Inter midfielder Nicolo Barella has come under fire for his sub-standard performance against Austria for Italy in the Euro 2020 round of 16 tie, according to a report in the Italian media.
The rating handed out by La Gazzetta dello Sport was only a 5.5 out of 10 which for a player of Nicolo Barella’s quality and popularity is very low.
He started the game playing in a more offensive position because he had Marco Verratti and Jorginho just behind him in the midfield. He did look sharp and wanted to help the team create chances, but the majority of things he tried didn’t quite come off.
In the second half, both Nicolo Barella and the entire Italy team seemed to have no creativity or invention about them. It took until extra time before they finally broke through with Federico Chiesa and Matteo Pessina both scoring from the bench.
Austria pulled a goal back but could not equalise.
