Berlin: Two quick first-half goals paved the way for Belgium’s first win over Germany since 1954 following a 3-2 away victory.
The Red Devils took the reins from the start and made a perfect start on the road as Kevin De Bruyne’s through ball sent Yannick Carrasco, who finished the job with the opener into the roof of the net with six minutes played on Tuesday night.
De Bruyne remained in the thick of things and kept Germany’s defense busy as Romelu Lukaku doubled the lead courtesy of De Bruyne’s defense-splitting pass three minutes later.
Germany couldn’t keep Belgium at bay and were lucky in the 19th minute when Dodi Lukebakio failed to make it 3-0 after missing the target with only goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen to beat.
Amadou Onana should have scored two minutes later, but the midfielder could only rattle the woodwork from close range.
Germany gained a foothold into the clash as the match progressed and halved the deficit in the closing stages of the first half as Niclas Fullkrug converted a penalty to mark his sixth goal in as many outings, a Xinhua report said.
After the restart, Germany turned up and created more momentum as Timo Werner pulled wide from a promising position in the 65th minute before Joshua Kimmich’s long-range effort forced Belgium custodian Koen Casteels into action five minutes later.
Just when Germany seemed about to take over, Belgium restored their two-goal lead out of the blue in the 78th minute when Leandro Trossard’s square pass allowed De Bruyne to finish off a counterattack with a one-timer.
Germany’s resistance still wasn’t broken as Serge Gnabry’s solo run almost made it 3-2 in the 84th minute.
The hosts kept it going and were rewarded three minutes later when Gnabry latched onto Kevin Schade’s cutback.
Hansi Flick’s side pressed frenetically for an equalizer, but Belgium’s defense stood firm to snatch their second straight victory under new coach Domenico Tedesco.
“We played too passively. We couldn’t put pressure on Belgium where they showed no mercy in front of the target. We made too many mistakes, but we showed our will in the second half,” said Germany coach Flick.
–IANS