Germany 3-0 Russia
Germany got back to winning ways tonight at the Red Bull Arena in Leipzig with a first-half blitz to knock a confident Russia back down to size.
The returning Leroy Sane set Joachim Low’s team on its way at just eight minutes. It was done and dusted before the half-time whistle, as Serge Gnabry and Niklas Sule added to the score. This International Friendly match was a chance for Germany to shake out of their recent slumber, and also for Russia to keep up their winning momentum. And in the night the football world order was emphatically restored, Russia head coach Stanislav Cherchesov can have no complaints.
In view of the recent trials suffered by the Germany team, this was a friendly they desperately wanted to win. It may not entirely banish the memory of a disastrous summer, but it might just give them some confidence as they return to competitive action in the UEFA Nations League.
The pre-match International Friendly odds of 1.30 for a home win didn’t look quite so mean after a first half completely dominated by the hosts.
Highlights of the game
There was plenty of pressure on Germany tonight. And unfortunately for Low, Julian Draxler was withdrawn from this squad for personal reasons; but Leroy Sane has been welcomed back into the fold after his omission from the World Cup squad. The Manchester City man made his point in just the eighth minute. Serge Gnabry found him in the centre of the box and Sane had all the time he needed to slot the ball home low into the left corner.
It was 2-0 midway through the half when slack Russian marking from a corner allowed Antonio Rudiger’s header to reach Niklas Sule, and the FC Bayern man fired the ball home.
Minutes before the break, it was game over. Gnabry picked up a through ball from Kai Havertz and smashed his shot from outside the box into the top left corner. 3-0.
Russia did have the odd foray into German territory. They had the first effort of the second half as Aleksei Ionov shoot it wide. Sane then came close to making it four, but his low shot from distance was well saved by Andrey Lunev.
The game became a little scrappy as the second half wore on. With the game already in Germany’s pocket, it looked like Russia was happy to stick at 3-0 as the hosts could largely stroll around with the ball. It’s been a while since Low’s team has had that luxury!
There was a flurry of chances in the last ten minutes, Yuri Gazinskiy, blasting over for the visitors and Germany’s Thilo Kehrer had a header saved before Julian Brandt had a last minute effort blocked.
Key Statistics
SBOBET odds of 1.98, Germany was good value to win with a -1.50 handicap, and they’d done the job by the break.
But while Germany had 67 per cent possession, it wasn’t all one way traffic as Russia had eight shots to the hosts’ 13. Cherchesov’s team didn’t threaten Germany’s goal though, failing to get one shot on target while Lows’ men managed seven.
Germany have finally got a win after back-to-back defeats. And it’s a setback for the visitors, who arrived in Leipzig with three wins in four since the World Cup. The tournament transformed the mood of a nation, but this was a big reality check.
International friendly 2018 results matter little, but Germany would be proud with their win. They now stand 4-1-0 (win-draw-loss) against the Russians.
Fenerbahce’s Roman Neustadter was the only player from outside the Russian league starting the game. On this evidence, maybe Cherchesov should try to find some more.
What’s next?
With just a solitary point so far in the UEFA Nations League, Germany sits at the bottom of Group A1 and has another huge game next Monday when the Netherlands are the visitors. After his World Cup experience, Joachim Low won’t be happy at the prospect of finishing bottom of the group in this new competition!
In contrast, Russia has started well in Group B2 of the UEFA Nations League, top on seven points and they have the chance to pull further ahead on Tuesday in Sweden. It’s another difficult trip for Cherchesov’s team, but the Swedes have only taken one point from their opening two games. That was a 0-0 draw against Russia and I expect the return will be equally as tight against the dogged Swedes.
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