Klopp's first Germany match: two BVB stars impress | OneFootball

Jürgen Klopp began his tenure as Germany head coach with a 1-1 draw against the Netherlands. Despite the late equalizer, there were two reasons for Dortmund to be pleased: Nico Schlotterbeck and Felix Nmecha both impressed in the Nations League opener.

Germany may have been denied the win they had hoped for in their first match under Jürgen Klopp. After Felix Nmecha had given them the lead, the DFB team ultimately had to settle for a 1-1 draw in Amsterdam. Cody Gakpo grabbed the equalizer in the closing stages.

For the two BVB players, Nico Schlotterbeck and Felix Nmecha, it was still a successful evening. Both were in Klopp’s starting lineup and received good ratings for their performances.

Schlotterbeck impresses in build-up play

Schlotterbeck made a solid impression defensively. The Dortmund center-back played with confidence for long stretches and was particularly effective in the air. The 26-year-old made eight clearances in total, five of them with his head.

However, Schlotterbeck was especially impressive on the ball. The center-back completed 50 of his 59 passes. His diagonal balls in particular, which he frequently used to find Phillip Treu, repeatedly caused problems for the Dutch.

The individual ratings from Fußball-News were correspondingly positive as well. Schlotterbeck was given a rating of 2. In doing so, he also underlined his importance to Germany’s defense while wearing the DFB shirt. Over the full 90 minutes, he looked focused and assured and was one of the more noticeable players in the German team.

Nmecha scores important first goal

Even more eye-catching was Felix Nmecha, who was responsible for Klopp’s first goal as head coach. The midfielder reacted quickly in the box and finished from close range to put Germany ahead. Head coach Jürgen Klopp also praised his positioning in the penalty area.

“Good cross, good run – Felix Nmecha was where he needed to be and smashed the ball in,” Klopp said.

Photo: IMAGO

Fußball-News also gave his performance a rating of 2 and praised the way Nmecha carried out his duties in central midfield “without fault.” Unlike Schlotterbeck, however, Nmecha did not stay on the pitch for the full match and was substituted in the 64th minute for Anton Stach.

For Nmecha, the goal was also a special moment: the Dortmund man scored Germany’s first goal of Klopp’s tenure and underlined his ambitions in the new-look DFB team.

For BVB, the performances of the two internationals will therefore have been encouraging. While Schlotterbeck impressed in defense, Nmecha made an attacking statement with his goal. Klopp may have been denied the perfect start by the late Dutch equalizer, but the two Dortmund players still made a strong case for themselves.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.