Italy started the half nicely, but they were quickly undone by Brazil — first on Neymar's free kick and then by Fred, who completely outmuscled Giorgio Chiellini and beat Gianluigi Buffon.
Italy vs. Brazil: Fred scores, then Italy controversially answers back
Marclo deserves a ton of credit for the excellently placed long ball that landed right on Fred’s foot, but the Brazilian striker made a great run to split the Italian defense. The pass was pretty special, but bringing the ball down with an excellent first touch, fighting off a foul from Chiellini and then composing himself for the finish was even better.
Italy pulled the game back to 3-2 thanks to a real mistake by the referee, who whistled a play dead for a penalty but then allowed play to continue as Chiellini scored on a loose ball in the Brazil area.
There was clearly a foul in the box on Mario Balotelli, and referee blew his whistle and pointed to the spot. The whistle caused players to stop, but the referee then decided to award Italy advantage and let play continue.
What a mess.
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