GENOA: Ruslan Malinovskiy cancelled out Federico Bernardeschi’s second half strike as Italy were held 1-1 by Ukraine in an international friendly in Genoa on Wednesday during which the victims of the bridge collapse in the city were remembered.
Bernardeschi’s low strike beat Ukraine goalkeeper Andriy Pyatov after 55 minutes, but seven minutes later Malinovskiy volleyed in for the visitors. Italy coach Roberto Mancini spent most of his playing career in Genoa, at Sampdoria, and the friendly at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris was organised to raise money for those affected by the collapse of the Morandi bridge on August 14. Mancini, 53, was the most capped player in Sampdoria’s history and also the Genoa club’s top scorer winning a Serie A, four Italian Cup and a European Cup Winners Cup with the club. Play was halted at the 43rd minute to remember the 43 people who died in last August’s bridge disaster, with the words “Genova nel cuore” (Genoa in the heart) flashing up on the stadium’s big screens with players and supporters carrying out a minute’s applause for the victims.
With 12,000 fans in attendance, around 105,000 euros was raised for the disaster fund. For Mancini it was “a strong moment of emotion” having lived years in Genoa and crossed the bridge many times. “It was a touching moment and an important one for the victims of this horrible accident.” He said after the match. (AFP)
