Stylish Silva heads Spain clean sweep

Spain oozed class in every position on the pitch as they dominated the Republic of Ireland from start to finish in their 4-0 Group C triumph in Gdansk. Little surprise then that La Roja monopolised the Castrol EDGE Index for the match, providing all five top performers.

Uncharacteristically quiet in the opening draw with Italy, Manchester City FC playmaker David Silva was the brightest star in Spain's constellation; the skilful 26-year-old was directly involved in three of his side's goals to ensure he finished the match with an Index-leading score of 9.55 – the fourth highest of the tournament so far. 

After Fernando Torres had put Vicente del Bosque's team in front in the fourth minute, Silva was instrumental in tightening their grip on the contest. On 49 minutes he doubled Spain's lead with a coolly-taken finish as he followed up Shay Given's parry. His slide-rule pass then sent Torres through for the striker's second goal before Silva showed the presence of mind to take a quick passed corner that allowed Cesc Fàbregas to rifle in a fourth.

With just 0.1 points separating the top two, Gerard Piqué was unfortunate to miss out after his fine defensive showing, excellent passing and attacking menace. Xavi Hernández's impressive pass completion rate and sharp shooting ensured he completed the top three.

Castrol EDGE Index: Spain v Republic of Ireland
1. David Silva (ESP) 9.55
2. Gerard Piqué (ESP) 9.54
3. Xavi Hernández (ESP) 9.51
4. Fernando Torres (ESP) 9.43
5. Andrés Iniesta (ESP) 9.21

Key facts
2 – Xavi broke two EURO finals records tonight, attempting (136) and completing (127) passes in a single game.

1 – David Silva is the first player to have a hand in three goals during a single UEFA EURO 2012 match (one goal, two assists).

30 – Fernando Torres has now scored 30 goals for Spain.

5 – Ireland have conceded a goal in the opening five minutes of each half in both of their games at UEFA EURO 2012.

20 – Spain got 20 shots on target from 26 efforts on Ireland's goal.

Player view
David Silva: "It was a tough match at the beginning. I made a dummy for my goal and it was a good one. After the Italy game there were a lot of thing said so this was a good result for us."