Italy got the second half off to a perfect start, at least from their perspective, evening the match a 1-1 thanks to a glorious assist from Mario Balotelli and an excellent finish from Emanuele Giaccherini.
Italy vs. Brazil: Emanuele Giaccherini pulls Italy level, Neymar answers right back
Balotelli had his shirt pulled by Dante but still managed to get his foot up and direct the ball out left to Giaccherini, who raced into the Brazil area and launched a rising shot that beat Júlio César and tucked itself nicely in the side netting, just inside the far post.
Lovely play from both Ballot and Giaccherini, and suddenly the match was interesting again...well, for about two minutes.
Neymar was taken down right on the edge of Italy’s box, giving the Brazilian star a chance to put a set piece on target...which, of course, he did brilliantly.
The key was Gianluigi Buffon's first step back towards the near post, as he expected Neymar's free kick to go over the wall. Instead, Neymar went for the far post and the momentary direction change by the Italian keeper gave him just enough space to put the ball past and give Brazil the lead back at 2-1.
All of sudden this is looking like a soccer match again!
See More:
