Euro 2016: Italy 1-0 Malta

Graziano Pelle spared Italy's blushes as the Southampton striker earned an unconvincing 1-0 Euro 2016 qualifying win over Malta on Thursday to take full advantage of Croatia's slip-up.

Azerbaijan held Group H leaders Croatia to a 0-0 draw earlier on Thursday and, although for a while Malta looked destined to pull off a similar shock in Florence, Pelle bundled the ball home in the second half to see Italy go level at the top of the table.

Despite dominating from start to finish, Italy were forced to endure a great deal of frustration, with several first-half chances coming to nothing in a wasteful display.

Louis van Gaal Needs More Time - Graziano Pelle

Louis van Gaal's work at Manchester United cannot be judged after just two months, according to Southampton striker Graziano Pelle. United are languishing in 12th in the Premier League and boast just one win from their first six matches, despite splashing out over €190 million on new players over the course of a busy summer transfer window.

But the 28-year-old who won the Eredivisie title under Van Gaal in 2008-09 while the two men were at AZ - insists it is far too soon to accurately assess the effectiveness of the Dutchman's methods at Old Trafford.