Effective Spain win in Romania to secure fifth consecutive victory

Spain made it five wins from five with a tense victory (1-2) away in Romania tonight.

In a game full of incident and high tension, goals from a penalty by Captain Sergio Ramos after a foul on Dani Ceballos and Paco Alcácer were enough to secure a hard fought victory over hosts Romania in Bucharest.

As Spain dropped their intensity and rhythm, the hosts rallied and responded with a goal by substitute Florin Andone and soon after Spain defender Diego Llorente was sent off as Spain were put on the rack in a game they were relatively comfortable in.

However, Spain showed enough composure and effective game management to take the sting out of the game and see the game out, thanks largely to their goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga who produced a fantastic display between the posts.

Spain, adopting a 4-3-3 attacking formation, dominated for the majority of exchanges – creating 20 shot to their opponents 7 with an on the whole upwardly mobile, confident and positive performance.

La Roja showed some nice interplay and all the hallmarks of their identity which has enabled them to secure all 15 points so far in their Group F Euro 2020 group campaign.

Before tonight, Spain had never won in Romania but banished that record with collecting the three points. However, Spain did make life hard for themselves not to put the game to bed earlier.

Ramos scored his 12th penalty for Spain and is their top scorer in their Euro 2020 qualifying campaign with four goals to his name.

Spain are next in action this Sunday when La Roja take on the Faroe Islands in Gijón at El Molinón and go into that game with increased confidence and a high five of wins.

Teams:

Spain: Kepa, Alba, Ramos, Llorente, Navas, Ñíguez, Busquets, Fabián, Ceballos, Alcácer, Rodrigo.

Substitutes: Oyarzabal (71), Sarabia (76) and Hermoso (84).

Romania: Tatarusanu, Tosca, Grigore, Chiriches, Nedelcearu, Benzar, Stanciu, Marin, Ioan Deac, Puscas, Keseru.

Substitutes: Andone (56), Hagi (63), Maxim (71).

Venue: Arena Naţională

Attendance: 50,000

Football España Man of the Match: Kepa Arrizabalaga – A great all round display capped with key saves and a fantastic intuitive stop with his legs right at the end to rescue his nation. 

Tags Paco Alcacer Romania Sergio Ramos Spain
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