France 0-2 Spain: Five things we learned as Deulofeu solves the game for La Roja

Gerard Deulofeu made a big impact for Spain against France / Image via UEFA.com

Stade de France crowd was treated with a pleasing international friendly between two of Europe’s powerhouses, France and Spain.

The visitors ended up dominating the proceedings and leading the way, whereas the hosts displayed their exciting potential in the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Corentin Tolisso, Samuel Umtiti and Tiemoue Bakayoko who are the vouchers of the safe future for Les Bleus.

Unfortunately for the anticipating home crowd, France still ended up losing the game to La Roja.

Here are the five things we learned from Spain’s 2-0 win at Stade de France.

Tactical changes from both managers mark the game

The first half of this mouth-watering friendly ended up being somewhat disappointing in terms of goal chances, although we did see a couple of moves that showed promise that this match would go on to live up to its billing.

Kylian Mbappe attempted to break the deadlock early on, whereas Andres Iniesta also had a great chance on the other end, but the nets remained still after 45 minutes.

Didier Deschamps and Julen Lopetegui then decided to make tactical changes in their approach by introducing Tiemoue Bakayoko and Gerard Deulofeu, respectively, who ended up breathing much needed life at both sides of the pitch.

France appeared to have gotten on the front foot when Antoine Griezmann headed in three minutes after the half-time kick off, but his goal was ruled offside after the lengthy consultation between the referees.

On the other side, the introduction of Everton loanee at AC Milan, Gerard Deulofeu, gave Spain a much-needed impetus and made immediate impact.

Deulofeu got targeted by Laurent Koscielny in the box minutes after coming on as he earned his team a penalty kick, which was successfully converted by David Silva. Having taken the lead, La Roja took only ten minutes to double their lead when Deulofeu rounded off his impressive performance with his first-ever goal for Spain.

Barcelona midfielder Sergio Busquets was vital in the build-up to goal as he showed an impressive piece of skill to push the ball on to Jordi Alba on the left-hand flank. Alba then fired a low cross into the penalty box where Deulofeu latched on it with a tap behind helpless Lloris.

Ultimately, Spain deserved their win as Lopetegui ended up outwitting his counterpart Deschamps for a morale-boosting win which extends La Roja’s unbeaten run to eight matches in a row.

Mbappe keeps dazzling

Monaco’s wonder boy Kylian Mbappe is still very much the biggest talk of the town.

The sensational young striker from the Principality club has taken the football scene by storm with 17 goals in 29 games for his club, 11 of which came in his last nine appearances. Praised for his killer instinct and the exciting style, Mbappe was given a taste of France’s first team in a 3-1 victory over Luxembourg when he nearly scored, thus continuing his fine form.

The exciting teenager was deservedly handed a full France debut in the high-profile friendly international against Spain tonight, which he grabbed with both hands and without a grain of fear and anxiety.

A constant menace in the final third, Mbappe created a lot of problems for the Spanish defence, attacking from both flanks and piercing through the middle with his impressive pace. The 18-year-old even came close to scoring in the first half when David De Gea pulled a nice save to clear his left hand-side effort and the French hot-shot ended up impressing once again.

With summer transfer window approaching in rapid pace, rumours are Real Madrid are to push for the transfer of the Monaco star. Being a huge fan of Zinedine Zidane, Kylian Mbappe could be tempted to make a switch although he is being advised not to rush with moving away from his club.

Ageless Iniesta

Barcelona maestro Andres Iniesta is a proven quality and a rare commodity in modern-day football. Having dedicated his entire career to one club, Iniesta remains one of rare world-class players of this dying breed.

And at 32 years of age and Chinese clubs lurking in ambush for a chance to prize him away with big-money offers, there is hardly a person in the world who wouldn’t want to have the ageing midfielder in their team.

Barcelona sporting director Robert Fernandez holds Iniesta in high regard and has already spoken about the club’s intentions to hold on to the Spanish midfielder for several more years. Despite the fact he did not get the time he might have hoped for at Barcelona this year, Andres Iniesta still remains a big presence on the pitch.

Time is Iniesta’s friend and such a claim has been once again confirmed in tonight’s friendly match against France.

The Barcelona midfielder is such a huge influence in the centre of the park and a commanding presence for his team. Keeping the ball to his feet with his recognizable string of tiny touches and erratic movement, Iniesta kept weaving through French defences and got close to scoring on an occasion in the first half of the game, when his shot went just inches wide off of Hugo Lloris’ goal.

Morata needs to leave Real Madrid

The 24-year-old Spanish striker Alvaro Morata did not have the best of games for his national team, to say the least.

Real Madrid forward had waited for a proper pass into the channel for 58 minutes and, although his frustrating performance goes greatly down to French ferocious defending, Morata has once again expressed a disturbing lack of explosiveness, determination and confidence in his play.

A huge contrast to his former self at Juventus, Alvaro Morata of Real Madrid is troubled by his situation with Los Blancos and should consider leaving Santiago Bernabeu at the end of the season.

He had plenty of chances to change scenery before, but with Premier league soon-to-be champions Chelsea in the running for his signature, Morata could be in for a life-changing summer. Antonio Conte knows him oh so well and could be expected to get his career back on track.

And according to what we saw tonight against France, as a player who only got his first touch in the closing moments of the first half, a change is much needed.

Jallet failed the test

Lyon defender Christophe Jallet is not a first-choice with the French national team and it felt on the night against Spain.

The 33-year-old has been called in to replace Bacary Sagna for Luxembourg and Spain and if his appearance against La Roja is anything to go by, Didier Deschamps will consider whether to involve him to great extent when Sagna returns to the squad.

Following a half an hour in a 3-1 win over Luxembourg, Christophe Jallet was given a start against Spain, which he failed to pass with flying colours. Organised in defence and tactically impeccable, Jallet turned out to be a good choice defensively.

Biut Didier Descahmps’ team needed more from Jallet on the occasion as the French defender lacked determination when going forward in more than a few times failing to follow up the attack from the flank.

Even when he did, Jallet lacked that final pass that could have made a difference upfront and Deschamps is sure to reconsider his choices for the crucial Wurld Cup qualifiers that are yet to come for Les Bleus.

FRANCE: Lloris 6 – Jallet 6, Koscielny 7, Umtiti 6.5, Kurzawa 6.5 – Tolisso 6.5 (Lemar 6.5), Kante 7, Rabiot 6.5 (Bakayoko 7) – Mbappe 7.5 (Giroud 6.5), Griezmann 7, Gameiro 7 (Dembele 6.5)

Unused subs: Areola, Corchia, Costil, Kimpembe, Laporte, Matuidi, Mendy, Payet, Thauvin.

SPAIN: De Gea 6.5 – Carvajal 6.5, Ramos 7, Pique 7, Alba 7 (Nacho -) – Koke 6.5 (Herrera 6), Busquets 7, Iniesta 7 (Alcantara 6) – Pedro 6.5 (Deulofeu 7.5), Morata 6 (Aspas -), Isco 6.5 (Silva 6)

Unused subs: Arrizabalaga, Azpilicueta, Costa, Illaramendi, Martinez, MOnreal, Rico, Vitolo.

REFEREE: Felix Zwayer