Xavi's magic leads the Netherlands to a 7-0 rout of Greece
The Netherlands, led by coach Xavi Hernandez, produced an exceptional attacking display against their Greek counterparts, after beating them 7-0, in the clash that brought the two sides together on Friday evening, as part of the fifth round of the UEFA Nations League.
The match is being played at the Johan Cruyff Arena in the Dutch capital Amsterdam, where the hosts have been utterly dominant, turning the encounter into a goalscoring festival with seven goals past the Greeks inside the first 66 minutes.
The Dutch start was thunderous. Crysencio Summerville opened the scoring early in the sixth minute, before Tijjani Reijnders doubled the lead in the 12th. The same man then struck again in the 18th minute to underline the hosts' crushing attacking superiority.
Those attempts did not stop there. The Netherlands kept piling pressure on the Greek defence, and Reijnders bagged his third goal and his country's fourth in the 33rd minute, completing a first-half hat-trick and leaving Greece staring at an impossible task.
Jurriën Timber joined the list of scorers before the break, netting the fifth in the 40th minute. The Netherlands went in five clear, a scoreline that laid bare the gulf between the two sides over the opening 45.
Greece did try to find a way back into it. Fotis Ioannidis thought he had scored in the 24th minute, only for the referee to chalk it off after consulting VAR, denying the visitors an early lifeline.
After the restart the Dutch kept rolling. Timber grabbed his second and his country's sixth in the 59th minute, before Donyell Malen added the seventh just two minutes later in the 61st.
The result carries added weight given where both teams stood in the group. Each side went into the game level on 8 points, both unbeaten through the first four matches, making this a straight shootout for top spot in the second group at the first level.
These two had drawn their earlier meeting in the tournament 2-2 in Greece on 1 October. The hosts went two goals up that day before the Netherlands fought back in the second half, and both sides took a point.
Amsterdam told a completely different story. The Netherlands seized control from the opening minutes and picked apart the spaces in the Greek defence to perfection, while the visitors had no answer to the rapid attacking movements, especially from Reijnders, Timber and Malen.
