By John Essien
Italy defender, Giorgio Chiellini said he’s ‘proud’ of the Azzurri record of 37-match unbeaten run and believes the UEFA Nations League semi-final defeat to Spain will play a vital role to help improve the European champions.
Italy were 1-0 down when captain Leonardo Bonucci was sent off for two bookings in the first-half, the second for an elbow on Sergio Busquets.
Manchester City’s Ferran Torres doubled Spain’s advantage just before the break. Lorenzo Pellegrini scored a late consolation for the Azzurri.
“It’s a pity the defeat came in Milan, but there is proud for this extraordinary run of results.
“Its a necessary stage in the growth process for a team that can still do far better. We knew it was a difficult match, we called for patience and clear minds, sometimes you have to accept the opposition is a very strong team that causes you problems.
“It’s a pity, we wanted to continue this unbeaten run, but the fact is this will help our growth process. We almost got it back on level terms when down to 10 men and 2-0 down, so that shows what we’re capable of,” Chiellini told RAI Sport, according to football-italia.net.
Italy had prevailed against Spain in the EURO 2020 semi-final on penalties but they were second best on Wednesday night.
Italy will face either France or Belgium in the third-place play-off on Sunday.
