Defending champion Italy recovered from the shock of conceding to Albania after 23 seconds to begin its Euro 2024 campaign with a 2-1 win on Saturday in front of a largely Albanian crowd.
Nedim Bajrami pounced on Federico Dimarco’s poor throw-in to smash the ball past Gianluigi Donnarumma for the fastest ever European Championship goal.
AS IT HAPPENED: Italy vs Albania highlights
Italy equalised in the 11th minute through Alessandro Bastoni’s towering header and Nicolo Barella put it ahead five minutes later, meeting a poor clearance with a superb strike from the edge of the box.
Although Italy controlled the game after Bajrami’s goal, it created few clearcut chances in the second half and coach Luciano Spalletti cut a frustrated figure as his side failed to kill the game off but it held on to move level with Spain at the top of Group B.
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