Germany 1 Italy 2: It was one of the best nights of my life, says Balotelli

Mario Balotelli admits the 2-1 victory over Germany was one of the best nights of his life after the Italy striker scored twice to set up Euro 2012 final against Spain on Sunday.

The 21-year-old opened the scoring in the 20th minute when the Manchester City forward emphatically headed Antonio Cassano’s cross past Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.

And Balotelli doubled Italy’s advantage nine minutes before half-time, controlling Riccardo Montolivo’s chipped pass and blasting a right-footed drive into the roof of the net.

Germany, who have never beaten Italy in a competitive match starting with a goalless draw in the 1962 World Cup, struggled to breakdown the Azzurri rearguard in the second half, but Mesut Ozil managed to score a consolation from the spot after Andrea Barzagli was penalised for handball in stoppage time.

“It was a great performance but we suffered a little bit in the end. It could have been prevented, but that’s how it goes. The most important thing is the result and that we won,” said Balotelli.

“The first goal was from great cross from Antonio [Cassano], while the second came from a fantastic pass by [Riccardo] Montolivo and, well, I shot and scored!

“There’s always been aggressiveness, always the desire to score; maybe I was just missing a bit of luck.

“We don’t have to fear [Spain] and their ball possession. We have already scored against them, we are as strong as them if not more so.

“This is one of the best nights of my life but I hope it will be even better against Spain. Spain have another way of playing compared to Germany, but we know our strengths and we are able to play against anyone.”

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