on his goal against Slovakia in the last game.
After providing an excellent cross for Cesar Azpilicueta to get Spain ahead in the game, Torres made it 3-1 shortly into the final quarter. He did so after some fine work down the flanks, evading his marker before nonchalantly tapping the ball under Livakovic.
No player registered more key passes in the game than Torres with four, which was at least twice more than anyone else. That was truly remarkable, considering he only laid 24 passes in total.
