Action man Marchisio on top again

With back-to-back draws Italy may not have had the best start to their tilt at UEFA EURO 2012, but in midfielder Claudio Marchisio they have one man at least who is making his mark on the tournament.

The 26-year-old had a terrific season in Italy, a driving force as an unbeaten Juventus romped to the Serie A title, and his purple patch has extended into the Azzurri's time in Poland and Ukraine. He put in an excellent shift as Italy held Spain to a 1-1 opening draw, and though his team could not better their result against Croatia, Marchisio improved his own rating as he finished top of the Castrol EDGE Index for the second game in succession with a score of 9.26.

It is not difficult to see why. Bettered only by team-mate Emmanuele Giaccherini in terms of distance covered by a player on the pitch (12.01km) Marchisio was a virtual omnipresent, helping out in defence and getting involved in almost every attack. He had the most shots of anyone on the pitch (four) and missed the target just once, only the heroics of Stipe Pletikosa preventing him from scoring with one particularly memorable double-save.

Unsurprisingly, goalscorer Mario Mandžukic was not too far behind the Azzurri midfielder, while Gordon Schildenfeld's sterling defensive efforts ensured he rounded off the top three.

Castrol EDGE Index: Italy v Croatia
1. Claudio Marchisio (ITA) 9.26
2. Mario Mandžukic (CRO) 8.91
3. Gordon Schildenfeld (CRO) 8.49
4. Ivan Strinić (CRO) 8.26
5. Gianluigi Buffon (ITA) 8.24

Key facts
22 – Croatia committed 22 fouls in this match, more than in any of their previous 12 matches at UEFA European Championship finals.

3 – Mario Mandžukic is now joint-top scorer with three goals – a tally that has come from just four attempted shots.

0 – Italy are now winless in six consecutive games in major tournaments for the first time in their history (five draws, one defeat).

2004 – Italy have now drawn their first two games. The only other time this happened to the Azzurri in a EURO was in 2004, when they were eliminated despite winning the third match.

6 – Following this match, Italy have the highest number of yellow cards in the competition with six.

Player view
Claudio Marchisio: "It's a shame because we could have guaranteed qualification tonight. We played a very good first half, then in the second half we lowered our rhythm and our midfield, and they found the goal. That is something we must improve on."