Netherlands 1-1 Germany: Gakpo denies former Liverpool boss Klopp in stoppage time

A stoppage-time equaliser from Cody Gakpo denied his former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp a winning start with Germany, as the Netherlands salvaged a 1-1 draw in the Nations League.

It looked like Felix Nmecha's 32nd-minute strike would settle an entertaining and at times fractious affair between two old rivals under new coaches, with Barcelona great Xavi also making his Netherlands bow.

But in the second of three minutes of second-half stoppage time, Gakpo met a cross from debutant Ruben van Bommel brilliantly on the stretch, ensuring the points were shared in Group A2. 

The first moment of drama came after 12 minutes, as Virgil van Dijk – another of Klopp's former Liverpool stalwarts – glanced Tijjani Reijnders' inswinging corner beyond Marc-Andre ter Stegen. But a VAR review led to the goal being chalked off, due to Brian Brobbey backing into the Germany goalkeeper.

Germany then saw Kai Havertz limp off following a high challenge from Quinten Timber, the twin brother of his Arsenal team-mate Jurrien, though substitute Younes Ebnoutalib almost made an immediate impact as Bart Verbruggen blocked his near-post drive.

And another injury to a Premier League forward played a role in the opening goal. As the Netherlands appealed for a foul on the stricken Brobbey, Germany looked set to kick the ball out, but Nadiem Amiri and Joshua Kimmich instead kept the attack going, and Nmecha swept home after Nathaniel Brown's centre flicked into his path.

A glaring miss from Karim Adeyemi prevented Germany from going 2-0 up late in the first half, but it was one-way traffic from then on with the Oranje laying siege to Ter Stegen's goal.

He thwarted Denzel Dumfries from close range with his right boot, then Mexx Meerdink – another Netherlands debutant – put the ball in the net but saw a foul given against Van Dijk. The young AZ forward also turned Dumfries' cross wide on the slide as Germany closed in on a big three points, but they would be denied with time almost up. 

Gakpo showed tremendous athleticism to divert Van Bommel's cross past Ter Stegen while in mid-air, though the Dutch forward was arguably fortunate to avoid a very late red card after the restart, when he trod on Yannik Engelhardt.

Gakpo denies Klopp as the Netherlands impress

Few international coaching debuts in recent years have been as eagerly anticipated as this one.

Indeed, Klopp oversaw 674 games as a manager in the Bundesliga and the Premier League across spells with Mainz, Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool, the most matches in Europe's top five leagues that any Germany coach had accumulated before taking charge.

But this game showed the size of the task awaiting him, as Germany were penned back throughout the second half by an impressive Netherlands side. The Oranje racked up 3.12 expected goals (xG) and 22 shots, compared to Germany's 1.5 xG from 10 attempts.

And in the end, it was Gakpo – who played 79 games under him for Liverpool, scoring 23 goals in that time – that made Klopp wait for his first victory in charge of his country.

There was at least a notable landmark for Klopp's captain Kimmich, who was at the centre of the controversy leading up to Nmecha's goal, on his 115th cap. He has now surpassed Toni Kroos (114) to sit seventh outright in Germany's all-time charts.

Both teams are back in action on Sunday, with Germany hosting Greece and the Netherlands visiting Serbia, but with Havertz and Brobbey both hobbling off, both came out of a bruising encounter with injury concerns.