Euro 2016 daily: Conte shows Chelsea what lies ahead

Euro 2016 favorites and Chelsea reunion squad Belgium took on Antonio Conte’s Italy in a Stamford Bridge preview. Earlier in the day, Cesc Fabregas and Spain defeated Peter Cech’s Czech Republic in an uninspiring affair.

Chelsea’s upper management has to be feeling pretty good about itself after yesterday’s marquee Euro 2016 matchup between Belgium and Italy. Current and incoming Blues out-shined former Blues, validating some of the club’s major decisions in recent months.

Incoming Chelsea manager Antonio Conte led a well-drilled, highly-disciplined Azzurri to a 2-0 victory over tournament favorites Belgium. Showing the passion that defines his side and that the Blues desperately need, Conte even sustained a bloody nose in the course of celebrating Emanuele Giaccherini’s opening goal.

For the Red Devils, goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois made two great reaction saves to keep hope alive until the very end. While not completely up to form, Eden Hazard was the closest thing Belgium had to an offensive threat for most of the game.

More from Euro 2016

• Euro 2016 final: Predictions as France take on Portugal
• Eden Hazard and Thibaut Courtois fail to quell fears as Belgium crash out of Euro 2016
• Eden Hazard comeback threatened by Euro 2016 injury
• Chelsea’s Gary Cahill crashes out of Euro 2016 in humiliating fashion (VIDEO)
• Euro 2016: Antonio Conte boots football because he’s that excited for Chelsea

Meanwhile, ex-Chelsea players Romelu Lukaku and Kevin de Bruyne gave such weak performances that no one at Stamford Bridge will rue their wearing different shades of blue in the Premier League.

The early game saw Petr Cech and the Czech Republic take on Spain, where Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas made one play to justify the 90 minutes he spent on the pitch. Fabregas’ stats sheet says nearly everything about his performance.

In the 65th minute with the score still 0-0, Fabregas went into full extension to clear the ball away from Czech defender Roman Hubnik. Fabregas’ right boot was the only thing between Hubnik and a gaping net behind David de Gea.

Twenty minutes later Gerard Pique broke the deadlock, getting his head on the end of a perfect pass from Andres Iniesta. Iniesta curled the ball in from the top corner of the box. Pique took two steps to get behind his markers, and popped the ball into the net to Petr Cech’s left. There was little Cech could do given the precision of Iniesta’s cross and Pique’s expertly timed movement to evade his defenders and find a few feet of space towards the post.

Conte played a three-man backline of Juventus and national team veterans Leonardo Bonucci, Georgio Chiellini and Andrea Barzagli. While the lineup was nominally a 3-5-2, the Azzurri transitioned formations throughout the game as smoothly and precisely as a university marching band. The 3-5-2 could become a 3-3-4 in attack and a 5-3-2 in defense as the game dictated.

The artistry of the Italians formations was matched by the sheer effectiveness of their tactics and versatility, as exemplified by Bonucci. Bonucci had 7 clearances and completed 77% of his passes, the majority of them lateral passes from the center of the pitch out to the wings.

But the numbers can not do justice to The Pass.

The most noticeable performance among past and present Chelsea men on the pitch was Romelu Lukaku. Rarely does a player as talented and powerful as Lukaku play as impotently as he did in Lyon. Lukaku’s stats sheet is a series of zeroes. If not for his two fouls, one might wonder if he was even there.

Italy played an extremely high line, with their defenders within 10 meters of midfield whenever Italy had the ball in the Belgium zone. When Belgium recovered the ball, Lukaku made no effort to make a run, call for an outlet pass or in any way use his speed and position to get behind the Azzurri backline and go clear in on goal.

The Belgians had few extended periods of possession deep in the Belgian zone. When they did, Lukaku showed none of the opportunistic instincts of a striker to get in deep and pull down a header in front of Thibaut Courtois. Nor did he use his considerable size and power to clear a lane for a through-ball from the top of the box as he did so many times for Everton this past season.

The few times his teammates did land a ball on his foot his first touch was heavy and unresponsive, leading to an immediate turnover and shift of play in the Italians’ favor. Lukaku had one clear scoring opportunity, needing only to chip the ball over Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon. Summing up his night, Lukaku sailed the ball well wide in a situation that would normally be an automatic tally for the striker.

More from The Pride of London

• Bournemouth 0-0 Chelsea player ratings: Abysmal, reckless, wasteful
• Bournemouth 0-0 Chelsea: 3 Blues talking points
• Bournemouth vs Chelsea: 1 Blue Mauricio Pochettino should drop
• Bournemouth vs Chelsea: 3 Blues who must start
• Predicted Chelsea lineup vs Bournemouth: Palmer starts in 4-2-3-1

Mercifully, Belgium manager Marc Wilmots subbed him off in the 73rd minute. His replacement, Divock Origi, showed the instincts and fire Lukaku lacked but still wanted for the composure to penetrate the Italian defense.

The last 20 minutes were a nervy affair for the Italians, and a Belgian goal seemed imminent. Until Graziano Pelle put the match away with a stoppage time volley, the Italians’ diminished discipline threatened to negate their efforts of the first hour. Antonio Conte has done an astounding job molding a cohesive team that is in-tune with each other and their mission. However, the Azzurri will be vulnerable against teams more organized and more determined than the Red Devils if they are unable to maintain their composure for the full 90 minutes.

The final day of Euro 2016 Group Stage 1 sees Austria play Hungary in a game sure to titillate 19th-century imperial history buffs, but with little interest or significance for Chelsea fans. The second game features a team where every single player’s last name ends with “son.” That is just one of the improbable and curious facts behind Iceland’s run to their first-ever international tournament. Another is that their co-manager, Heimir Hallgrimsson is a full-time practicing dentist in a town of 4,000. Proving that there’s no better marketing than word-of-mouth, Hallgrimsson would announce his starting XI and describe his tactics to Iceland supporters in local pubs before each match.

Next: Andreas Christensen is Monchengladbach Player of the Year

If feel-good underdog stories are not enough reason to cheer for Iceland tomorrow, just remember: they’re playing Cristiano Ronaldo. Up the strakarnir okkar.