FEDERICO CHIESA carried on a proud family tradition to fire anxious Italy into the Euro 2020 quarter-finals.
Chiesa’s father, Enrico, scored more goals for the Azzurri coming off the subs’ bench than any other player.
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And Chiesa Jnr proved to be a chip off the old block with the extra-time winner to spare Roberto Mancini’s blushes on Saturday at Wembley.
The Juventus winger finally broke Austria’s brave resistance with a ferocious shot into the top corner just 11 minutes after replacing Domenico Berardi.
And he was joined on the scoresheet by fellow sub Matteo Pessina with a 105th-minute goal to finally put the tie to bed.
It was a sickening blow for the Austrians, who were convinced they had won the game in normal time when Marko Arnautovic beat Gianluigi Donnarumma with a close-range header.
But the former Stoke and West Ham striker’s 65th minute effort was ruled out for a marginal offside after an eternity of scrutiny from VAR Stuart Attwell.
Italy will now travel to Munich to face either Belgium or Portugal in Friday’s quarter-finals.
And they will need plenty of time to recover after being given the fright of their lives at Wembley.
Mancini’s team have now established a new national record of 31 games unbeaten including 12 straight wins without conceding a single goal.
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But they were pushed all the way by opponents who were supposed to arrive in London as sacrificial lambs to the slaughter.
They might have come into this match as unter-hunds but the Austrians were not holding back as they looked to knock their opponents out of their stride with their ferocious press.
The last time they played at Wembley they were beaten 7-0 by England, but that was 48 years ago so they certainly weren’t carrying any mental scars from that one.
Of far greater concern for Franco Foda’s team was Italy’s growing dominance as they set up camp in the Austrian half.
Leonardo Spinazzola shot wide from a tight angle before Lorenzo Insigne’s ambitious effort was comfortably held by Daniel Bachmann.
But the Watford keeper had to be alert to stick out a foot block Barella’s first-time effort from the edge of the area after 17 minutes.
Arnautovic tried his luck with a dipping half-volley which just cleared the bar but it was only a brief respite for an overworked Austrian team who were being pushed deeper and deeper by the Azzurri.
They were almost undone by a 25th-minute up and under from Barella which allowed Ciro Immobile to get a clear run on goal.
But the Lazio striker was unable to control the bouncing ball before Austrian skipper David Alaba scrambled back to make a saving tackle.
And when Immobile’s curling effort from the edge of the area came back off the far post, the Italian fans started to sense that this was not going to be quite the walkover they had anticipated.
Austria, appearing in a European Championship knockout match for the first time, were defending as though their lives depended on it.
They almost made the breakthrough early in the second-half when Arnautovic shanked a shot across the face of goal before David Alaba’s free-kick brushed the top of the bar.
And they were convinced their heroic rearguard action had paid off in the 65th minute when Alaba headed the ball forward for Arnautovic to power in off the underside of the bar.
But their wild celebrations were cut short by Attwell’s voice in the ear of ref Anthony Taylor and Italy were able to cling to take the match into extra-time.
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But the former Stoke and West Ham striker’s joy was short-lived when his header was ruled out for offside by VAR Stuart Attwell.
No wonder Mancini looked so relieved. That would have been the first time his team had conceded since October last year.
Their goal was finally breached in the 23rd minute of extra-time by a near-post header from Sasa Kalajdzic – but it just wasn’t enough to secure the penalty shoot-out which Austria’s efforts had merited.
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