Albania shocked Italy in the European Championship opener.
But it was the reigning champions who had the last word.
The Italians won 2–1 and got a taste of the championship in Germany.
Barely had the audience had time to settle in their seats at the classic Westfalenstadion in Dortmund before Albania took the lead.
The match clock showed 22 seconds when Italian full-back Federico Dimarco threw in a long throw-in straight to Nedim Bajrami. The Albanian star made no mistake, from close range he slammed the ball into the net. The goal is the European Championship's fastest – but the Albanian lead did not last long.
For Italy came back.
And they did so convincingly.
Centre-back Alessandro Bastoni equalised to 1–1 after just 11 minutes of play, and shortly afterwards, profile player Nicolo Barella scored 2–1 with a right-footed shot from distance.
Anyone familiar with Italian football knows that "Gli Azzurri" have no problem playing for a result, and so it was this evening as well.
Italy controlled the game, at a moderate pace, and although Albania tried to push forward in the second half, they did not create enough to score an equaliser.
With the win, Italy takes the lead over Spain, who defeated Croatia, in Group B. Italy and Spain meet on Thursday, while Albania faces Croatia on Wednesday.
