Italy continued their strong start under Roberto Mancini with a hard-fought 3-1 win over Turkiye in the Nations League.

Mancini's second spell as Italy coach started with a loss to France, but the Azzurri have now taken seven points from their next three outings to sit second in Group A1.

They had to do it the hard way at Stadio Renato Dall'Ara, where Turkiye – under the tutelage of Italian coach Vincenzo Montella – kept them in a tussle until the end.

A first half of few clear chances was punctuated by a real moment of quality from Gianluca Scamacca, who instinctively fired in a snapshot off the underside of the crossbar to break the deadlock in the 26th minute.

Yet a decent response from Italy early in the second half told when Aral Simsir turned into an empty net after the ball broke kindly for him at the back post.

Parity, however, lasted just three minutes, as substitute Riccardo Calafiori leapt highest to meet Nicolo Barella's delivery and thumped in a header to restore Italy's advantage.

The contest was settled in the 87th minute, as another of Mancini's substitutes, Francesco Pio Esposito, flicked in from Alessandro Romano's centre.

Esposito into the history books

It was a grind, but Italy got over the line in Bologna, and Mancini can reflect on a decent points haul from his first four matches back at the helm.

This was an even game, as evidenced by the match stats.

Italy had 15 shots to Turkiye's 14, while the Azzurri had six attempts on target to their visitors' five. 

The hosts also had 28 touches in the opponent's box, whereas Turkiye had 27 going the other way, while Italy generated chances worth 1.9 expected goals to Turkiye's 1.31 xG.

Ultimately, Esposito settled matters with a smart finish. 

He has become only the second player in the history of the Italian national team to score his seventh international goal before turning 22, after Giuseppe Meazza (20 years and 155 days on January 25, 1931).

Esposito will hope to be at the spearhead of Mancini's second spell, as the coach looks to repeat his success from the first time around.