Spain 2-1 Romania
Spain managed to hold on against the gritty Romanian team in Bucharest to stay perfect in Group F of the Euro 2020 Qualifiers.
Paco Alcacer and Sergio Ramos scored two goals to bring La Roja to victory – all this while having only 10 men in the lineup as Diego Llorente was sent off at the game’s latter stages.
The centre-back was given a red card by the referees after he clumsily clipped the legs of Romanian forward George Puscas just outside the box.
But even with the disadvantage, it was a convincing victory for Coach Robert Moreno who is more than happy to see his team executing his game plan to perfection. He recently replaced Luis Enrique few weeks ago to take the manager position.
Enrique decided to step away from national duty after his daughter died last week due to bone cancer. The Athletic Bilbao boss received some heartwarming tributes to commemorate his child.
With the win, Spain’s Euro 2020 Qualifiers odds of booking a spot for next year’s UEFA Championship are definitely high since they are on top of the table with 15 points, while Romania is at the fourth spot with seven.
Allow SBOBET to re-live some of the best Euro 2020 Qualifiers highlights in this matchup.
Highlights of the game
Spain looked faster and more aggressive from the get-go as Paco Alcacer almost gave his team a quick lead in the match’s first 40 seconds. The BVB Dortmund skipper received a lovely pass from Jesus Navas and he kicked the ball past Ciprian Tatarusanu, but the shot was a bit too wide.
Sergio Ramos had his chance in the eleventh minute when he tried to head one in for La Roja after a corner kick. However, Tatarusanu’s fast reflexes deflected the ball out of harm’s way.
Speaking of Tatarusanu, the Lyon goal keeper was put to work early on as Spain kept on pushing pace while dominating possession. Two minutes after Ramos’ header, Jordi Alba was left in disbelief after his strike gets knocked out of bounds again.
After a foul to Dani Ceballos inside the box by Romania, Sergio Ramos chipped one in via penalty kick to put Spain over the lead before the half-hour mark.
The Robert Moreno-mentored squad came close to doubling their lead after a set-up volley by Rodrigo to Paco Alcacer. However, Tatarusanu was there yet again for Romania.
Fast forward to the start of the second half, Alcacer finally scored a goal of his own for Spain after they probed Romania’s porous defence. Dani Ceballos and Jordi Alba worked their magic by slicing through the yellow wall and they found the cutting Alcacer for an easy finish.
Fabian Ruiz tried to guide one in few minutes later, but his strike curved just outside near the post.
Florin Andone got in the scoreboard right after checking in via a low header off of a clever pass by George Puscas. The 26-year-old striker capitalised on Sergio Ramos lack of attention to give their raucous home fans a sliver of optimism as they tried to mount a comeback.
With Diego Llorente being sent off via a red card after a dangerous challenge to George Puscas, Romanian boss Cosmin Contra had more reason to feel a bit confident at least for the time being.
Robert Moreno’s team had to see out the last 12 minutes with only 10 men after Llorente’s mishap and it was good to see all the other guys stepping up to prevent another Romanian goal.
George Puscas came close for an equaliser in added time, but he was denied multiple times by Kepa Arrizabalaga on those chances to cap off La Roja’s strong display in getting their first ever win in Bucharest, Romania.
Key statistics
To outline La Roja’s dominance in this fixture, they had more total shots (21) and shots on target (10) in this matchup.
They also controlled possession at 75-per cent and their passing was superb as well (759 passes at 91-per cent accuracy)
Paco Alcacer’s goals have been a constant for Spain as he has scored in every outing for his national team so far this season.
Sergio Ramos’ penalty goal was his 10th playing for La Roja, while Florin Andone’s lone goal for Romania was his first for the country since 2015.
What’s next?
La Roja are set to go up against the winless Faroe Islands on Monday at the 30,000-seater Estadio Municipal El Molinon in Gijon, Spain.
Meanwhile, Romania will fly over to Malta to face the home team at the Ta’ Qali National Stadium at the same match date.
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