5 things you may have missed as France edge out Germany in drama-filled clash
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France picked up what could be a valuable 2-0 win over Germany to kick off their Euro 2020 campaign in what was a drama-filled encounter in Munich.
The opening goal of the game after 20 minutes as Mats Hummels was unfortunate to turn the ball into his own after a shot from Lucas Hernandez.
The 'Group of Death' clash certainly played out more like a latter stages encounter as both sides appeared relatively cagey.
Karim Benzema thought he'd wrapped up all three points, but his close-range finish was ruled out for offside.
However, fortunately for Les Bleus, it did not come back to bite them, as they managed to get off to a winning start.
Here's five things you may have missed from France's win over Germany.
Keane and Vieira's disagreement
Speaking on ITV ahead of the game, former bitter rivals Roy Keane and Patrick Vieira had a disagreement over Paul Pogba's performances for France and Manchester United.
Keane insisted that he wanted to see more, before Vieira defended his fellow countryman's performance at international level.
To which Keane replied: "He doesn't show that Patrick at United. At club level he doesn't show leadership skills."
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"But he's showing it with France," Vieira responded.
"There's no doubt he's more comfortable in that environment," Keane went on. "But he's been at United previously. He was there previously. That is the frustration."
Parachuter narrowly avoids disaster
There was an utterly bizarre incident just before kick-off as a reported Greenpeace protestor parachuted into the stadium and almost crashed into supporters before being led away by security.
With both sets of players on the pitch, a man flew on a yellow parachute, baring 'KICK OUT OIL', high above the Allianz Arena.
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He then appeared to get his wires tangled in the spider camera, and careered dangerously towards some of the fans present and those sitting in the media suite.
Fortunately he managed to steer his parachute away from the public, and ended up on the pitch in front of the bemused players, who had just finished their warm-up.
He was approach by Chelsea's Antonio Rudiger, who appeared to check on his welfare, before being taken away by security.
Rudiger's "nibble" on Pogba
Germany Antonio Rudiger appeared to move his mouth towards the shoulder France midfielder Pogba during the first half as tensions ran high, prompting accusations of a bite.
The incident was flagged just prior to half-time, and it remains to be seen if UEFA will take retrospective action.
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France legend Vieira said: “When you see that Pogba reaction, it looks like a bite. I don’t really understand what he is trying to do there."
But Keane looked to play it down, adding: “I think it was more of a nibble than a bite. It wasn’t a proper bite but a silly thing to do."
Man Utd target impresses
Rumoured Ole Gunnar Solskjaer target Raphael Varane gave a stellar account of himself at centre-back for France.
The Real Madrid man marshalled the defence perfectly for the vast majority of the game, and was rarely beaten in the air or on the ground.
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If this performance is anything to go by, United could be forgiven for going all out on making the 28-year-old Harry Maguire's new partner.
This will be more food for thought for Solskajer and his team, having watched current Red Devils man Victor Lindelof and rumoured target Pau Torres both put in excellent performances in the 0-0 draw between Sweden and Spain on Monday night.
Euro's record beckons
In what was just the 12th goal this year's European Championships, three own goals have already been scored following Mats Hummels' unfortunate strike.
That is already equal to the most ever scored at a Euro's, which was also back in 2016, meaning just one more in the remaining games will mean this year's crop have a record they don't want on their CV's.
Merih Demiral got things off to a wobbly start as he directed the ball into his own net in the tournament opener, while Poland goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny had the ball rebound off the back of his body.
- ITV
- Paul Pogba
- Euro 2020
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