Five things learned as Portugal beat Italy 1-0 to continue Mancini’s poor start

Portugal began their UEFA Nations League campaign with a narrow 1-0 win over Italy in Lisbon.

André Silva, on loan to Sevilla from AC Milan, grabbed the only goal to pour more pressure on Azzurri boss Roberto Mancini.

For the European champions they were missing their talisman Cristiano Ronaldo but in his absence they largely dominated and boss Fernando Santos can be pleased.

Here are five things we learned.

1. A glimpse into a Ronaldo-less future?

Cristiano Ronaldo, by all means, isn’t done and no one will be surprised to see him lining up at Euro 2020 (if the defending champions make it of course).

But there will come a time when Portugal can no longer count on their greatest footballer. In their current squad there’s a grand total of 37 goals – with 13 of those scored by André Silva, the matchwinner. Ronaldo has 85 to his name.

Of course it’s night and day, but they need to learn to play without him. Signs are promising. Silva’s namesake Bernardo and Ruben Neves are no strangers to finding the back of the net. Bruma, once highly touted, is slowly fulfilling his talent and has the wherewithal to become an important figure going forward.

2. Is there a way back for Balotelli?

It’s fair to say Mario Balotelli’s return to international football has been mixed. The enigmatic Italian marksman recently ended a four-year exile when former Manchester City boss, now Italy manager, Mancini called him up following a prolific run of form for club side Nice.

He’d score on his return against Saudi Arabia but would strike blanks in their subsequent meetings with France and Poland with the latter performance seeing him receive criticism from pundits as well as boos from the Italian faithful.

An injury forced him to sit out Monday evening’s game; leading the line was Ciro Immobile with Domenico Berardi and Andrea Belotti starting from the bench. Both came on, but they couldn’t trouble the scorers.

Though it doesn’t necessarily let Balotelli off the hook, it should keep him in the conversation for a while longer.

3. Pepe reaches a century

His cynical and take-no-prisoners approach hasn’t always endeared him to the wider public, but there’s no doubt that Pepe has been a great servant for the Portuguese national team.

Pepe’s journey began in November 2007, at the Estádio do Dragão when Finland came visiting, and tonight’s meeting with Italy – at the same venue – saw the Brazil-born central defender reach a century of appearances.

A milestone only reached by five men before him. The former Real Madrid central defender joins fellow Euro 2016 winners Cristiano Ronaldo (154), João Moutinho (113) and Nani (112) as well as legends Luís Figo (127) and Fernando Couto (110).

Still with a lot to give he marked the occasion with a clean sheet and yellow card in the 93rd minute.

4. Jorginho isolated in Italian system

Brazil’s loss has been Italy’s gain but there’s question marks hanging over their utilisation of the metronomic Jorginho who has recently taken Premier League football by storm.

Renowned for his game intelligence as well as distribution, Jorginho quickly became one of Serie A’s most effective midfielders, averaging 96.9 passes per game across last season.

Napoli, where he made his name, under current Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri often played an offensive 4-3-3 shape with Jorginho often anchoring their midfield. In a 4-4-2 system, favoured by Mancini, taking full control becomes that little bit more tricky – illustrated by him not topping the passing chart – which subsequently made life easier for the opposition.

5. Mancini’s woes continue

It’s too early to make any sweeping judgements but Mancini wouldn’t have wanted such a start to life as Italy boss. A narrow opening win over Saudi Arabia (2-1) was followed by a humbling defeat to would-be world champions France (3-1).

Since then a draw with Poland (1-1) and this latest setback against Portugal (1-0). Not a great start, though it’s fair to say the Azzurri are still a work in process, for example he fielded Italy’s youngest XI (in terms of average age) since 1976 against the Poles.

Even in defeat there can be positives to extract. It’s now up to Mancini, a serial winner at club level, to find them and set them back on the right path. Rome, as the saying goes, wasn’t built in a day.

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