Super Mario double helps Italy stun Germany to enter finals

A brilliant Mario Balotelli double capped a remarkable attacking display from Italy to seal a 2-1 win against Germany and set up a Euro 2012 final with Spain. Andrea Pirlo started off the attack with a delightful cross-field pass which made its way to Antonio Cassano. The striker swivelled around his markers to supply an inch-perfect cross for Balotelli to head Italy in front with 20 minutes on the clock. 15 minutes later, Sami Khedira had a chance to put Germany level but the ball broke for Riccardo Montolivo whose long pass found Balotelli’s run. What followed later was a thumping finish from the temperamental forward to double the Azzurri’s lead. [caption id=“attachment_361029” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Balotelli scores Italy’s second goal. AFP”] [/caption] Federico Balzaretti handled the ball in the penalty area and Mesut Ozil converted the spotkick to trigger a nervy last five minutes. In a match which was full of end-to-end football, Italy saw the lesser share of possession, but were constantly looking to break forward with Pirlo and Montolivo pulling the strings in midfield. Germany had their own chances though, taking 17 shots in total with eight on target. Joachim Loew introduced Miroslav Klose and Marco Reus for the largely ineffective Mario Gomez and Lukas Podolski. Reus proved to be a handful for the Italian defence and even hit the woodwork with a freekick. The opening 20 minutes in the second half saw Germany pour forward in numbers.  A quick one-two allowed Philipp Lahm to get in a great position but his shot was high, wide and not so handsome. But Italy were not sitting back. Cassano almost got at the end of a low cross and Balotelli’s shot just fizzed wide of the post. If Italy attacked with flair, they defended in a fashion which characterises their history. Khedira and Klose had some space in the box, but the centre-backs were aware to stick in a boot when it mattered most. If Cesare Prandelli will have one complaint, then it will be the fact that his team did not kill off the game with the number of chances they had in the last 10 odd minutes. With Germany sending all their men forward, Alessandro Diamanti, Antonio di Natale and Claudio Marchisio had glorious chances to put the game to bed, but squandered whatever came their way. After Ozil scored the penalty, even Manuel Neuer was playing as high as the half-line but Italy held on for the win and their record of never losing to Germany in a competitive match.