UEFA Euro 2020, Italy beat Turkey 3-0: Records broken
High-flying Italy opened their European Championships campaign with a dominating 3-0 win over Turkey at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome. With this win, Italy have collected three crucial points in Group A of the UEFA Euro 2020. After a goalless first half, Merih Demiral scored an own goal before Ciro Immobile and Lorenzo Insigne added two more for the Azzurri. Here's more.
How did the match pan out?
Italy dominated the first half but missed a couple of good chances. Domenico Berardi played a hand in Italy's first goal after smashing the ball across the face of the goal as it hit Demiral's body and went in. Immobile got the second after reacting quickly. Italy made it 3-0 through Insigne as Turkey made a mess of playing out from the back.
Unique records scripted in the match
This is the first time in European Championships history that the first goal of the tournament has been an own goal. Italy recorded 14 more shots than Turkey in the first half (14-0). This is now the biggest shot differential in the first half of a match in the Euros since 2004 when the Netherlands had 16 and Latvia had one.
Italy's unbeaten run extended to 28 games
Italy's 28-game unbeaten run is their second-longest sequence (W23 D5). They have now won nine successive matches under Roberto Mancini. Notably, they have not conceded a goal in any of these matches.
Unwanted records for Turkey
Turkey have now lost all five of their opening matches at Euros. The Turks have never managed to beat Italy, losing eight of the 10 encounters. This was just the second meeting for the two sides at a major tournament. Italy have a 2-0 advantage now. They had earlier met 21 years ago at the Euro 2000 when the Azzurri won 2-1.
History for Italy; Immobile gets his 14th international goal
As per Opta, in what is their 39th match in the competition, Italy have now scored three goals in a single Euro fixture for the very first time. Immobile netted his 14th goal for Italy, going level with Mario Balotelli, Giovanni Ferrari, and Gianni Rivera.
