Klopp finally off the mark as Germany boss

After falling short in his first two games in charge, Jurgen Klopp picked up his first win as Germany boss with a 2-0 victory over Serbia in the UEFA Nations League at the Allianz Arena. The former Liverpool manager had watched his side draw 1-1 with the Netherlands and suffer a surprise 1-0 defeat to Greece in his opening fixtures — the latter a result he was seeking to put right against Serbia.

Germany started on the front foot. Aleksandar Pavlovic curled narrowly wide before Nick Woltemade sent a header off target, while Gnabry dragged an effort wide of the left post in the 18th minute following a brilliant pass from Florian Wirtz. Serbia goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic was then on hand to deny both Gnabry and Wirtz with two brilliant saves, but he could do nothing when Tom Bischof fired into the roof of the net after Wirtz's initial effort bounced back off the post, six minutes before half-time.

Germany continued to push either side of the break, with Petrovic tipping a fierce attempt from Bischof over the bar before Said El Mala's deflected strike landed just wide of the right post after the restart. Woltemade inexplicably fired over from mere yards out from Philipp Treu's cross, but Germany doubled their lead just past the hour as Wirtz showed brilliant skill to take in a pass from Maximilian Mittelstadt and dribble past Srdjan Babic before scoring.

Serbia's first, and only, shot came in the 78th minute as Jonas Urbig — handed his senior international debut in this fixture — easily dealt with a long-range attempt from Filip Kostic, as Germany's dominance on the ball was too much for the visitors to handle.

Wirtz silences club doubts

The only criticism Klopp could possibly give his side related to their wastefulness in front of goal, as they scored just twice despite accumulating 3.82 expected goals (xG) from 32 shots, six of which were Opta-defined big chances. Germany had as many shots on goal in the first half (16) as they managed in their entire previous match against Greece.

But the former Liverpool boss will take great joy from the performance of current Reds player Wirtz. Despite his struggles at club level this term, Wirtz was at his best for Germany against Serbia. He created a match-high six chances, recorded the most touches in the opposition box (eight) and completed two of his three dribbles, while also playing a key role in Bischof's opener. Klopp's biggest smile on the touchline came when Wirtz regained possession in the final third.

"Flo Wirtz's footballing abilities are beyond any doubt," Klopp had said ahead of the match, wary of discussing a Liverpool player in detail as the club's former manager. "We will work together on making sure he can show them on the pitch again every thr —"

Wirtz scored his 12th goal for Germany at the age of 21 years and 37 days; only Edmund Conen in 1935 (20 years, 281 days) and Lukas Podolski in 2006 (20 years, 357 days) reached that milestone for the German national team at a younger age.