Ten-men Italy defeat Israel 3-1 in World Cup qualifier

Victory marked as new manager Giampiero Ventura's first win as Azzurri boss

HAIFA: Italy, reduced to 10-men, got their 2018 World Cup qualifying off to an impressive start by defeating Israel 3-1 in-front of a sold-out Sammy Offer stadium in Haifa Monday.

The victory marked as the new Italian manager Giampiero Ventura's first win as Azzurri boss. Ventura however, refused to accept that his team had the perfect night, even after winning with 10-men. "I won't say our performance was perfect, as we conceded that goal similar to the one we let in against France [in last week's friendly]. But we worked as a team, suffered as a team and won as a team."

The visiting side stunned the home crowd when Shandong Luneng forward Graziano Pelle tapped in a goal past helpless Israeli keeper Dudu Goresh in the 14th minute.

In the 31st minute, Italy won a controversial penalty when Israeli defender Ben Bitton knocked Giacomo Bonaventura to the ground, which was converted by Antonio Candreva.

After the win, striker Ciro Immobile, who scored his only and his team’s third goal of the night, said that the clash against Spain can be complicated in a tough group. “We're in a complicated group and unfortunately only the top team goes through. These trips can be complicated, but we got there and have the full three points.

"The fans need to keep cheering us on the way they did during the Euros and we'll give our all to reach the World Cup. It's an honour to play with the Italy jersey."

Despite the disappointing result, Israel captain Eran Zahavi said he was proud of the performance. "I think maybe we deserved a little more in this game ."We had a brave National Team that took risks and didn't give up."

Former Southampton forward Pelle, who also scored against France last Thursday, congratulated his teammates on a fantastic result despite being down 10-man. "As usual, Italy are always ready when the game actually counts for something. We had an extra few days to work with the coach and his wonderful staff.

"We knew that we had to remain fully concentrated, as the fans fired up the hosts and it is a tough arena to play in, but we proved we fight to the end even a man down."