After two games that left everyone asking whether the Klopp magic would travel to international football, the answer finally arrived at the Allianz Arena. Germany beat Serbia 2-0 on Thursday night for Jürgen Klopp's first victory since he took charge after the World Cup — a disciplined, high-energy performance that looked, at long last, like a Klopp team. Tom Bischof broke the deadlock in the 39th minute, smashing home the rebound after Florian Wirtz's effort cannoned off the post, and Wirtz finished it off in the 61st, taking Maximilian Mittelstädt's cross with one touch and drilling it inside the far post with the next.
The numbers told the story of a team transformed: 32 attempts at goal to Serbia's one. It was Wirtz's night more than anyone's — a goal, an assist, his 12th international strike, and a display that made a mockery of his difficult early-season form at Liverpool. "The way we want to play suits Flo," Klopp beamed, sending a message back to his old club. "I think everyone in Liverpool is very happy today. The boy is brimming with the joy of playing and has worked incredibly hard."
Asked what pleased him most, Klopp wouldn't pick just one thing. "Everything! The opening stages, the middle part, the ending." The pressing was "outstanding", the attacking "wonderful football" — and the whole night is going straight into his archive. "That has to be our baseline," he said. Next up comes the real test: Germany travel to Greece on Sunday, desperate to avenge the shock 1-0 defeat that started this week. The honeymoon might be over, but the rebuild is finally breathing.
