Mitchell Weiser’s first-half header proved pivotal in helping Germany prevail over Spain during Friday’s u21 European Championship final.

The match

It was a surprising result, especially given the way that Spain had almost effortlessly steamrolled their way into the final while Germany weren’t at their best.

But, like they’ve done before, the Germans saved their best performance for last and stunned their opponents, who underestimated Germany’s range of threats and found their key players stifled in attacking areas.

Tireless work across the pitch ensured players like Gerard Deulofeu and Marco Asensio didn’t get too much time on the ball and both were regularly frustrated. Sandro Ramirez, a rumoured Arsenal target, didn’t have much service to work with and overall, Germany were the better side over the 90 minutes.

Spain had the squad with better players on paper, though were effectively outclassed by Stefan Kuntz’s side.

It’s fair to say they were outclassed and Hector Bellerín left understandably frustrated, having played his part in proceedings. He was defensively solid and called into action on a handful of occasions, especially in the first-half as Germany pressed for an opener.

Bellerín won tackles and aerial duels regularly, though he couldn’t do anything to stop Weiser’s effort from the opposite flank. He might be disappointed to have seen his header flash narrowly wide of the far post in one of Spain’s rare goalscoring chances.

Jeremy Toljan’s inviting delivery was flicked goalwards and despite a slice of fortune in the way it looped over Athletic Bilbao’s Kepa Arrizabalaga given their dominance in terms of chance creation no-one could begrudge them the goal.

The second-half was more of the same, becoming an edgy game with Spain still rocked by conceding just before half-time. They tried to create chances but found themselves stifled for large periods, as Germany forced them into long-range efforts without really troubling goalkeeper Julian Pollersbeck.

As for former Gunner Gnabry, he had a mixed evening before being replaced with less than ten minutes remaining.

He showed flashes of individual brilliance and skill upon occasion, but was crucially wasteful as some good opportunities carved open the Spain box and often rushed needlessly when he could’ve shown some more composure to put the game beyond La Rojita before the full-time whistle.

Next – Bellerin reaction to defeat – “I have a contract over there [in London], I have to report back at Arsenal”

Bellerin reaction

“I feel we played against a very good team,” Bellerin told Sky Sports after the final whistle.

“They knew how to play from the first minute of the game. I think weren’t as confident as the other games because we couldn’t play the ball the way we wanted.

“In the second half the team reacted but it was a bit late for us. You can’t always win in football. Credit to Germany they played a great game, they created a lot of chances, they deserved their goal.

“We must reflect on the game, learn and take the taste of defeat. It can make us hungrier for the future.

“Our qualifiers through the two years was one of the toughest things we’ve ever played. We had to very difficult countries to play very difficult games in very difficult conditions.

“We’ve played like ten games in a row where we couldn’t lose because if we lost we knew we’d be out. After all of that the team got itself to the final.

“Sometimes it’s not meant to be and it wasn’t meant to be today but the team is proud of the work, we have great staff and a lot of people in Spain supporting us and all over the world. This is just going to make us hungrier.

“Obviously, when you come to these kind of tournaments, you want to win. We knew we had a great team, we knew that it could happen. Obviously, we’re disappointed.

“We’ve just got to be proud of the team, we’re a generation with a lot of football in them. There are people who have another opportunity to play this tournament and I’m sure that after this experience they are going to do really well. It’s about enjoying the next couple of hours because we’ve been together since under-15s, under-16s, it’s our last chance to be together. I’m very proud of everyone and it was a good tournament for us.

Of course, it wouldn’t be an interview with Bellerin if he wasn’t asked about his future.

“I have a contract over there [in London], I have to report back at Arsenal,” he replied.

“Now’s the time to enjoy myself with my teammates in Spain for a few days, enjoy myself with the family, have a little break, enjoy the time and then we’ll see each other next season.”