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England registered their first win in Spain since 1987 when they came out 3-2 winners against La Roja after what proved to be a riveting clash at the Estadio Benito Villamarin on Monday night. Gareth Southgate's men got off their blocks in tremendous fashion and worked their way to a healthy three-goal lead by the end of the first-half.
Raheem Sterling opened the scoring in the 16th minute to put an end to his three-year goal drought for the national team when he dispatched an unstoppable shot that soared into the top corner before the visitors extended their lead through Marcus Rashford just 13 minutes later.
Sterling added a second in the 38th minute, after a neat and precise passage of play by England, when he got on the end of a cut-back from Harry Kane. Despite their staggering start, the hosts came out firing on all cylinders in the second half and pulled a goal back in the 58th minute through Paco Alacacer, who scored with a header shortly after his introduction.
Luis Enrique's men continued to push forward but were undone by a resolute England defence that dug in deep, determined to come out with a win. Sergio Ramos pulled one more back in the final minute of stoppage time but it was a little too late for Spain to salvage a point as the referee blew the whistle right after the goal was scored to call curtains on a pulsating encounter.
The result meant that Group 4 in League A of the UEFA Nations League is still wide open but Spain continue to remain at the top with six points compared to England's four from the three games played so far. On that note, let's take a closer look at the best and worst performers from the game:
#5 Hit - Jordan Pickford
Despite conceding two goals at the end of the night, Jordan Pickford managed to punch above his weight on a number of instances throughout the game. Prior to this game, Spain had scored 42 goals in their previous 10 international fixtures and hence keeping a clean sheet was perhaps too much to ask from the England custodian.
However, Pickford managed to make a few crucial blocks in the opening stages of the game and did not wilt under the pressing from the home side as he received the ball and played it out from the back with good effect. The Englishman also displayed his excellent distribution skills when he initiated the moves that helped both Raheem Sterling and Marcus Rashford bag their goals.
The 24-year-old almost self-destructed when he tried to do too much with the ball at his feet against Rodrigo but recovered just in a time to clear the ball and prevent the striker from pouncing on and halving the deficit in the second half. Barring that heart-in-the-mouth moment, Pickford looked assured and comfortable between the sticks for the visitors.
#4 Flop - Rodrigo
Rodrigo, who was preferred ahead of Paco Alcacer in the starting eleven, struggled to make an impact on the night and hardly stood out as a focal point in attack for the hosts. The striker had scored the winner for Spain when the two teams met at Wembley last month but it was simply not meant to be for him this time around as he enjoyed a very silent outing.
The 27-year-old, who has scored more goals for Spain this season than for his club Valencia, never looked like causing the England defence any problems whatsoever and his only notable contribution came in the second half when he almost forced Jordan Pickford into making what could have been a costly error.
The Brazilian-born Spain international was replaced in the 72nd minute by Alvaro Morata as a part of Luis Enrique's last roll of the dice to try and salvage something from the game.
#3 Hit - Raheem Sterling
It took Raheem Sterling just 22 minutes to double his goal tally for the England national team with a well-taken brace in a high-octane first half performance at the Estadio Benito Villamarin. The winger's last goal for the Three Lions came during a Euro 2016 qualifier against Estonia back in October 2015, exactly 1,102 days before the memorable night in Seville.
Sterling dispatched an unstoppable shot into the top corner, after being on the receiving end of an inch-perfect pass from Marcus Rashford, to break the deadlock before netting his second of the night courtesy of a close range tap-in after some commendable work by Harry Kane, who made a run and pulled it back across goal to create the chance.
The goals will come as a huge relief to the player, who has been under the scanner for quite sometime now due to his inability to replicate his goal-scoring form for Manchester City at the international stage. Furthermore, Sterling's performance on the night will prove to be the perfect riposte to his critics.
#2 Flop - Iago Aspas
Iago Aspas did nothing noteworthy on the night and struggled to keep up with the energetic Ben Chilwell, who looked strong at the back for the second game in the running. The Spaniard found it difficult to launch direct runs at his counterpart and showed no urgency to try and force the initiative in order to mount a serious challenge on the opposition.
The forward offered very little while going forward and flattered to deceive inside the final third and was hardly given any freedom to operate effectively down the flanks. The 31-year-old was probably the least involved player on the pitch and it almost felt like he was never even on the pitch for the majority of the game.
Unsurprisingly, he was one of the first players to come off in the second half as Luis Enrique ran out of patience while Spain continued to chase the game after the restart.
#1 Hit - Harry Kane
The game marked Harry Kane's seventh international outing without a goal for England but statistics like that hardly ever matter when he performs with that sort of intensity and determination. The striker registered two assists on the night and also played a crucial role during the build-up to Raheem Sterling's opening goal in the 16th minute.
Kane brilliantly found Marcus Rashford out wide before the Manchester United winger found Sterling with a perfect pass to break the deadlock under the lights in Seville. However, just 13 minutes later he turned provider for Rashford with some old-fashioned centre-forward play when he shielded the ball and held it up confidently before launching a brilliant through ball for the goal.
The England captain added another assist in the 38th minute when he made a perfectly-timed run behind the hosts' defence to get on the end of a lob from Ross Barkley before he squared it back towards the goal for Sterling to bag his second of the night. Kane's contributions did not end there as he often dropped deep down into his own half to preserve the lead and was also sharp and resilient while defending from set-pieces to cap off an all-around performance.
