Mueller denies provoking Pepe red card
Thomas Mueller, Germany’s hat-trick hero yesterday, denied provoking Pepe’s red card in response to allegations on the internet. Mueller assured the press that he did not overplay the Pepe’s hit on his own face.
“I felt Pepe's hit," he said. "I can't influence a red card, and I was not playing for a red card. I would like to see a replay on TV. I hope that it looked okay from my side. I sensed being hit with a fist and it really happened.
When asked about the headbutt that followed the foul, he said ,"What happened after that I cannot tell exactly. I hope it did not look stupid. I did not want to provoke anything but I don't know 100 per cent how I fared in this situation.”
Mueller, however, was extremely delighted with his team’s performance. “Three goals in an opening match against such a strong opponent are something beautiful. One beauty after another. In the full sun it was extremely difficult, especially without the ball. But we sat back a little bit deeper and then went for the counter. We could have scored more with the chances we had,” said Mueller.
"Thomas did a great job," said German boss Joachim Low . "He kept the defence busy, opened up gaps and scored three goals - that's Thomas Mueller. The team was compact, kept the line, did not allow Portugal a lot of chances.”