The skipper conceded a penalty for the fourth time this season and cost La Roja what would have been a deserved victory in Turin
It had looked like being a memorable night for Spain. Up against the team that had knocked them out of Euro 2016 and ended their era of dominance once and for all In Paris late last June, La Roja were looking to prove a point. But after another mistake from their captain, a point was all they got.
Such was Spain’s stranglehold upon this World Cup qualifier in Turin that at one stage, La Roja had 80 per cent of the possession against the Azzurri. And when Italy won their first corner late in the game, their rivals had already had 13.
But those stats are worthless unless the game is won and for all Spain’s neat play, there was little in the way of clear-cut chances for Julen Lopetegui’s side – and it took an uncharacteristic Gianluigi Buffon blunder for the visitors to take the lead.