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Germany hosted Spain at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in what was a brilliant opening game for Group 4 in the UEFA Nations League.
The encounter ended dramatically as José Luis Gayà netted a 96th-minute goal to deny Joachim Löw's men a win. The late goal cancelled out Timo Werner's opener for Die Mannschaft in the 51st minute.
Luis Enrique's men had created enough chances to turn the game on its head in the early minutes of the first and second half. However, things were not clicking for them in the final third. Meanwhile, their opponents spent the majority of the game in their own half, trying to catch their opposition on the break through the likes of Leroy Sane and Werner.
Here are five key talking points from an open game of football which ended fairly for both Germany and Spain.
#5 Thiago Alcantara oozes class
It is safe to say that a midfield-heavy German side had no plans to limit Thiago Alcantara's impact on the game. The Spaniard ran riot in midfield, building play from deep as well as linking up with his forwards in the final third.
Sergio Busquets and the Liverpool-linked midfielder constantly interchanged positions, which made it tougher for İlkay Gündoğan and Julian Draxler to pin them down.
The 29-year-old ended the game with a passing accuracy of 93%, playing a total of 13 long balls and completing 4 dribbles. He was yet again the midfield orchestrator for Spain and the whole world is still stunned at the fact that Bayern Munich are yet to receive official offers for a world-class midfielder like him.
#4 Wasteful day at the office for Germany and Spain
Rodrigo was the man chosen to lead the line for Spain, with Gerard Moreno on the bench for their first game against Germany. Although Rodrigo grew into the game in the second half, the Leeds United centre-forward missed the best chance of the night in the early minutes of the game.
Kevin Trapp was beaten with ease as he failed to read the air ball which fell right on Rodrigo's feet. However, the 20-year-old took more time than he needed to guide the ball into an empty net, giving Trapp a chance to recover the ball.
The two European giants fought tooth and nail to secure the three points but had to settle with one each. Germany would be the one to go home with their heads down, considering they had enough chances to seal the game in the first half. Having said that, Spain wouldn't be too happy with the result either, especially looking back at the goalscoring opportunities they created.
#3 Spain's fluidity in midfield
Fabián Ruiz, Thiago and Sergio Busquets were brilliant at positional play in midfield, often interchanging positions and finding space in between the lines of Germany's three-man defence and midfield.
Despite Germany setting up in a 5-4-1 midblock after Timo Werner's opener, Spain was able to play the ball through the wide areas, creating an overload on both sides of the pitch whenever the ball was played, with Robin Gosens and Thilo Kehrer often being the victims of a numerical disadvantage. The game was there to be won for both sides, and Spain were looking like the favourites to bag the three points.
The equaliser was a result of Thiago's brilliant vision to spot Ferran Torres making a late run into the right wide spaces. The 20-year-old received the pass and played an immaculate cross to find Rodrigo in the box, who's header was guided by Gaya for the equaliser.
Luis Enrique would be happy to continue with the same personnel in midfield going deeper into the competition, with quality options in Rodri, Dani Olmo and Diego Llorente on the bench.
#2 Germany's effective partnership of Leroy Sane and Timo Werner
Germany played a 3-5-2 on paper, which was more of a 3-4-1-2, with Julian Draxler operating at the tip of the midfield while Timo Werner and Leroy Sane played ahead of him, making the in-behind runs during transitions. Spain dominated 60% of the possession which meant they were always open to counter attacks by a pacy front two set up by Joachim Low.
Sergio Ramos and Pau Torres had a tough night keeping the duo quiet. Nearly 40% of Germany's attack came through the middle, as either Werner or Sane, were often spotted latching upon through balls right through the centre of Spain's set-up. Spain's defence were caught 1v1 numerous times but Germany failed to capitalise on several occasions.
Thiago Alcantara often took the auxiliary left-back role to stretch Germany's first line of press and build from the deep. This, however, led to Spain's midfielders getting caught up high up the pitch at times, which opened up spaces in the middle of the pitch for Germany. It was not punished as much as Low would have wanted, but that's a flaw of a very fluid midfield.
#1 Germany relied on pace while Spain succeeded through wing play
Spain had natural width in the wide areas as Ferran Torres and Jesus Navas were chosen by Luis Enrique to run the proceedings. Meanwhile, Robin Gosens and Thilo Kehrer, Germany's wing-backs, were the ones providing width for the home side. In a very open 90 minutes, both the teams were tested to the tee defensively, and a point apiece was only fair.
The Spaniards attempted 20 crosses throughout the game, while Germany had 7. Ferran Torres was Spain's brightest prospect going forward and pretty much ran the game offensively for the side. The equaliser also came courtesy of his inch-perfect cross.
On the other hand, Julian Draxler was given the creativity burden to supply Germany's marksmen upfront. As Kai Havertz was benched, Draxler, with the help of Toni Kroos and İlkay Gündoğan, did a decent job at playing the No.10 role.
Serge Gnabry was obviously a huge miss for Germany and his three defensive substitutions made it easier for Spain to commit bodies forward in search of a goal.
The UEFA Nations League concept has definitely changed the way fans and players consider international games. Rather than treating the games as friendlies, the teams have more intensity and a greater will to win matches.
