Italy and England played out a 1-1 draw in Turin this evening to keep their respective unbeaten records since the World Cup alive.

The visitors almost broke the deadlock when Wayne Rooney hit the crossbar midway through the opening period, but it was Italy who scored first as Graziano Pelle glanced his header beyond Joe Hart.

England had to wait until the 79th minute for their equaliser, and it came through substitute Andros Townsend, who powered an effort past Gianluigi Buffon from 20 yards.

Here, Sports Mole takes an in-depth look at whether a share of the spoils was the right result.

Match statistics

ITALY
Shots: 10
On target: 3
Possession: 40%
Corners: 8
Fouls: 19

ENGLAND
Shots: 10
On target: 5
Possession: 60%
Corners: 5
Fouls: 7

Was the result fair?

Yes. Both sides has spells in the ascendency tonight and also created the chances to win this game, but in the end a draw is the right result. Italy certainly had the better of the opening 45 minutes and deserved to go into the break with their slender advantage, despite Rooney having hit the woodwork in the first half. Italy didn't create too many chances during their time on top, but they were very much in control of proceedings for much of the opening period.

England improved as the match wore on, however, and they were well worth their equaliser when it came. Their pressure slowly built up throughout the second half and they ended the match much the stronger of the two teams. Indeed, Roy Hodgson will feel that his side could have nicked it, with Harry Kane, Kieran Gibbs and Rooney all missing good opportunities after the break.

Defeat would have been harsh on Italy, however, and the Azzurri also had opportunities to put the game beyond England in the second half. Eder and Pelle both missed golden chances within seconds of each other, while Luca Antonelli flashed an effort narrowly wide of the far post later in the half. While one team was usually on top at any given time, overall it was a fairly even contest and neither manager will have many complaints at it ending all square.

Italy's performance

After a week in which the pressure on him has grown even further, Antonio Conte would have been glad to be back at the Juventus Stadium, where he enjoyed such success at club level. He remains unbeaten as Italy boss, but the performances have left a lot to be desired so far. Tonight saw an improvement from the 2-2 draw with Bulgaria on Saturday, but it is clear that work still needs to be done if the Azzurri are to be a force in France next year.

Defence has always been Italy's strong point, and they were almost faultless at the back in the first half - a far cry from the leaky display against Bulgaria. They kept their shape and allowed England very little room to manoeuvre, be it in central or wide areas. The visitors could get no joy going forward, and that helped Conte's side to control proceedings throughout the opening 45 minutes. They deserved their lead at the break, but would have perhaps wanted to create more themselves.

Their stranglehold on the match wavered in the second half as the game became a little more open, and they were fortunate not to be punished by England on more than one occasion. Italy missed their own chances to give themselves a cushion, and the withdrawal of Giorgio Chiellini seemed to give England the impetus to build more pressure. Eventually that told and Italy were held to a third draw in their last four games but, considering they are missing a number of key players, this was not too bad a result for them.

England's performance

Despite being a friendly, tonight's match was seen by many as a yardstick to measure how far England had come since defeat to Italy in the opening game of last summer's World Cup. In the first half at least, it didn't look promising. The Three Lions have often looked like world-beaters against international minnows but struggled against the big names and, while this is far from a vintage Italian crop, that was the case again in the opening 45 minutes tonight.

England's performance was slow, laboured and far too predictable, with Italy happy to sit deep and repel everything that was thrown at them with ease. Things improved in the second half, with a forward-thinking Michael Carrick introduced and Phil Jones moved back into defence just before the interval. They still found it difficult to break a typically stubborn Italian defence down, but further changes such as Ross Barkley and Townsend coming on helped to give Hodgson's side more thrust in the attacking third.

The Three Lions were much the better team in the final 20 minutes or so and may feel that they should have completed the turnaround when Rooney missed a one-on-one moments after the equaliser, but there are plenty of positives for Hodgson to take from the second half of this evening's game at least. Their 100% record since the World Cup has come to an end, but they will be content with a 1-1 draw in Turin, particularly considering that they were also missing a host of first-team regulars.

Sports Mole's man of the match

Giorgio Chiellini: There were no outstanding candidates for this award tonight, but Chiellini's influence was perhaps most noticed when he left the field. England equalised soon after and created a couple more chances as the Italian defence looked a lot flimsier without their leader. The experienced defender kept Kane quiet for most of the evening and even picked up an assist for the Italy goal to cap off an impressive performance.

Biggest gaffe

Chiellini did well in the build-up to the Italy goal, but his task was made far too easy by Jones. The England man allowed Chiellini to ghost past him and deliver a cross into the middle that Pelle glanced home with the deftest of headers.

Referee performance

Felix Brych enjoyed a relatively quiet night tonight. He produced three yellow cards, one of which was a touch harsh for a friendly, but otherwise had little to do.

What next?

Italy: Italy have their toughest qualifying test up next as they take on Group H leaders Croatia away from home in June.

England: England, meanwhile, will play a friendly against the Republic of Ireland before their next qualifier, which comes away to Slovenia, also in June.