Italy secured passage through to the knockout stages of the European Championship in dramatic fashion.
Trailing Croatia 1-0 until the depths of extra time in the second-half, Riccardo Calafiori stepped up from midfield to supply the assist for Mattia Zaccagni’s late winner.
Heartbreak for Luka Modric and Co. but yet another opportunity for the spotlight to shine on the Liverpool-linked Bologna defender.
According to stats collected on X (formerly Twitter) by Fabrizio Romano, the 22-year-old shone for his national side.
Riccardo Calafiori was shining again for Italy against Croatia
◎ won 100% of his aerial duels.
◎ completed 93% of his passes.
◎ was not dribbled past once in the entire game.
◎ created more chances (4) than any other player.
◎ provided the assist for Zaccagni’s winner. pic.twitter.com/DQt4qMQQSb— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 25, 2024
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The centre-half registered seven goal contributions in 30 Serie A games as Bologna secured Champions League football for 2024/25.
READ MORE: Fabrizio Romano’s transfer update explains why Liverpool still haven’t signed anyone yet
Judging by Sacha Tavolieri’s latest update, that may be rather difficult.
The Italian defender looks increasingly set to trade life in the Emilia-Romagna region for the comparatively richer pastures of Turin.
But is it a deal signed, sealed and delivered? Not quite yet.
If there is any room left for Richard Hughes to wiggle into with his fluent Italian – now is the moment to wiggle, in our view!
Calafiori, perhaps to a lesser extent than Leny Yoro, looks a talent potentially capable of defining a generation of football.
If there’s any chance he can do that at Anfield, Liverpool should be grasping the opportunity with both hands.
Go back to the the 2016/17 campaign (a year after Leicester won the title conceding only 36 goals) and you can see the importance of Liverpool rediscovering solidity at the back.
Since that season, every title-winner has managed to keep their goals conceded tally below 35.
Liverpool’s title win in 2019/20? It came with only 33 goals conceded. Manchester City’s in 2023/24? It came with only 34 goals conceded.
Don’t get us wrong, we could probably do with bolstering the forward line, but we won’t be winning any title if we’re conceding 12 more goals than Arsenal or seven more than City.
Calafiori could be a potential solution for that. We just need a back four – and a centre-back partnership – that’s not constantly chopping and changing.
Judging by the former FC Basel man’s availability in 2023/24, he looks like he could fulfill a need there.
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