Didier Deschamps rues 'disastrous' start for France against Germany who begin life after Hansi Flick

Didier Deschamps was left to rue a "disastrous" start in a 2-1 friendly defeat for France against a Germany side beginning life after Hansi Flick.

Die Mannschaft broke the deadlock with only four minutes on the clock through Thomas Muller before Leroy Sane doubled their advantage in the 87th minute. Antoine Griezmann struck a consolation from the penalty spot.

It was a much-needed dose of the feel-good factor side for a German team who were humbled 4-1 by Japan on Saturday, with Flick subsequently dismissed after a hugely-disappointing two years in charge.

For Dechamps, it was a reality check after claiming five consecutive victories in European qualifiers heading into the friendly in Dortmund.

“The beginning of the game was disastrous,” said Deschamps in quotes published by Eurosport Germany.

“Especially in terms of aggressiveness. After that, we recovered a little bit. You don't know if we would have won if Kylian Mbappe and Olivier Giroud had been there. Germany was a good opponent."

Meanwhile, it was the perfect start for interim head coach Rudi Voller and lifted the doom and gloom surrounding a Germany team that has hugely underperformed in the last two years.

“That just feels good after the last few defeats. The first half hour was a top performance. When you take the lead against a great team like France, that's just ideal.

“After that, we fought wonderfully, stood firm and didn’t let them through. The second goal was a liberation for all of us. That feeling of happiness is good. Hansi Flick and I were in contact shortly before the game, and I will call him tomorrow. It was a wonderful decision of him to pick Pascal Gross, he played a super game."

For Muller and Marc-Andre ter Stegen, it was a case of the shackles being lifted following that chastening defeat to the Japanese.

"It was clear for us that we had to do a lot of work” added Muller.

“We had to suffer a lot. It was also not easy for us to endure this negative period, which we are responsible for ourselves. Compliments to Rudi, Hannes Wolf and Sandro Wagner. We have rewarded ourselves, that's what makes it fun. We still have a long way to go, but it was an emotional liberation."

"It was balm for the soul - both for the fans and for us,” explained Ter Stegen.

“We really put our backs into it, and the people saw that. It's been a strange few days - so it's even nicer that we were able to end it with a win. Above all, we wanted to have a structure that was relatively simple. Rudi got us in the mood for the game today, and it worked out in the end."

Germany are back in action next month for two more friendlies against the USA and Mexico on October 14 and 18 respectively.

It is believed that the DFB will have appointed a new permanent head coach by the time those two matches take place.

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