Italy punishes deflated Greece in Athens

Italy ran riot at the Greek defense in the first half to score three goals in 10 minutes and secure an easy 3-0 win in Athens on Saturday, against a deflated Greece that suffered its first loss at the Euro 2020 qualifiers.

In the presence of some 25,000 fans, including 300 Italians, the visitors had the upper hand from the start of the game at the Olympic Stadium. However they did not get to pose any threat to the Greek defense until the halfway point of the first half.

Greece manager Angelos Anastasiadis fielded three central defenders and no center forward, opting to keep the top scorer of the Super League, Efthymis Koulouris, on the bench and start playmaker Costas Fortounis as a false 9.

The Greeks started pushing forward after the 20th minute and paid for it immediately, as the absence of a proper right-back allowed Andrea Belotti to make inroads from the...