Italy 3-1 Türkiye: Calafiori and Pio Esposito come off the bench to lift Mancini's side to second

Italy beat Türkiye 3-1 at the Stadio Renato Dall'Ara in Bologna on Monday night to move second in UEFA Nations League A, Group 1. Gianluca Scamacca gave Roberto Mancini's side a first-half lead, and after Aral Şimşir equalised, substitutes Riccardo Calafiori and Pio Esposito settled it. Türkiye have now lost all four of their group matches.

Mancini made nine changes from the draw in France, while Vincenzo Montella's Türkiye were without the suspended Arda Güler and Barış Alper Yılmaz.

Match facts

• Result: Italy 3-1 Türkiye (half-time 1-0)
• Competition: UEFA Nations League A, Group 1, Matchday 4
• Venue: Stadio Renato Dall'Ara, Bologna
• Scorers: Italy - Scamacca 26', Calafiori 64', Pio Esposito 87'; Türkiye - Şimşir 61'
• Red cards: None
• Next: Italy v France, Thursday 12 November; Türkiye v Belgium, Thursday 12 November

How the match unfolded

Türkiye made the brighter start, and Gianluigi Donnarumma had to save from Ozan Kabak, Salih Özcan and Yunus Akgün. Scamacca had the ball in the net after being sent through, but was flagged offside.

Italy went ahead in the 26th minute. Giovanni Di Lorenzo crossed from the right after a move with Antonio Vergara, the ball ricocheted off Scamacca, and the Atalanta striker volleyed in off the underside of the crossbar. He was booked before half-time.

Matteo Ruggeri was booked shortly after the restart, and Şimşir then pounced on a mix-up between Donnarumma and Di Lorenzo and rounded the goalkeeper, but Alessandro Bastoni recovered to stop him. In the 55th minute Mancini took off both booked players, sending on Calafiori and Esposito, with Michael Kayode replacing Di Lorenzo. Uğurcan Çakır then blocked Issa Doumbia's close-range shot with his foot.

Türkiye equalised in the 61st minute. Akgün found Zeki Çelik on the right, Eren Elmalı flicked on the cross, and Şimşir finished at the far post.

The equaliser lasted three minutes. Nicolò Barella swung a free-kick to the back post, and Calafiori rose above Elmalı to loop a header past Çakır. Türkiye protested that Calafiori had pushed Elmalı, but referee Szymon Marciniak allowed the goal. It was the Arsenal defender's first senior goal for Italy, scored at the ground of his former club.

Türkiye kept pushing. Donnarumma parried a powerful shot from Özcan, and substitute Kerem Aktürkoğlu beat the goalkeeper to a long ball but lobbed wide. In the 87th minute Doumbia drove into the area and had his shot blocked by Çelik, and Esposito turned in Alessandro Romano's low cross-shot from close range.

What it means

Italy have seven points from four games, three behind leaders France, who beat Belgium 4-1 on Monday. Belgium are third on six. Since a 2-0 home defeat by Belgium in their opening game, Mancini's side have won 4-1 in Bursa, drawn 1-1 with France and now beaten Türkiye again.

Türkiye have scored two and conceded 11. After a home defeat by France and a 3-0 loss in Belgium, they can now reach six points at most, so they can no longer finish in the top two.

Mancini said fatigue and the changes had cost Italy fluency. "We suffered at the start, but the lads did well to get it back on track," he told RAI Sport. He said he took off Scamacca and Ruggeri because he feared the referee would book them again.

What happens next

Italy host France at San Siro on Thursday 12 November (19:45 UK) and finish in Brussels against Belgium on Sunday 15 November, a game Mancini expects to decide their place. Türkiye host Belgium in Izmir on 12 November and end in Bordeaux against France. The top two in the group reach the quarter-finals.