Inter Milan defender Francesco Acerbi has earned comparisons with Juventus legend Giorgio Chiellini for his performance against Ukraine.
Today’s print edition of Milan-based newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport, via FCInterNews, hail the 35-year-old for a dominant performance for Italy up against striker Artem Dovbyk.
Italy faced a nervy battle for automatic qualification for EURO 2024 against Ukraine yesterday.
The match ended in a 0-0 draw. This was enough to see the Azzurri secure their place at the tournament, where they will have the chance to defend their crown from the last edition.
But it was only by the narrowest of margins that Italy made it through.
There was plenty of defensive resilience required for Luciano Spalletti’s to hold on to a point that was enough for them.
And in the view of the Gazzetta, Inter defender Acerbi was right at the heart of it.
Francesco Acerbi Compared To Giorgio Chiellini For Ukraine Performance
In years gone by, Italy had the legendary former Juventus duo of Giorgio Chiellini and Leonard Bonucci to call upon.
That was the defensive pair that marshalled the Azzurri backline so well at EURO 2020 on the way to taking the title.
But with Chiellini having retired from international duty, there has been a need to find other defenders to replace that pair.
Spalletti, and Roberto Mancini, have frequently relied on blooding in younger defenders.
There’s Alessandro Bastoni. The 24-year-old Inter defender was absent yesterday through injury yesterday, but is usually a key man at the back for Italy.
Torino’s Alessandro Buongiorno got the start alongside Acerbi, therefore.
Meanwhile, Giorgio Scalvini is still only a teenager. But the Atalanta defender has also regularly started for his country.
And Roma’s Gianluca Mancini is far from a young prospect, but yet to turn thirty. He too has been a regular for Italy.
However, Italy have still needed a player with a similar profile to Chiellini to really hold the defense together.
And very often that has proven to be Acerbi.
The 35-year-old has been enjoying a real renaissance in form over the past couple years.
Former Sassuolo and Lazio defender Acerbi started for Inter in the Champions League final last season.
And the veteran defender put in a Chiellini-like performance yesterday, the Gazzetta argue.
Acerbi’s task was to marshall in-form Girona striker Artem Dovbyk.
And that is exactly what he did. For the Gazzetta, it was reminiscent of a top Chiellini performance how Acerbi kept Dovbyk from getting on the ball, either in the air or on the ground.
This was much closer to the performance against Erling Haaland in the Champions League final that earned Acerbi plaudits than it was to his recent struggles against England captain Harry Kane.
