Italy 2-1 Albania: Italy Player Ratings as they overcome early shock for comfortable win | 2024 European Championship

Albania scored within the first minute but Italy retained their composure to fire back and win their opening game 2-1 in Group B in the 2024 Euros on Saturday, June 15.

Led by the likes of Federico Chiesa, Jorginho and Gianluigi Donnarumma, Italy hoped to begin their Euros campaign with a win. However, it was a terrible start for the Azzurri as Nedim Bajrami found the back of the net after just 23 seconds. A poor throw-in from Federico Dimarco saw them give the ball away inside their own box and Bajrami scored with a powerful effort.

However, the 2012 finalists soon found their groove. They pulled one back in the 11th minute as Luca Pellegrini's great cross was headed home by Alessandro Bastoni.

Just five minutes later Italy took the lead, as Nicolo Barella's sweet strike from the edge of the box flew past the keeper to make it 2-1.

They continued to look threatening for the remainder of the game but couldn't add to their tally. Albania, meanwhile, came close late on but a resolute performance meant Italy were able to see the win out.

Italy Player Ratings

Gianluigi Donnarumma - 6.5/10

The PSG man didn't have much to do for most of the game, except for pulling off a good stop at the end of the match.

Giovanni Di Lorenzo - 6.5/10

Di Lorenzo had a decent game going forward, linking up well with Federico Chiesa. Defensively, he was solid as well.

Alessandro Bastoni - 7.5/10

A strong performance in central defence from Bastoni as the 25-year-old cut an imposing figure. He also got on the scoresheet, finishing the game with one goal, one block, three clearances and 12 passes into the final third.

Riccardo Calafiori - 6.5/10

Calafiori did well alongside Bastoni, helping Italy control possession.

Federico Dimarco - 6/10

His terrible throw-in led to the opener, putting his side under pressure. He recovered well and had a decent game before being taken off late on.

Davide Frattesi - 6.5/10

An industrious performance from the Inter Milan midfielder who also hit the woodwork once.

Jorginho - 6.5/10

Jorginho put in a solid performance, playing in a deeper role in midfield and was instrumental in Italy's control over the game as they had 69% possession. He had 136 touches and completed 120/131 passes (92%), indicating how involved he was in the game.

Nicolo Barella - 7.5/10

Barella handed Italy the lead with a beautiful effort in the first half and had a classy outing apart from it as well.

Federico Chiesa - 7/10

The Juventus forward was probably the pick of the Azzurri forwards on the night. He was a thorn in the side for Albania, finishing with three shots, two chances created, four dribbles and eight touches in the opposition box.

Gianluca Scamacca - 6/10

He linked up well with his teammates but overall was quiet for most of the game.

Luca Pellegrini - 6.5/10

Pellegrini set up the opener with a delicious cross played off a short corner. He was a good presence off the ball as well, tracking back to help out Dimarco.

Substitutes

Andrea Cambiaso - 6/10

A solid cameo after replacing Chiesa but he did not impact the game much.

Bryan Cristante - 6/10

Similar to Cambiaso, he couldn't make much of a difference after replacing Pellegrini.

Matteo Darmian, Mateo Retegui and Michael Folorunsho - N/A

The trio came on late and did not play enough minutes to merit a rating.