Spain 1-2 France: 5 hits and flops as Kylian Mbappe strike seals comeback victory for world champions | UEFA Nations League 2020-21
France recovered from a goal down to beat Spain 2-1 to clinch the UEFA Nations League 2020-21 title. Karim Benzema and Kylian Mbappe were on target for Les Bleus as Mikel Oyarzabal's opener for La Roja was wiped out.
In a first half of few chances, both sides fought hard for the ball, but conjured very little opportunities. However, following some back-and-forth action, Spain found the breakthrough in the 64th minute when Oyarzabal shot from close range.
Their lead, though, lasted only a few minutes, as Benzema equalised for the world champions less than two minutes later with a sizzling strike. With the game in the balance once again, extra-time beckoned, but Mbappe drilled home France's second in the 80th minute to seal the deal.
Replays showed he might have a tad offside, but the goal was allowed to stand following a VAR check. France held out for the remainder of the match to win another piece of silverware, erasing the painful memories of their Euro 2020 exit.
HT: Belgium 2-0 France
FT: Belgium 2-3 France
64': Spain 1-0 France
FT: Spain 1-2 France
Les Bleus win the Nations League with back-to-back comeback wins. 🏆 https://t.co/3tL7P8n5uW
Meanwhile, for Spain, it was a good effort with plenty of positives to draw from ahead of next year's Qatar showpiece. On that note, here are the five hits and flops from either team in the match:
Hit: Karim Benzema (France)
Showing up in the big games is Karim Benzema's biggest forte, and he gave Spain a taste of the same with a fabulous goal which triggered France's comeback.
Having struggled to make a real impact till then, the Real Madrid striker found a massive opening in La Roja's defence. After collecting a pass from Mbappe, he set himself up at the edge of the box before curling home a delightful strike.
Spain, who had made the breakthrough just two minutes earlier, saw their lead wiped out in no time.
Karim Benzema has now been directly involved in 20 goals for club & country this season:
◎ 15 games
◉ 12 goals
◎ 8 assists
That strike was special. 🤤 https://t.co/4jijjfw3YC
Benzema had never scored against Spain in five previous clashes. But he finally broke the duck with a peach of goal and on one of most important nights of them all.
Flop: Pablo Sarabia (Spain)
For the second game running, Pablo Sarabia started for Spain, but failed to impress.
The Nations League was a good opportunity for the PSG man to stake a claim in the Spain XI, but he ended up dropping another stinker on the night. Sarabia appeared to have left his shooting boots at home. He first scuffed a half-decent chance straight at Hugo Lloris in the first half. Sarabia then wasted another opportunity after the break despite having acres of space ahead of him.
His communication with Oyarzabal was poor, as the two were almost never on the same wavelength, while Sarabia's passing was atrocious too. Sarabia only completed nine of his 23 passes.
It may take a while before Sarabia starts for Spain again unless there's a genuine lack of options in the squad.