Few coaches have received quite as much scrutiny as Joachim Low in the elongated run-up to Euro 2020.
Castigated after Germany's stunning group-stage exit at the 2018 World Cup, Low kept his job on the proviso of him starting a new phase for Die Mannschaft, with many of the old guard who helped inspire them to glory four years earlier in Brazil cast aside and their next generation of stars pushed to the fore.
Transitions, though, are rarely straightforward and Germany's bumps on the road to the European Championship were severe. They would have been relegated from League A of the Nations League if not for a restructuring following the inaugural edition and a 6-0 thrashing at the hands of Spain in the same competition last November prompted an inquest that eventually led to his March decision to step down after the Euros.
A World Cup qualifying defeat to North Macedonia likely influenced Low's call to end the exiles of Thomas Muller and Mats Hummels for the Euros but, after the latter put through his own net in Germany's 1-0 loss to France in their opening Group F fixture and Cristiano Ronaldo then put Portugal ahead in Munich on Saturday, the coach would have been forgiven for wondering if this was just simply one tournament cycle too far.
Yet that dark moment amid the late evening sunshine at the Allianz Arena quickly gave way to belated vindication for Low, whose team rose to the occasion to claim a superb 4-2 victory in the game of the tournament so far.
Staring the prospect of taking no points from two games in the face, it was not Muller who turned the tide in Germany's favour but a member of that new generation they look set to rely on for years to come under Hansi Flick.
Robin Gosens won only his ninth cap for Germany against Fernando Santos' men, but his performance was that of a player vastly more experienced on this stage.
Schooled in the art of expansive attacking football through playing for a relentless Atalanta side that led Serie A with 90 goals in 2020-21, Gosens ruthlessly made the most of the inexplicable freedom given to him by Portugal right-back Nelson Semedo.
Gosens exuded confidence in the 35th minute as he hit a first-time ball across goal after Joshua Kimmich switched the play. Ruben Dias, under pressure from the unwelcome sight of Champions League final hero Kai Havertz, inadvertently levelled matters. Four minutes later, Raphael Guerreiro, who benefited from a fortunate deflection in Portugal's opening 3-0 win over Hungary, followed Dias in bundling into his own net from a Kimmich pull-back after Gosens had cut the ball back for Muller to cross.
There was no doubt Havertz had the decisive touch after Gosens put the ball on a platter for the Chelsea playmaker to make it 3-1 six minutes into the second half. A remarkable showing was then capped by Gosens with a firm close-range header from another Kimmich delivery.
Portugal pulled a goal back through Diogo Jota and Renato Sanches rattled the frame of the goal with a long-range effort, but a team that appeared poised to secure a place in the last 16 must now recover from becoming the first defending champion to concede four times in a game. It was the second time Portugal have let in four in a major tournament, having also done so against Germany in 2014.
Few would have envisioned Gosens having a hand in every goal but, with his influence and Havertz becoming Germany's youngest goalscorer at the Euros at 22 years and eight days old, this was Low's 2018 vision coming to fruition.
It may not have been exactly how he pictured it, Muller playing two key passes and Real Madrid's Toni Kroos, another old hand, heavily involved. But through that blend of youth and experience, Germany's hopes of a successful swansong for Low have life going into the final group game with a surprisingly obdurate Hungary.
On the evidence of their 1-1 draw with world champions France, Gosens and Co. may need to work harder to break down Hungary than they did Portugal.
For the 'Group of Death' to deliver, Germany needed to put the trials and tribulations that followed their no-show in Russia behind them. They did so emphatically against the unusually fragile defending champions and, heading into the final matchday, who wins Group F is anyone's guess.
Rangers 1-4 Lyon: Lacazette and Fofana at the double as Clement's men outclassed
Malick Fofana and Alexandre Lacazette each scored twice as Lyon outclassed Rangers 4-1 in the Europa League at Ibrox on Thursday.
Former Arsenal striker Lacazette scored twice before the break after Tom Lawrence had earlier cancelled out Fofana's opener in Glasgow, with the latter also netting again in the second half.
Vaclav Cerny was punished for woefully blazing over the bar when Fofana bent home on the rebound from the hugely impressive Rayan Cherki's shot after 10 minutes.
Lawrence quickly prodded home the equaliser when Cyriel Dessers was denied, but an awful error from Connor Barron led to Fofana laying on a simple finish for Lacazette.
The Frenchman then made it 3-1 with a whipped 25-yard stunner before the break and Fofana poked home Cherki's low cross at the back post to add more gloss shortly after the restart.
Duje Caleta-Car saw a header thunder off the crossbar and Corentin Tolisso had a shot cleared off the line, while substitute Said Benrahma was also denied as Lyon pushed to really emphasise their dominance of proceedings.
Data Debrief: Lyon forwards tormentors in chief
Rangers, who won impressively at Malmo on MD1, just had no answer for the dynamism of a Lyon side who are now two from two and second in the table.
Lacazette was playing his 50th game in the Europa League and scored his 23rd and 24th goals in the competition. Only Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (34) and Aritz Aduriz (26) have scored more since his first appearance in September 2012.
Cherki set up both of Fofana's goals in an excellent display and has six goal involvements in only five Europa League starts (three goals, three assists), while Fofana scored and assisted in the same game for the first time for Lyon.
Rangers have a night to forget and this represented only the first time in the Europa League/UEFA Cup they have conceded four goals at home, and only the third time overall.
City striker 'Bunny' Shaw targets more success with hopes of inspiring young girls in Jamaica
Despite achieving much of what she set out to already, Reggae Girl and Manchester City striker Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw intends to keep pushing the barriers and she hopes to inspire others to chase their dreams.
Shaw, who has overcome her fair share of obstacles and tragedies to get to where she is at, has been a role model for young athletes in Jamaica and the Caribbean, particularly aspiring women’s football players, as she continues to impress on the international stage and in the Women's Super League (WSL) since her move to City in 2021.
The 27-year-old ended last season as the WSL’s top scorer, assisting the Gareth Taylor-coached side to the runners-up position behind champions Chelsea, merely on goal difference.
Her performances throughout that campaign, which was cut short by a broken leg, also saw her cop the PFA Women's Players' Player of the year and the FWA Women's Footballer of the Year awards.
"When I look back at my childhood, I didn’t really have a lot of people I could look to, apart from Usain Bolt, of course. I didn’t have a lot of people who I could look to and say, ‘I want to be like that.’ One of the main reasons was that I wasn’t really allowed to play," Shaw said in an interview with BBC Sport.
“Now, looking at where the game is and where it is going, I think there is more room for that. For me, it’s just being alive and being in the moment. It’s staying true to who I am. Hopefully, by doing that each and every day, it works out in the end,” she added.
Black History Month in England, celebrated throughout the month of October, continues to shine a spotlight on athletes who have broken barriers to achieve success.
With her accolades and accomplishments speaking for themselves, Shaw is aiming to continue setting the standard for others to follow.
"I just try to be the best I can be and hope that by doing that, there are others looking on [who can] see that if I can do it, then it’s possible. Hopefully I can inspire a lot of the young girls back home in Jamaica that it is definitely possible,” the two-time Ballon d'Or award nominee shared.
"It’s been a long journey for me. I had to travel around the world to get here. Now I am here, I’m just embracing the moment and loving every part of it. The ups and downs are parts of life and that’s how you grow as a person. But I just try to be the best that I can and hopefully inspire more girls,” Shaw noted.
Chelsea 4-2 Gent: Veiga and Dewsbury-Hall off the mark in Conference League cracker
Renato Veiga and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall each scored their first Chelsea goals in a cracking 4-2 victory over Gent in the Europa Conference League on Thursday.
Enzo Maresca decided to make wholesale changes in the Blues' opening match of the league phase of Europe's third-tier competition, but they were still a class above their Belgian opponents.
Full-back Veiga headed Chelsea into a 12th-minute lead after Mykhailo Mudryk stood up a brilliant cross from the right and Dewsbury-Hall fired into the side-netting when he ought to have scored soon after.
Despite their domination of the ball, it took the Blues until the 46th minute to double their lead when Pedro Neto took hold of Axel Disasi's long punt and fired into the roof of the goal.
Some slack Chelsea defending was punished when Tsuyoshi Watanabe headed in from the cross of Andri Gudjohnsen, son of Blues great Eidur.
Christopher Nkunku rifled home from just inside the area after Gent failed to clear their lines just after the hour and Dewsbury-Hall shot straight through the goalkeeper after Nkunku was tackled attempting to take a shot – with Omri Gandelman celebrating a late consolation for the visitors.
Data Debrief: Dewsbury-Hall stakes his Chelsea claim
This was a great chance for a few Chelsea players to stake their claim for more regular Premier League minutes and Dewsbury-Hall put in an industrious performance to do his chances no harm.
Signed from Leicester City in the last transfer window, the centre midfielder had four shots in total, three of which were in the box, and scored from his one big chance. He also had an impressive 91.2% pass accuracy.
Neto too had a very lively outing, creating five chances in total and finishing with a pass accuracy rate of 97%.
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