The first heavyweight clash in the 2020 European Championship perspired as France came out triumphant against Germany at the Allianz Arena last night. A Mats Hummels own goal in the first half was enough to clinch a winning start at the EURO 2020 for the world champions, even as two second-half strikes were ruled out – one of which was a classic in its own right if it stood.
The mercurial Kylian Mbappe caused all sorts of problems for the German defenders all night long as he set up one and scored the other of those two disallowed goals. While he set up Karim Benzema in a blistering counterattack, he found the net himself with a brilliant curling effort – but his celebrations were cut short as the goal was ruled out due to a marginal offside decision.
Mbappe looked menacing with the ball on the left flank – he looked determined to cut in on his right and fire a shot on goal every time that he could. It was in the 66th minute when he was set loose by Paul Pogba, and he found himself one on one with Joshua Kimmich at right wing-back. Germany, all too aware of his blistering pace, chose to jockey him rather than close him down.
But Mbappe meant serious business, as the PSG forward advanced with the ball while the German defenders backed off. He went left and he went right, dummied a shot that took Kimmich out of the equation – and fired in an accurate shot that rifled into the bottom right corner as Manuel Neuer had no chance. Mbappe wheeled away in celebration, but his joy was short-lived as he looked over his shoulder to see that the linesman’s flag was up.
It was in its own right, a EURO classic if it stood – but unfortunately for the 22-year-old, he would have to wait a while longer to get his first goal at the European Championship. But knowing his calibre and quality, it is a safe bet to predict that it will arrive very soon – maybe as early as Les Bleus’ next Group F match against Hungary.
Mbappe v Kimmich was one of the battles to look out for before the game started. The PSG virtuoso was the comfortable winner here as he had the Bayern Munich star dancing to his tune. Check out Mbappe’s disallowed goal against Germany below –
