The international break is upon us once again and so is the UEFA Nations League. Last night, we saw two of the juggernauts of European football go head to head in the competition as Germany let a one-goal lead slip to draw 1-1 with Spain.
After a goalless first half it was Timo Werner who managed to break the deadlock just after the interval, but in the dying seconds of the game, Jose Gaya scored a dramatic equaliser to salvage a point for the visitors. Today, we re going to take a look at a few of the things we learned from last night s encounter.
Werner looks good
Chelsea paid a lot of money to lure Timo Werner over to Stamford Bridge, and the big worry from some fans is that he isn t going to live up to the hype as many forwards before him have failed to do. Alas, if his finish in this game is anything to go by, we don t think Blues supporters have to worry all too much about the performances he puts out when the new season gets underway.
Rodrigo s redemption
There s going to be a whole lot of pressure on the shoulders of Leeds United striker Rodrigo when he makes his presence known in the Premier League later this month, but against the Germans, he struggled to really get going for large portions of the game. However, after missing a few golden opportunities, he was the one who laid the ball on a plate for Jose Gaya to equalise in injury time.
Deprived Germans
Opposition fans aren t going to cry over Germany being at a disadvantage, because as we all know, they tend to find a way to grind out a win more often than not on the international stage. This time around, though, you can understand why they were frustrated as they were without a handful of players stemming from Bayern Munich s Champions League triumph.
Rivalry renewed
This is the first competitive game these two nations have played against one another since the 2010 FIFA World Cup semi-final which was won by Spain, and prior to that, we all remember the Spaniards getting the win in the UEFA Euro 2008 final. There s no major animosity between the two, but you just know Germany are dying to get one over on them.
Pointless games?
Germany and Spain are both priced at 7/1 with to win next year s European Championship, but nobody can escape the feeling of mediocrity surrounding the fixtures during this international break. Everyone understands that the Nations League serves a purpose, but with the return of domestic football being right around the corner, this wasn t a necessary evil.
