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Mikel Oyarzabal pounced on a slip of terror from Swiss captain Granit Xhaka to seal Spain’s 1-0 Nations League victory on Saturday. In the other match of the night in Group 4 of League A, Germany beat Ukraine 2-1 in Kiev. At Madrid’s Alfredo Di Stefano Stadium, normally home to Real Madrid’s second team, Real Sociedad forward Oyarzabal scored in the 14th minute. The Swiss boldly tried to play from behind, but Xhaka slipped as he tried to pick up the goalkeeper’s pass. Yann Sommer.
Mikel Merino pounced and passed the ball to his teammate Oyarzabal, who superbly finished off Sommer.
“I am happy for the victory and for scoring three points,” Oyarzabal told Spanish television.
“We knew that (Switzerland) was a powerful team, that they liked to play a lot and that they had fewer points than they deserved.
“We also knew that they were risking a lot from behind and we wanted to put pressure on them because we believed we could steal and hurt them and that’s how it was.”
Oyarzabal had a golden opportunity to double his account in the 52nd minute.
Switzerland again struggled to clear their lines, Jesús Navas took a cross shot into the area that Sommer could only push in the way of Oyarzabal.
The forward’s effort, however, hit the post and he was deflected.
Then it was Merino’s turn to scratch another prime opportunity. At the hour, a poorly cleared corner landed on his disadvantaged right foot and shot high and wide directly in front of the goal.
Sergio Ramos then saw a protected effort by Xhaka before a header went wide moments later with Spain in the driver’s seat.
Switzerland thought they had a draw when Xherdan Shaqiri pivoted and sent the ball spiraling into the Spanish net.
But this was not the case when the referee handed Atalanta’s Remo Freuler a yellow card for a foul on Sergio Busquets in preparation.
It was then Gerard Moreno’s turn to shoot high after a clever turn and turn in front of the Swiss goal after a nice ball from Sergio Canales.
Undefeated streak extended
Luis Enrique’s men were then content to watch the game, extending their current unbeaten streak to 14. Nor have they lost in Madrid in 20 games dating back to 1987.
“It was not an easy game, it was not a game in which we have been especially fluid,” said Enrique.
“We took advantage of strong pressure to score the goal and then we had more opportunities to close the game, but without luck.”
The Spaniards top their group, having started with a creditable 1-1 draw away against Germany before a brilliant 4-0 win over Ukraine, which they now face on Tuesday.
In Kiev, Germany claimed their first win in their Nations League group with a 2-1 away win over the Ukrainians.
Defender Matthias Ginter gave Germany a lead in the first half, then Leon Goretzka capitalized on a horrible mistake by the Ukrainian goalkeeper before Ruslan Malinovskyi converted a late penalty for the hosts.
Germany coach Joachim Loew said he was “satisfied” with the away win, but admitted that “we should have been three or four goals ahead before they scored.”
“In some phases we give the ball away too easily.”
After drawing their opening Nations League matches against Spain and Switzerland, and then being tied 3-3 by Turkey in a friendly on Wednesday, the victory brought Germany to second place in the group behind Spain.
However, Germany can look forward to a much tougher task against the Swiss in Cologne on Tuesday and should have scored more after enjoying around 75% possession against a weakened Ukraine side.
Promoted
In the night’s other matches, Luxembourg beat Cyprus 2-0 and Montenegro edged Azerbaijan by the same score in Group 1 of League C.
In League D action, the Faroe Islands drew 1-1 at home against Latvia and Andorra fought a goalless draw with Malta in Group 1, while Gibraltar edged Liechtenstein 1-0 in Group 2.
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