Russia 1-3 France: 5 talking points
Scorers: Kylian Mbappe 40' 83', Paul Pogba 49', Fedor Smolov 68'
In their second game of the international friendlies this month, France pulled off a relatively easy win against Russia at the Saint Petersburg Stadium on Tuesday. It was a considerable improvement on their previous performance, where they squandered a comfortable two-goal lead against Colombia.
Kylian Mbappe and Paul Pogba were the top performers for France on the night. Their collective effort powered them to a 3-1 victory over the hosts.
Let us look at five talking points from the game:
#5 France back to winning ways
After capitulating to an unexpected defeat against Colombia at home last week, the French team showed its class to get back to winning ways in Russia. The hosts of the upcoming FIFA World Cup were pushed to the backfoot in the first half of the game, courtesy some France's possession play and directness.
Didier Deschamps made seven changes to France's starting line-up from the game against Colombia, thereby exhibiting the enviable bench strength at his disposal.
Falling to the South-American team by throwing away a two-goal lead was a wake-up call for the Les Bleus. They needed a strong performance to shake off that loss and now that they have managed to get it in the very next game, the Frenchmen seem back on track with their preparations for the big tournament.