He did a few of his counter-intuitive runs! Pepe didn't fall for it more than once or twice but it happened!
It was a cagey, frightened, cautious performance from both teams. Both knew the Dutch had been defeated. Portugal would have been happy with a draw, I think (hard to tell - they looked like they were playing for one, but perhaps they couldn't get the ball away from Germany's superior midfield - because haphazard as it was, it was still superior).
Germany immediately defended their lead - the way you do in a knock-out game. The teams were not behaving, in other words, like teams in a group stage.
The end of the game left the greatest impression on those who chose Neuer or Hummels as man-of-the-match. I think a fair assessment of the whole match is that it was Mesut. He had by far the most touches, ran the furthest, and made the best final passes.
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It was a cagey, frightened, cautious performance from both teams. Both knew the Dutch had been defeated. Portugal would have been happy with a draw, I think (hard to tell - they looked like they were playing for one, but perhaps they couldn't get the ball away from Germany's superior midfield - because haphazard as it was, it was still superior).
Germany immediately defended their lead - the way you do in a knock-out game. The teams were not behaving, in other words, like teams in a group stage.
The end of the game left the greatest impression on those who chose Neuer or Hummels as man-of-the-match. I think a fair assessment of the whole match is that it was Mesut. He had by far the most touches, ran the furthest, and made the best final passes.
I thought Sami was outstanding too.