Germany win penalty as Goretzka poleaxed by studs-to-face foul more like UFC

Germany were awarded a penalty when Leon Goretzka was taken out by a brutal boot to the face which was drew comparisons to a UFC move.

The Bayern Munich midfielder was going up to win a cross in his nation's World Cup qualifier against minnows Liechtenstein with barely seven minutes gone in the match.

But centre-back Jens Hofer took the phrase 'let them know you're there early' a bit too far, launching his left boot into the side of his opponent's head.

Goretzka looked shellshocked as he crumpled in a heap on the floor, while Hofer, who plays in the Swiss fifth tier, was shown a red card.

The challenge was so bad it had one Twitter account questioning: "Has there ever been a more obvious red card?"

And the accuracy of the head kick led one fan to write: "World Cup qualifiers' new UFC rules are amazing. What's next?"

"Some player actions, should be addressed in the courtroom," claimed a shocked viewer.

But some leapt to his defence: "It didn't look like he ever saw him and was right there with him right away to make sure he was alright. Definitely a red but also not malicious."

Can you recall a foul worse than this? Let us know in the comments section.

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Goretzka trooped on in the match despite the heavy blow, but was then replaced at half-time.

It's fair to say his country weren't impacted by it, though, as they had already raced into a four-nil lead by the break.

Manchester City star Ilkay Gundogan converted the resulting spot kick while a further three goals in the space of four minutes added to the lead.

And Germany scored five more times in the second half to record a 9-0 win.

Lichtenstein, who are 190th in FIFA's mens rankings, remain rock bottom of Group A with just one point and a minus 30 goal difference.

Germany manager Hansi Flick provided an update on Goretzka post-match.

He said: "He has been examined again. I assume that he can also [travel with us] to Armenia on Saturday. We need him.

"He is very important. He strengthens the defensive and wins the ball importantly ball wins. He would also have continued playing, but we didn't want to take any chances."

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