MX23RW : Tuesday, May 7 00:50:53| >> :600:300759:300759:

UEFA Nations League roundup: Spain beat Switzerland to strengthen grip on first position

The Swiss defence gifted Spain their goal in the 14th minute.

Spain strengthened their position at the top of Nations League Group A4 with a 1-0 win over Switzerland in Madrid.

The Swiss defence gifted Spain the game's only goal in the 14th minute when Sergio Busquets latched onto a stray pass in the penalty area and Mikel Oyarzabal fired past Yann Sommer.

Spain went close again with a header by Manchester City's Ferran Torres, which was palmed away by the Swiss keeper.

Wolves forward Adama Traore was sent on to make his competitive debut as the hour mark approached, but Spain could not conjure a second goal.

Germany battled to a 2-1 away win over Ukraine at the Olympic Stadium.

Borussia Monchengladbach defender Matthias Ginter put Germany in front in the 20th minute when he stabbed in a low cross from Antonio Rudiger on the right.

Defender Matthias Ginter scored the opening goal in Kyiv
Defender Matthias Ginter scored the opening goal in Kyiv (Efrem Lukatsky/AP)

Ukraine goalkeeper Georgiy Bushchan had produced some fine reaction stops, but his handling error saw Germany move 2-0 ahead early in the second half.

Lukas Klostermann floated a deep cross in from the right, which Bushchan spilled onto Leon Goretzka's head and the ball dropped back into the net.

As the hour passed, Dynamo Kyiv winger Viktor Tsygankov shot straight at Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.

With 15 minutes left, Ukraine were awarded a penalty when Roman Yaremchuk was tripped by Niklas Sule, and Ruslan Malinovskyi converted to set up a tense finale.

Germany, though, saw out the closing stages to collect all three points, which moves them two behind Spain in second place.

Elsewhere on Saturday, in Group C1 Montenegro beat Azerbaijan 2-0 to maintain a 100 per cent record from three games.

Luxembourg beat Cyprus 2-0 with a first-half brace from Norwich midfielder Danel Sinani, who is on loan at Belgian club Waasland-Beveren.

Faroe Islands consolidated their position at the top of Group D1 with a 1-1 draw against Latvia in Torshavn, while it finished goalless between Andorra and Malta.

Elsewhere in Group 2, Gibraltar made it two wins from two with a 1-0 victory in Liechtenstein.

ID:417959: cacheID:417959:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:7978:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
France's Olivier Giroud celebrates scoring against Ukraine in an international friendly on October 7, 2020
Read Next:
International roundup: Olivier Giroud passes Michel Platini's goalscoring record for France
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Arsenal36265588286083
2Manchester CityMan City35257387335482
3Liverpool36239481384378
4Aston Villa36207973532067
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs351861169581160
6Newcastle UnitedNewcastle351751378562256
7Chelsea351591170591154
8Manchester UnitedMan Utd35166135255-354
9West Ham UnitedWest Ham361310135670-1449
10Bournemouth36139145263-1148
11Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton351211125357-447
12Wolverhampton WanderersWolves36137164960-1146
13Fulham36128165155-444
14Crystal Palace361110154957-843
15Everton36129153849-1137
16Brentford3699185260-836
17Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest3689194563-1829
18Luton TownLuton3668224978-2926
19Burnley3659223974-3524
RSheffield UnitedSheff Utd36372635100-6516


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!