Rabiot bagged a brace as France beat Italy 3-2 to go top of their group in the UEFA Nations League on Sunday night.
Lucas Digne and Adrien Rabiot – both earning their 50th caps – combined when the former’s out-swinging corner was met by a towering header by the latter to open the scoring just after two minutes.
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The Didier Deschamps’ men doubled their lead when Digne’s sweetly struck free-kick rebounded off the woodwork and Azzurri shot-stopper Guglielmo Vicario, before flying into the net. The hosts however halved the deficit two minutes later when Andrea Cambiaso clinically fired home from Federico Dimarco’s cross.
France hit back again to restore their two-goal advantage early in the second half when Digne utilised his wand of a left foot to swing in a set piece towards Rabiot, who powered another header past Vicario in the 65th minute.
Italy now heads to the quarter-finals of the competition next March as one of the four unseeded teams while France can take comfort in knowing that this first competitive win over Italy in 18 years ensures his side will be in the seeded section of the draw, and play the second leg of their last-eight tie on home soil.
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