Arsenal left-back Riccardo Calafiori delivered a fantastic performance during Italy’s 3-1 Nations League win over Turkey.
The 24-year-old has been managed carefully by manager Roberto Mancini, and he was only a second-half substitute yesterday.
Calafiori came on to replace Matteo Ruggeri in the 56th minute and made an immediate impact, which changed the momentum.
Turkey scored a 61st-minute equaliser (1-1), but Calafiori scored just three minutes later with a brilliant header from a free-kick.
Apart from his maiden international goal, the left-back completed 94 percent of his passes and won 100 percent of his duels too.
He also made a couple of recoveries in an outstanding cameo for the Azzurri, who went on to win 3-1 after Pio Esposito’s late strike.
It was a memorable game for Calafiori, who scored his first Azzurri goal at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara, which was his former home (Bologna).
The 24-year-old will return to Arsenal duty this weekend, and will surely want to make amends after the dismal showing at Brighton & Hove Albion.
Calafiori had a tough outing defensively during the humbling 3-0 loss on the South Coast. In our view, it was only a minor blip for the Italian ace.
On current form, he is an undisputed starter at left-back for Arsenal and should definitely start over Piero Hincapie during Saturday’s early kick-off.
Leeds United visit the Emirates Stadium on the day, and Calafiori has plenty of time to recover.
While Martin Odegaard and Viktor Gyokeres started every Nations League match for their respective countries, Calafiori managed only a couple.
Still, the defender made a good impression and should be full of confidence against Leeds after his goalscoring heroics for his national side.
Stats from Sofascore.com