Relentless Germany upset Italy in UEFA Nations League

BERLIN: Germany jumped to the second place in Group E after crushing hapless Italy 5-2 courtesy of Timo Werner's second-half brace in the fourth round of the Nations League.

Both sides started motivated on Tuesday night and exchanged attacks in the opening stages as Germany's Leroy Sane came close with a long-range attempt before Italy's Giacomo Raspadori tested Manuel Neuer with a dangerous shot at the other end of the pitch.

The hosts eventually broke the deadlock in the 10th minute when David Raum's pinpoint cross into the box found Joshua Kimmich, who headed home the opener from a central position.

The Germans controlled the proceedings but Antonio Rudiger nor Sane was able to double the advantage despite promising chances, Xinhua reports.

Hansi Flick's men got rewarded for their powerful display just before the half time as Ilkay Gundogan converted a foul play penalty to make it 2-0 on the scoreboards.

Even after the break, Italy couldn't put up resistance as Germany made it three just six minutes into the second half after Thomas Muller latched onto Raum's square pass.

Things went from bad to worse for Italy in the 68th minute when Werner turned up and provided a brace in quick succession to shock the hosts.

Italy showed a sign of life and scored their consolation goal through Wilfried Gnonto, who poked home a parry from Neuer to make it 5-1 in the 78th minute.

The visitors gained momentum and reduced the arrears to 5-2 in the dying seconds of the game when Alessandro Bastoni headed home Federico Dimarco's corner kick.

Hungary sit atop the standings in Group 3 with 7 points, followed by Germany, Italy and England.

"Big compliment to the boys. They have perfectly implemented our strategy. After three straight draws, we needed a victory. Victories are important for our confidence. It was a faultless performance but that doesn't matter today," said Germany head coach Hansi Flick.

"Germany was the better team today. We must keep improving. It won't be easy, but we have the quality," said Italy's youngster Gnonto.