Italy have beaten the 10-man Netherlands 2-0 to get the Antonio Conte era off to a winning start in tonight's friendly in Bari.

First-half goals from Ciro Immobile and Daniele De Rossi, either side of a Bruno Martins Indi red card, proved enough for the Azzurri to down their Dutch counterparts.

Both nations had new managers in the dugout for the first time, with Conte and Guus Hiddink replacing Cesare Prandelli and Louis van Gaal after the World Cup.

It was Italy who struck first as Immobile got the Azzurri off to a flying start after just three minutes.

The Borussia Dortmund forward cleverly knocked the ball past goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen, before stroking into an empty net for his first international goal.

Hiddink's second coronation as Netherlands coach got worse just six minutes later, with Martins Indi shown a straight red card for fouling Simone Zaza inside the area.

Roma midfielder De Rossi stepped up to dispatch the resulting penalty, sending Cillessen the wrong way for his 16th international goal.

Conte's side should have capitalised further on their numerical advantage before the break, with Immobile and Zaza both spurning chances to add a third.

A host of changes from both sides after the hour mark hindered the game's fluency somewhat, but Mattia Destro should have put the game to bed on 81 minutes, heading an Antonio Candreva cross wide of the post.

The Italians would not get a better chance to add gloss to the scoreline as both coaches endured contrasting fortunes on their bows.