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ROME, ITALY - JUNE 11: Leonardo Spinazzola of Italy shoots whilst under pressure from Zeki Celik of Turkey during the UEFA Euro 2020 Championship Group A match between Turkey and Italy at the Stadio Olimpico on June 11, 2021 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
Leonardo Spinazzola was the Azzurri’s Man of the Match from Turkey vs. Italy, the opening match of the Euros, at the Olimpico in Roma yesterday evening, which ended with Roberto Mancini winning 3-0.
The full-back from Foligno picked up 42.24% of the votes from fans on the FIGC website, beating Nicolò Barella (18.1%) and Domenico Berardi (12.07%).
Spinazzola was one of the absolute key figures from the match; he was tireless down the left flank. He was a thorn in Turkey’s side for 90 minutes and even came close to scoring on two occasions: the first, in the 56th minute, came after dribbling past two defenders. Then, ten minutes later, his powerful effort was saved but then turned in on the rebound by Ciro Immobile. Ordered at the back, he made a particularly noteworthy intervention to halt Ünder on the counterattack.