England 1
Italy 5

The sight of a host of former England and Italy stalwarts strutting their stuff, albeit at a much slower pace than when they were at the peak of their illustrious careers, will have evoked many happy memories for over 7,000 local fans last night.

It was the night of the golden oldies as some of Italian football's living legends such as Franco Baresi, Stefano Tacconi and Alessandro Altobelli faced the likes of Paul Gascoigne, Viv Anderson, Lee Sharpe and Scotland's Gary McAllister.

An encounter between England and Italy was always going to engender considerable interest among the local football community, what with the notorious rivalry between fans of the Three Lions and those who identify themselves with the Azzurri.

True to expectation, most of the fans who ventured to the National Stadium yesterday seized the opportunity to display their 'true colours' either by sporting the shirt of the English or Italian national teams or by hoisting a flag of either countries.

At the end of an enjoyable evening, the bragging rights in the local Italian-English rivalry definitely belonged to the former after the Azzurri legends stormed to a 5-1 win over the English in a one-sided match.

Baresi, who gave a typically reassured display at the back and scored one of Italy's goals, was feted by his team-mates as he lifted the commemorative cup that was presented to him by Tonio Fenech, the Parliamentary Secretary at the office of the Prime Minister.

A glance at the squads of England and Italy prior to kick-off revealed the presence of players who, in their prime, were bracketed among the crème de la crème of world football.

In Italy's blue corner were great names such as Baresi, Stefano Tacconi, the former Italy and Juve goalkeeper, Pietro Vierchowod, who spent the best years of his career with Sampdoria, Riccardo Ferri, a colossus in the Inter defence in the eighties, Giuseppi Signori, and Salvatore Schillaci.

In the white corner, England - let's make that UK given that there were also players from Scotland and Wales in the line-up - called upon the likes of former Rangers goalkeeper Andy Goram, Anderson, David May and Sharpe, both former Man. United players, 'Gazza' Gascoigne and Chris Waddle, Kerry Dixon, the former Chelsea striker, and Mark Hateley.

Tacconi was forced to make a save as early as the third minute, tipping away an effort from McAllister. A whiff of anticipation coursed among the Italian fans when Alessandro Bianchi's cross found Altobelli but the latter headed straight into the hands of Goram. Signori then sized up a firm drive that sailed just over.

Italy enjoyed the better start. Signori had a point-blank effort deflected away for a corner and Altobelli was again thwarted by the alert Goram off a close-range effort after Massimo Crippa, very active despite his stocky frame, had delivered a good cross from the left.

Having weathered Italy's early pressure, England were beginning to see more of the ball.

Their improvement didn't take long to reap dividends as, 26 minutes into the game, England went 1-0 up, Hateley offering a reminder of his aerial threat when heading a cross by Dean Saunders past Tacconi.

Ruggiero Rizzitelli, an early substitute for 'Spillo' Altobelli, had a low shot kept out by Peter Reid, who had just replaced Goram.

The former Roma striker was unlucky not to equalise for Italy when he surged unimpeded towards goal and ran past Reid but his diagonal effort smacked against the near post. This came on 30 minutes.

Less than two minutes later, the Italian fans were leaping for joy as Lorenzo Amoruso cancelled out Hateley's opener for England with a strong drive from outside the box.

Age may have diminished the pace and reflexes of these veterans but thanks goodness, it has not tarnished their natural talent.

Eight minutes from the break, Baresi rolled back the years with one of his trademark runs from the back.

Collecting possession deep in his own half, the former Milan captain strode forward before passing to Bianchi. Rather than going back to his defensive station, Baresi surged into the area to receive Bianchi's pass and guided the ball home.

Early in the second half, Rizzitelli, latching onto a lofted pass from the middle, advanced towards goal before squaring to Signori who teased the English defence with a couple of feints before striking a shot that came off the post.

England were now being outplayed but the much-awaited introduction of Gascoigne helped to raise the spirits of their Maltese fans.

Still, Italy would have gone three goals up but for Reid who kept out a header by Andrea Silenzi.

The better fitness levels of most of the Italy players gave Italy a clear edge over the English.

The woodwork again came to England's rescue after Bianchi's grounder hit the base of the post.

England threatened but Andrea Pazzagli, who replaced Tacconi at half-time, pulled a fine save off Simon Charlton's volley.

Ten minutes from time, Silenzi sealed the issue for the Italians as his powerful strike beat Reid. The former Torino striker was on target again three minutes later, slotting the ball home from close range.

Before the referee blew his final whistle, Rizzitelli finally hit the target to give Italy an emphatic 5-1 win.

Post-match dinner

Meanwhile, The Times last night received a number of complaints about the lack of organisation at the post-match dinner which was attended by the players that figured in the Legends match at the MFCC in Ta' Qali .

According to eyewitnesses problems arose when the activity was allegedly overbooked and several patrons had to be turned away.

Organisers could not be reached for their comment.

England squad: Andy Goram, Viv Anderson, Ray Parlour, Lee Sharpe, Paul Gascoigne, Chris Waddle, Tony Woodcock, Gary McAllister (captain), Peter Reid, Peter Bonetti, Kerry Dixon, David May, Simon Charlton, Dean Saunders, Mick Hucknall, Trevor Steven, Mark Hateley.

Italy squad: Stefano Tacconi, Luigi Apolloni, Luca Pellegrini, Lorenzo Amoruso, Pietro Vierchowod, Franco Baresi (captain), Giuseppe Baresi, Ruggiero Rizzitelli, Riccardo Ferri, Giuseppe Signori, Dino Baggio, Alessandro Bianchi, Andrea Pazzagli, Massimo Crippa, Moreno Mannini, Giorgio Venturin, Andrea Silenzi, Alessandro Altobelli, Salvatore Schillaci, Sebastiano Nela.

Referee: Dermot Gallagher (Ireland).

Scorers: Hateley 26; Amoruso 32; Franco Baresi 37; Silenzi 80, 83; Rizzitelli 85.