Bettor.com rates the players who fought it out at the PGE Arena in Gdansk, where Antonio Di Natale’s opening goal was cancelled out by Cesc Fabregas’s strike.
Spain
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Iker-Casillas-c16815
The Real Madrid shot stopper was kept on his toes by the constant Italian attacks, however, his handling was not the best and he did not put in the display expected of him. A lot of shots were parried away, giving an opportunity
for the Italians to score on the rebound. However, he made an extremely important and exceptional save from http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Thiago-Motta-c34897 to keep things level at half time for la Roja.
Player rating: 6.5/10.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Sergio-Ramos-c33096
The former Sevilla defender has the potential to play a lot better, but most probably the jitters of the starting game caught up to him, and he was found out of position on a number of occasions. He could have been punished by
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Mario-Balotelli-c23937 had it not been for the Manchester City striker’s indecisiveness in front of goal, which allowed Ramos to dive in and clear the ball.
His judgement and timing of playing Di Natale offside was not correct, and the Udinese striker punished the http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Spain-c3011 as he scored the opening goal of the match.
Player rating: 4.5/10.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Álvaro-Arbeloa-c5282
Arbeloa has been known for his consistency which has turned him into a firm favourite under Jose Mourinho; however, he seemed a shadow of the player he has been at Los Blancos. Giaccherini made him work hard as the Italian pegged
the Spaniard in his own half for majority of the match. Player rating: 4/10.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Jordi-Alba-c19111
Alba tried his best to be enterprising and ventured into the Italian half on a number of occasions, but his positioning always came under question as he was always struggling to get back for his defensive duties. Much was expected
of the youngster, but he was unable to replicate his performances this past season.
Player rating: 3.5/10.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Gerard-c14664 Pique
Replicated the performance put in by the Spanish defence, and made errors in judgement and in tackling; he gave too much respect to Mario Balotelli by allowing him to play the ball in front of him. The Barcelona defender was also
duped by Di Natale who played off Pique’s shoulder to fire http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Italy-c2926 into the lead.
Player rating: 5/10.
Andres Iniesta
The Barca player was by far the best Spanish player on the night as his clever interplay led to a lot of openings for Spain. He came agonisingly close to scoring, as he began his typical drive into the box before his shot was well
saved by http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Gianluigi-Buffon-c14833. Player rating: 8.5/10.
Xavi
Provided much needed stability within the Spanish ranks as his movement and passing allowed La Roja to make inroads into the opposition defence.
Player rating: 7.5/10.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Xabi-Alonso-c37045
The former http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Liverpool-c39809 midfielder was a reliable figure and linked up regularly with the attack through his short crisp passing. However, the Italians proved a resilient outfit and were able to easily clear the long balls played
in by http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Alonso-c5254. Player rating: 7/10.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/David-Silva-c10601
Drifted in and out of the game and was not heavily involved through majority of the match but his contribution was much needed by the holders of the European Cup, after he slid in Cesc Fabregas who scored the equaliser for his
team. Player rating: 6.5/10.
Cesc Fabregas
He cut a lone figure at the front of the Spanish attack, and was found wanting on a number of occasions. He was not comfortable being the lone striker, but he did come up with the goods through his equaliser in the 64th
minute. Player rating: 7.5/10.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Sergio-Busquets-c33048
The http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Barcelona-c38604 man did not have his best game in the Spanish colours as his passing and distribution was called in question. He was not effective in breaking down the Italian defence and seemed indecisive throughout the game.
Player rating: 5/10
Substitutes
Jesus Navas
The Seville winger was substituted to bring much needed impetus in attack and the wings, and he was pretty effective in his display; bought on the 66th minute in place of David Silva.
Player rating: 6.5/10
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Fernando-Torres-c13707
Replaced Fabregas but failed to make any impact on the score sheet. He had a number of opportunities to seal the tie for http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Vicente-c36001 Del Bosque but seemed really low on confidence.
Player rating: 3.5/10.
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