“Emotional relief”: Thomas Müller celebrates a rare Germany victory over France

Now that was a way to respond.

Bayern Munich star Thomas Müller punched Germany through within five minutes in their international friendly face-off against France, helping his beleaguered side to a 2-1 victory in the first game following Hansi Flick’s dismissal as head coach. It was Germany’s first win over Les Bleus since 2014.

“First of all, I would like to thank Hansi and his coaching staff,” Müller commented after the game (via @iMiaSanMia). “It really wasn’t easy for us to endure this negative streak, for which we ourselves are also responsible. But at the same time I also have to compliment Rudi, Hannes Wolf and Sandro Wagner on how they approached the whole thing in this short time.

“In the end, we implemented it well on the pitch today, were diligent and rewarded ourselves at the right moments. We still have a long way to go, but today was a small emotional relief.”

Indeed, the road ahead is uncertain, and EURO 2024 is less than a year away. For now, Müller and his teammates — including club squadmate Leroy Sané, who scored the other Germany goal — can at least return to their clubs buoyed rather than deflated.

Looking for more Germany analysis? Take a journey back to the podcast episode for the Japan game that spelled the end for Hansi Flick! Listen to it below or on Spotify.

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