One of the pre-tournament favorites, Italy crashed to an unexpected 1-0 defeat at the hands of Serbia in its opening match of the European Under 21 Championship on Monday.

Dejan Milovanovic scored the only goal of the match in the 63rd minute to help Serbia win the match against a team that has already won the tournament five times. Italy would no doubt be brooding over a number of missed chances that came its way. The Azzurri had three great chances in the first half to take the lead, but were unable to provide the finishing touch.

Serbia coach Miroslav Djukic's prediction of Italy concentrating on counter attack proved true as Serbia had the lion's share of possession in the early stages of the first half. But the Azzurri are known for their defending prowess and it was true as Serbia struggled to create a clear chance even though it dominated the proceedings.

However it was Italy that managed to create the first chance of the match when Raffaele Palladino and Alberto Aquilani combined to provide a chance for Giampaolo Pazzini. But the Fiorentina striker's shot just slipped wide of the target.

Italy keeper Gianluca Curci had to be withdrawn early on in the game due to injury, but substitute Emiliano Viviano had very little to do as Serbia was finding it very difficult to breach the solid Italian defense. At the other end, Italy looked odds-on favorite to score the first goal of the match as keeper Damir Kahriman had to be alert to deny Riccardo Montolivo and Palladino.

Palladino had the best chance of the match for Italy, when he managed to shrug off the Serbian offside trap and latch on to a splendid long ball by Alessandro Rosina. However the Juventus striker somehow managed to drag the ball wide of the target.

Serbia came out into the second half with renewed vigor and could have scored through Milan Smiljanic only for Viviano to make a great save. Three minutes after the hour mark, Serbia took the lead through Milovanovic. Bosko Jankovic flicked the ball into the path of Milovanovic and the 23-year old striker made no mistake in placing the ball into the net.

Italy next face England on Thursday while Serbia will play against Czech Republic.