Migliori in campo

Federico Chiesa voted fans’ Man of the Match for Italy 2-1 Austria

The winger, who had a decisive impact on the game, was chosen by Azzurri supporters on the FIGC website

Sunday, June 27, 2021

Federico Chiesa voted fans’ Man of the Match for Italy 2-1 Austria

Federico Chiesa has been voted Italy's Man of the Match for their Round of 16 match with Austria, which ended in a 2-1 win in extra-time for Mancini’s boys. They now head to the Quarter Finals of the Euros.

The 23-year old from Liguria got 52.49% of fans’ votes on the FIGC website, beating Leonardo Spinazzola (23.08%) and Matteo Pessina (5.88%) in second and third respectively.

He was subbed on in the 84th minute and left his mark on the game. He showed immediately, especially from the start of extra-time, that he could give the Austrian backline a hard time: his dangerous right-footed diagonal was cut out by Bachmann with 92 minutes played. Just moments later, in the 95th minute, he smashed in the Azzurri’s opener from a tight angle, after a lovely piece of skill. He almost added a second with one minute left of the game, but his effort was blocked on the line by an opposition defender.

It was a critical goal in this Euros for Italy and Chiesa, and came exactly 25 years and 12 days after his father scored at the Euros against the Czech Republic, on 14 June 1996.