Slick Italy end Spain’s reign

Italy 2 Spain 0: Graziano Pelle sealed Italy’s place in the Euro 2016 quarter-finals with a stoppage-time strike to sink reigning champions Spain at the Stade de France yesterday.

Leading and largely dominant after Giorgio Chiellini’s first-half opener, the Italians had survived a scare moments earlier when Gianluigi Buffon saved superbly to deny Gerard Pique an equaliser.

But Pelle’s brilliant finish at the other end completed a richly deserved 2-0 win for Antonio Conte’s side, who were only denied a bigger winning margin by the brilliance of Spain goalkeeper David De Gea.