Italy 2-1 Belgium: 5 hits and flops as Azzurri take home bronze medal after second-half flurry | UEFA Nations League third-place playoff

Hit: Gianluigi Donnarumma (Italy)

Gianluigi Donnarumma made two key saves after the break.

In an enticing battle between two modern-day goalkeeping greats, Italy's Gianluigi Donnarumma came up trumps against Thibaut Courtois with a fine performance.

The PSG custodian produced two impeccable saves after the break to protect Italy's lead. Although his citadel was breached by Belgium, who pulled a goal back, it takes nothing away from his valuable contributions on the night.

The first half was relatively easy for Donnarumma. Saelemaekers' effort coming off the crossbar was the only nervous moment in his area in that period. Nevertheless, the Italy goalkeeper remained vigilant, and distributed the ball excellently.

After the break, Donnarumma made a crucial stop to deny Alderwiereld after making a mess of a catch. A little while later, he pulled off another vital save off the defender with Italy leading 2-0.

On both occasions, the Red Devils could've easily scored if it wasn't for Donnarumma, who effectively helped Italy win on the night.

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Flop: Giacomo Raspadori (Italy)

Giacomo Raspadori failed to impress for Italy.

Batshuayi wasn't the only striker who had a torrid time in front of goal. His Italian counterpart, Giacomo Raspadori, also failed to give a good account of himself.

In only his sixth outing for the Azzurri, this was a chance for him to stake a claim for a starting berth in an Italian team stacked with quality options. But the Sassuolo forward was a complete no-show on the day.

Barring one moment in the first half when Raspadori burst forward to latch onto a Chiesa through-ball, he gave Belgium almost nothing to worry about all night.

He ended that move by getting a shot away, but Castagne intervened at the right time to deflect his effort off target. That was the closest Raspadori would come to scoring on the night as he soon faded.

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Hit: Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium)

Kevin De Bruyne bagged another assist in Belgian colours,

Is it any coincidence that Belgium managed to pull a goal back only after Kevin De Bruyne entered the fray? The playmaking wizard got an assist for Ketelaere's goal after brilliantly spotting the youngster's run.

It was a tad too late, though, as the Azzurri were already two goals to the good, and the Red Devils could've used De Bruyne's creativity much earlier. Nevertheless, the midfield metronome proved his worth to the team once again.

The Manchester City star, even in his limited time on the field, laid more key passes (3) than Belgium's front three of Batshuayi, Saelemaekers and Vanaken together (1).

Lively throughout the game after coming on, De Bruyne added attacking threat with his proficient passing and vision. It's no wonder, then, that he had a big role to play in Belgium's goal on the night.

He latched onto a brilliant pass from Courtois and sprinted forward before picking out an onrushing Ketelaere, who did the rest without erring.