CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Borussia Dortmund wins 7:1 against Scottish Champion Celtic Glasgow

October 2024: Celtic Glasgow, described as the ‘Invincibles’ after not losing a competitive match since the beginning of March, were outclassed in Dortmund’s Signal Iduna stadium. Glasgow coach Brendan Rodgers opted not to rotate his side after the 6-0 thumping of FC St Johnstone in the Scottish Premier League. It was Karim Adeyemi's evening - at least in the first half of the match, because after his first action after the restart, Adeyemi held his thigh, went to the ground, and finally headed for the dressing room in bitter disappointment.

 

Results, Matchday 2 (1 and 2 October 2024)

VfB Stuttgart 1 : 1 Sparta Prague

Borussia Dortmund 7 : 1 Celtic Glasgow

Bayer Leverkusen 1 : 0 AC Milan

RB Leipzig 2 : 3 Juventus Turin

Aston Villa 1 : 0 Bayern München (Munich)

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Standing of German teams after Matchday 2 (1 and 2 October)

1 Borussia Dortmund, 6 points (2 matches played)

4 Bayer Leverkusen, 6 points (2 matches played)

9 Bayern München (Munich), 3 points (2 matches played)

=24 VfB Stuttgart, 1 point (2 matches played)

29 RB Leipzig, 0 points (2 matches played)

 

Matchday 3 (22 and 23 October)

Juventus vs VfB Stuttgart

Real Madrid vs Borussia Dortmund

Brest vs Bayer Leverkusen

RB Leipzig vs FC Liverpool

Barcelona vs Bayern München (Munich)

 

On other pages: German Football Index 2024/25 |

 

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NATIONS LEAGUE

Germany draws 2:2 against an adventurous Dutch side

September 2024: The German national team remains unbeaten in the 2024/25 UEFA Nations League season. In Amsterdam, the team of German coach Julian Nagelsmann drew 2:2 (2:1) with the Netherlands. Dutch player Tijjani Reijnders shocked the German team early on (2), but Deniz Undav (38) with his first international goal and captain Joshua Kimmich (45+3) turned the game around before the break. However, Denzel Dumfries equalised for the Netherlands early in the match's second half.

 

Nagelsmann relied on ten players from the 5-0 opening win against Hungary. Nico Schlotterbeck and Jonathan Tah formed the central defence in front of keeper Marc-André ter Stegen, with David Raum and Kimmich completing the back four. In defensive midfield, Pascal Groß and Robert Andrich were tasked with keeping things tidy, while Florian Wirtz and Jamal Musiala provided the offence. Kai Havertz and Undav, who replaced the injured Niclas Füllkrug on his starting debut, formed the front two.

 

The German team failed to get off to a good start: After a quick switch, Reijnders ran into goalkeeper André ter Stegen and gave the German number one no chance to defend. In the ninth minute, the German team meddled offensively for the first time, but Dutch keeper Bart Verbruggen cleared from the edge of the penalty area. A short time later, Havertz hit the outside of the net from 13 metres (11').

 

German coach Julian Nagelsmann said after the match: “It was an entertaining game that started badly for us. It was a situation we had to defend in a better way. But after we conceded the goal we came back really strongly. We scored two goals and I think it was deserved that we were in the lead at half-time.”

 

“Ten minutes into the second half we were kind of struggling because the pressure got a bit higher. Sometimes we had to find easier solutions in possession and win the ball in our half. Then we lost a goal and it was also a situation in which we could defend in a better way. After that, we had the better chances to score a third goal. We were a bit closer to the win than the Dutch.”

 

But Nagelsmann would not be drawn when asked if he thought the German team was back among the best in the world. Without singling out individual players, he said Germany had a lot of world-class footballers. He gave the impression that he had the core of the team with which he wanted to compete in the 2026 World Championship. “The often-derided Nations League plays an important role for the German team on the road to the 2026 World Cup.”

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Sources: UEFA Nations League, DFB (German Football Association)

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On other pages: German Football Index 2024/25 |

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NATIONS LEAGUE

New-look German football team wins Nation League opener

September 2024: The German national football team won its Nations League opener on 7 September 2024. The DFB (German Football Association) side defeated the team from Hungary 5:0 (1:0) in Düsseldorf.

 

In the first international match after the 2024 European Championship in Germany, national coach Julian Nagelsmann had to replace four stalwarts of the German national side. Toni Kroos, Thomas Müller, Ilkay Gündogan and Manuel Neuer all retired from the national team. Joshua Kimmich, Jonathan Tah, Nico Schlotterbeck and David Raum defended in front of the new number 1, Marc-André ter Stegen. In front of them, Pascal Groß and Robert Andrich formed the double six. Florian Wirtz, Kai Havertz and Jamal Musiala and centre-forward Niclas Füllkrug were the main players in attack.

 

Niclas Füllkrug completed a fine combination to take the lead in the 27th minute, after the break Jamal Musiala was rewarded for his counter-attack across half the pitch to make it 2:0. A short time later Florian Wirtz had it too easy with his finish and scored the third goal of the evening. Aleksandar Pavlovic made it 4:0 with his debut goal. Kai Havertz rounded off the scoring with a penalty.

 

At the post-match press conference, German head coach Julian Nagelsmann complimented the chemistry of the German team. “I thought the start of the game, the first five to ten minutes, we were a bit sloppy and had some misplaced passes. After that, we were very dominant, had good control and created a lot of chances. We should have scored more in the first half so we need to develop a killer instinct to decide games earlier. The chemistry in the team is there and as long as that's the case, we can always improve. It’s normal for everyone to talk about the four departing players [Neuer, Gündogan, Kroos and Müller], but we’re moving forward with a new team. This was a perfect start in that regard.”

 

Player of the match Jamal Musiala added: “"We lost four big characters on and off the pitch and others have to step up into the gaps. The more games we have, we can build up the chemistry and a feel for one another as we keep trying to win every game. We want to win every game in the Nations League and use every game to improve."

 

Sources: UEFA Nations League, DFB (German Football Association)

 

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On other pages: The German Footbal Index 2024/25 |

 

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