Thibaut Courtois had no chance after Lorenzo Insigne went on a marauding run from his own half and powerfully curled a goal from the edge of the box as Italy edged out Belgium in their Euro 2020 quarterfinal clash at Allianz Arena.
The Napoli forward looked to be on his game from the very first whistle, as his incisive runs at the Belgian defence caused all sorts of problems for the Red Devils.
As a result, Italy looked like the team that would score first – and they did so when Leonardo Bonucci headed home from a free-kick. But the goal was ruled out for offside, and Belgium got the lifeline that they needed.
But Italy found the back of the net once again through Nicolo Barella, whose right-footed strike gave the Azzurri the advantage. Italy extended their lead on the stroke of halftime with their second shot on target, and it was Insigne who beat Thibaut Courtois with a signature curling effort from long range that crept into the bottom left corner.
The Azzurri were two to the good, but Giovanni di Lorenzo’s ill-timed challenge on Jeremy Doku won Belgium a penalty in first-half injury time.
Romelu Lukaku calmly converted from the spot, and the game was back in the balance. Belgium looked to find a way back to level the scores in the second half, but their bad finishing and an excellent Gianluigi Donnarumma in goal for Italy meant that it ended as Italy’s night in Munich.
Bellissimo 🥰
— UEFA EURO 2020 (@EURO2020) July 2, 2021
Insigne curls the ball beyond Courtois 🎯
Goal of the Round contender?@GazpromFootball | #EUROGOTR | #EURO2020 pic.twitter.com/fVrkbD58z8
