Romania got their Euro 2024 campaign off to an excellent start as goals from Nicolae Stanciu, Razvan Marin and Denis Dragus ensured Tricolorii secured their first win in the European Championships in 24 years with a 3-0 victory over Ukraine at the Fußball Arena München, München, Germany.
Here are five takeaways from Tricolorii’s impressive win.
1. Amazing start for Romania
In the build up to the Euros, many would have considered Belgium and Ukraine as favourites to progress from Group E, but Tricolorii showed with today’s performance that they have no intention of making it easy for the so-called ‘favourites’ and with this win, they are firmly in the driving seat in Group E.
2. Ukraine’s toothlessness in attack
Ukraine controlled possession for the majority of the game but failed to create any clear-cut chances. Romania’s back line remained largely untroubled despite the presence of Mykhaylo Mudryk, Viktor Tsygankov and Artem Dovbyk in Ukraine’s attack with their only noteworthy chance in the game, coming in stoppage time when Roman Yaremchuk hit the crossbar with a lobbed effort.
3. Dennis Man’s masterclass
Dennis Man was at the center of everything positive for Romania during the game, starring as they coasted to victory against Ukraine. He intercepted Andriy Lunin’s loose pass before teeing up Stanciu for Tricolorii’s first goal, before supplying the cross that was turned in by Dragus for their third.
4. Lack of concentration in defense for Ukraine
Despite dominating possession throughout the game, Ukraine displayed defensive frailties for which they were ruthlessly punished. Lunin’s misplaced pass led to Romania’s first goal while a lack of concentration at the back was exploited by Dragus who got on the end of Man’s cross after a short corner routine.
5. Romania’s game plan
The Romanians set out with a clear objective on how they wanted to approach the game and executed their game plan to absolute perfection. Tricolorii were content to let their opponents keep possession while they hit back on the counter with their first two goals resulting from turnovers.