France 2-0 Germany
France 2-0 Germany: Giroud & Gignac on target to down world champions
Olivier Giroud and Andre-Pierre Gignac were on target but it was Anthony
Martial who stole the show as France beat Germany 2-0 on Friday.
The
Euro 2016 hosts welcomed Germany to Paris having won their last four
games on the spin and extended the run to five thanks to Giroud and
Gignac, although the match was heavily overshadowed by reports of
shootings and bomb blasts elsewhere in the French capital.
The security threat prompted French president Francois Hollande to leave the stadium midway through the game.
Martial
beat three defenders on a slaloming run down the left byline before
teeing up Giroud for the opener in first-half injury time and Gignac -
who came on for Giroud in the second half - headed home a second four
minutes from the end as Didier Deschamps' men gained a measure of
revenge for their 1-0 defeat to the world champions in the World Cup
quarter-finals last year.
France were without Karim Benzema and
Mathieu Valbuena due to the much-publicised legal case surrounding a sex
tape and the pair's absence was felt as the hosts struggled to break
Germany down.
Both teams found chances difficult to come by in
the opening half hour and it was not until the 35th minute, shortly
after Germany defender Jonas Hector had limped off to be replaced by
Emre Can, that Thomas Muller spurned the game's first real opportunity
by firing a half-volley narrowly over at the near post.
Mario
Gomez then shot into the side-netting as Germany began to take control
and the recalled Fiorentina striker should have given Joachim Low's men
the lead when he lashed over from 10 yards out after being played
through by Muller.
Germany were punished for Gomez's profligacy thanks to a sparkling piece of play from Martial on the stroke of half-time.
Martial
picked up the ball on the left and cleverly jinked his way past the
challenges of Antonio Rudiger and Matthias Ginter before sliding the
ball under the legs of Jerome Boateng and into the path of Giroud to slot the ball beyond Manuel Neuer.
Giroud
was presented with an excellent chance to double his tally in the 57th
minute from Antoine Griezmann's wonderful right-wing cross but could
only direct his diving header well wide of the target.
Paul Pogba then stung the palms of Neuer, who was forced to turn over from the Juventus midfielder's vicious long-range effort.
Muller beat France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris with a drive from distance only to see his shot rebound off the left-hand post, with Gignac then settling matters as he powered Blaise Matuidi's left-wing delivery into the net.
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