Roberto Mancini lost on his return as Italy boss after a 2-0 defeat against Belgium in the Nations League.
Mika Godts opened the scoring in the 20th minute before substitute Dodi Lukebakio added a second after the break as Mark van Bommel began his tenure as Belgium manager with a 2-0 victory over Italy at the Stadio Olimpico.
Both sides saw early chances saved, with Gianluigi Donnarumma denying Charles De Ketelaere and Senne Lammens stopping Moise Kean.
Belgium took the lead when Godts produced a fine individual effort, sending Gianluca Mancini and Diego Coppola to the ground before calmly finding the bottom-right corner.
The visitors controlled much of the first half but were unable to extend their advantage. Donnarumma produced an excellent double save to deny De Ketelaere and Nicolas Raskin before keeping out a powerful Godts header.
Diego Moreira also wasted a good opportunity, while Maxim De Cuyper fired narrowly wide shortly before the interval.
Italy improved considerably after the restart and nearly equalised two minutes into the second half, with Kean forcing Lammens into a smart save with his right leg.
Francesco Pio Esposito then came close twice. His first header went straight at Lammens before the Belgium goalkeeper made another impressive stop to keep out the Inter striker’s first-time effort following a cut-back from Nicolo Cambiaghi.
Despite Italy’s pressure, Belgium doubled their lead in the 69th minute. Lukebakio collected the ball around halfway, drove towards the area, cut inside past Sandro Tonali and Daniel Maldini, then curled a long-range effort into the bottom-left corner.
Italy had opportunities to reduce the deficit late on, but Riccardo Calafiori’s outside-of-the-boot effort went wide, while Giorgio Scalvini surprisingly missed from close range inside the six-yard box.
Contrasting fortunes for Mancini and Van Bommel
Italy’s improved second-half performance offered encouragement for Roberto Mancini, with 1.22 of their 1.52 expected goals coming after the interval. However, they could not find a way back into the match.
Both Donnarumma and Lammens finished with six saves in an entertaining encounter, but Lukebakio’s second goal ultimately ensured Belgium began their Nations League campaign with victory.
Van Bommel had several positives to take from the performance. Kevin De Bruyne created a match-high five chances, while Godts attempted the most dribbles with five and also led Belgium in possessions won with four, in addition to scoring the opener.
Lammens’ saves at the beginning of the second half proved particularly important after Belgium missed several chances before the break, giving Van Bommel plenty to be pleased about on his managerial debut.
Belgium will next host France in the Nations League, while Italy travel to Turkiye as Mancini searches for the first victory of his second spell in charge.
