Poloz tries in vain to get a consolation for his side, but he ends a neat interchange between Zabolotny and himself with a wild effort that sailed wide to Neuer’s right. Goal kick to Germany.
90'
There will be four minutes of stoppage time according to the fourth official.
89'
Play stops and is then restarted after stewards are forced to eject a pitch invader.
87'
More probing football from Die Mannschaft, who gain a corner after Muller’s cross is blocked by Kudryashov.
78'
A. Semenov enters the game and replaces K. Nababkin.
L. Goretzka enters the game and replaces L. Sané.
Like his teammate Gnabry earlier, the excellent Sane gets himself a standing ovation as he trudges off the pitch for Goretzka to replace him.
Semenov comes on in place of Nababkin at right-back in another Russia substitution.
75'
D. Poloz enters the game and replaces A. Ionov.
Ionov comes off for Poloz in Cherchesov’s fifth change of the match.
74'
The hosts switch play around with little difficulty, stretching and tiring their opponents out with constant passes between midfield. Russia have not been a match for them so far.
73'
F. Kudryashov enters the game and replaces K. Rausch.
T. Müller enters the game and replaces S. Gnabry.
The home fans applaud Gnabry off the pitch, as the lively winger is replaced by Muller in another attacking change by Low.
Cherchesov makes another like-for-like swap as marauding left-back Rausch makes way for Kudryashov.
71'
R. Kambolov enters the game and replaces D. Kuzyaev.
The industrious Kuzyaev comes off in place of Kambolov, who slots into midfield as Cherchesov reverts back to a 4-4-1-1 with the intent to limit any further damage.
Minute
Description
70'
N. Schulz enters the game and replaces J. Hector.
Hector is unable to play any further part in the match, and Schulz comes on in his place.
68'
More patient passing play from Germany, but possession ends when Kehrer’s cross is met with a no-nonsense clearance by Neustadter. The home side regroup though, and the ball is back with them to the frustration of their opponents.
65'
S. Rudy enters the game and replaces K. Havertz.
J. Brandt enters the game and replaces T. Werner.
Havertz is rewarded for a positive midfield display with an early rest, as he makes way for the fresh legs of Rudy.
Low is now shuffling the deck, with Werner - the quietest of his front three - coming off for Brandt.
64'
A. Erokhin gets yellow.
Erokhin takes down Hector from behind, earning himself the first booking of the match. The Koln wing-back stays down though, clutching his leg in agony, and is then helped off the pitch by the team medics in order to get treatment.
62'
Neuer nearly causes a mishap in the six-yard box amidst huge pressure from a swarm of red shirts, but he just about manages to catch Ionov’s looping corner at the second attempt after initially spilling the ball.
61'
J. Tah enters the game and replaces A. Rüdiger.
Anton Miranchuk enters the game and replaces Aleksey Miranchuk.
Low makes his first change, with Tah replacing Rudiger in the heart of defence.
Aleksey Miranchuk makes way for his twin brother Anton Miranchuk as Cherchesov continues to ring in the changes.
55'
A. Zabolotny enters the game and replaces Ari.
Zabolotny comes on for Ari in the first player change of the match. The change enables Cherchesov to switch to a more attacking 3-5-2, with Aleksey Miranchuk spearheading the attack with the substitute forward.
49'
Not long afterwards, the hosts break with pace and purpose, but Sane’s left-footed strike after being put through by the tempo-dictating Havertz is saved by Lunev who goes low.
46'
No player changes at the interval for either side, as Germany look to continue their dominance over their abject visitors who have yet to register a shot on target so far.
45'
HALF-TIME: GERMANY 3-0 RUSSIA
Germany get play restarted as the second half gets underway!
44'
Rudiger concedes a corner before Rausch is rained down with rubbish from the crowd, including plastic bottles and paper airplanes. The set-piece leads to nothing though, and it’s the last act of a high-scoring half.
40'
S. Gnabry has scored a goal for Germany! Assist by K. Havertz.
Havertz caps an impressive first-half display with an excellent assist, receiving Sule’s ball and then releasing an exquisitely weighted pass that Gnabry lapped up with aplomb.
GOAL!! AND GERMANY GET THEIR THIRD!! Russia get caught napping again by a rampant home side, as Havertz unlocks the visiting defence with a pin-point throughball that Gnabry runs on to before hitting it past Lunev and nestling it into the top-left corner! 3-0 to the Germans, and they are running riot with half-time on the horizon!
37'
Sane does excellently once again to bamboozle Nababkin, and evades the right-back to whip in a decent cross that none of his teammates could get any contact on. The ball is chested down by Dzhikiya for Lunev to collect.
35'
Ari tries a hopeful one from way outside the box after a rare spell of Russian possession, but all Neuer could do is watch it head high and wide towards row Z.
32'
Lunev goes down low to collect Kehrer’s cross to avoid the incoming Gnabry from creating more danger in the Russia final third. The visitors are getting swarmed at the Red Bull Arena!
30'
Hector doesn’t get the contact he would’ve liked after more excellent wingplay by Gnabry, whose cross found the onrushing left wing-back, but his strike is mishit and Russia gain the goal kick.
25'
N. Süle has scored a goal for Germany! Assist by A. Rüdiger.
Rudiger does excellently to get his head on to Kimmich’s corner despite aerial pressure from the away defence, and its his knockdown which ultimately released Sule for the Bayern defender to convert past Lunev for a two-goal lead!
GOAL! GERMANY DOUBLE THEIR LEAD! The hosts win a corner off Dzhikiya, and Kimmich floats the set-piece in towards the huge figure of Rudiger, but the Chelsea defender can only knock it down towards Sule, who finds himself in space in the penalty area and calmly strokes the ball past Lunev! 2-0 to Low’s youngsters, and they are cruising in Leipzig!
20'
Rausch takes another free-kick - from a further distance than his previous effort - in an attempt to look for Neustadter and Dzhikiya, but the home defence are equal to it and head clear.
18'
Not long after that chance, Germany break clear once more with Werner leading the charge. It ends disappointingly though, as the Leipzig forward loses the ball under his sprinting legs amidst heavy pressure from the visiting defence.
17'
However, Rausch’s long run-up fails to conjure up any set-piece magic as the ball goes well over Neuer’s goal.
16'
Sane fouls Ionov from behind in dangerous free-kick territory. However, with no Golovin to take it, it is Rausch who is standing over it with ominous intent.
14'
Gnabry does well to chest down a long ball from defence, but another last-ditch tackle - this time from Neustadter - takes the ball away from danger and out for another German corner. However, it once again ultimately goes to nothing as Russia clear.
10'
What a brilliant tackle by Dzhikiya there! The Russia defender does extremely well to catch up to Werner who had all the time in the world to run on goal and at Lunev. The ball goes out for a throw-in.
8'
L. Sané has scored a goal for Germany! Assist by S. Gnabry.
Great work by Gnabry there, who outpaces the away defence after being released by Kimmich and also had the wherewithal to spot Sane in space, resulting in the simplest of finishes.
GOAL! SANE BREAKS THE DEADLOCK! The Manchester City winger sidefoots the ball past Lunev after more possession play from the home side conducted by Kimmich, finding Kehrer who picks out Gnabry. The Bayern Munich man outpaces and stretches the visiting defence, and cuts the ball on to the onrushing Sane who finishes with ease! 1-0 to the Germans!
6'
Nababkin concedes the first corner of the match after heading away a Havertz ball that was intended for Sane. The set-piece is promptly headed away, but Germany regroup and retain possession once again.
3'
Ari nearly catches the German backline asleep after trying to get to Aleksey Miranchuk’s throughball, but the debuting forward is flagged for the game’s first offside decision. He’d love nothing more than to mark his international bow with a goal against the former world champions.
2'
Germany are already putting the pressure on the Russian backline, with the pace and pressing of their vibrant front three looking to stamp their authority in the game early on.
Havertz takes a great touch from a Hector long ball and tries to release Sane out on the wing, but Neustadter is quick to pounce and his fellow defenders clear the danger away.
1'
The home side are out in their traditional white shirts with added black striping and black shorts, while the visitors are decked out in red all over.
Referee Sandro Scharer blows his whistle, and Russia get us underway at the Red Bull Arena!
Hello and welcome to our LIVE coverage of this friendly contest as Germany host Russia at the Red Bull Arena in Leipzig!
It’s been a 2018 to forget for Joachim Low, who will still be reeling at their early elimination from the past summer’s World Cup. Their poor form has also carried over to the Nations League, as the former world champions sit bottom of their group having registered only one point from three matches (one draw, two losses). With Die Mannschaft on the verge of being relegated from the top tier of the Nations League, Low will hope to use this home friendly as a chance to regroup his charges and get them back to their customary winning ways.
In stark contrast, Russia’s fortunes have continued to increase after an excellent World Cup campaign, having remained unbeaten in their Nations League group so far (two wins, one draw) and are all but guaranteed of promotion to the competition’s top-tier. Despite this current wave of confidence, Stanislav Cherchesov will have to make do with a severely depleted squad due to various injuries as they attempt to register a first-ever win against their more illustrious opponents.
With 15 minutes to go before kick-off, let’s take a look at how both teams line up, starting with the hosts.
SUBSTITUTES: Guilherme, Anton Shunin, Fedor Kudryashov, Andrey Semenov, Egor Sorokin, Vladislav Ignatjev, Ruslan Kambolov, Anton Miranchuk, Pavel Mogilevets, Fedor Chalov, Dmitriy Poloz, Anton Zabolotny.
RUSSIA XI (4-4-1-1): Andrey Lunev; Kirill Nababkin, Roman Neustadter, Georgi Dzhikiya, Konstantin Rausch; Aleksey Ionov, Yuri Gazinsky (c), Daler Kuzyaev, Aleksey Miranchuk; Aleksandr Erokhin; Ari.
SUBSTITUTES: Bernd Leno, Kevin Trapp, Mats Hummels, Jonathan Tah, Julian Brandt, Leon Goretzka, Sebastian Rudy, Nico Schulz, Thomas Muller, Marco Reus.
GERMANY XI (3-4-3): Manuel Neuer (c); Matthias Ginter, Niklas Sule, Antonio Rudiger; Thilo Kehrer, Joshua Kimmich, Kai Havertz, Jonas Hector; Serge Gnabry, Timo Werner, Leroy Sane.
The fans crank up the noise as the players emerge on to the pitch. Kick-off is drawing near.
Russia, on the other hand, have been below par throughout this contest, making a mockery of their excellent form heading into this friendly. In fairness, they are missing half a dozen of their best players, but their travelling support would’ve expected more of a contest against a Germany team whose recent struggles have been well-documented. A long 45 minutes await Cherchesov’s men if they aren’t careful against their vibrant opponents.
Low will be mightily encouraged with his young charges’ first-half display, ripping apart any Russian resistance with three well-taken goals before the interval. Kimmich and Havertz kept Die Mannschaft’s midfield ticking along nicely while Werner, Gnabry and Sane tormented their markers with their pace and trickery - particularly the latter two. With an all-important match against the Netherlands on the horizon, half-time changes could be made as Low would want to keep things fresh.
It’s Nations League action next up for both sides, with injury-hit Russia looking to secure their passage into League A at bottom-placed Sweden on Tuesday the 20th of November. As for Germany, this win will be a major confidence boost ahead of their crunch match against the Netherlands at home soil on Monday the 19th that could see either side relegated from the group.
And that wraps up our coverage. We hope you enjoyed our commentary, and until next time, goodbye!
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